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diff --git a/40387.txt b/40387.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e195371..0000000 --- a/40387.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,18424 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Studies of Christianity, by James Martineau - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org/license - - -Title: Studies of Christianity - or, Timely Thoughts for Religious Thinkers - -Author: James Martineau - -Editor: William R. Alger - -Release Date: August 1, 2012 [EBook #40387] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES OF CHRISTIANITY *** - - - - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Douglas L. Alley, III and the -Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - - -STUDIES OF CHRISTIANITY: - -OR, - -TIMELY THOUGHTS FOR RELIGIOUS -THINKERS. - -A SERIES OF PAPERS, -BY -JAMES MARTINEAU. - -EDITED BY -WILLIAM R. ALGER. - - * * * * * - -BOSTON: -AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION, -21 BROMFIELD STREET. -1858. - - - -CAMBRIDGE: - -ELECTROTYPED AND PRINTED BY METCALF AND COMPANY. - -CONTENTS. - PAGE - - INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS, FROM MR. MARTINEAU'S WRITINGS v - - DISTINCTIVE TYPES OF CHRISTIANITY 1 - - CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT PRIEST AND WITHOUT RITUAL 35 - - INCONSISTENCY OF THE SCHEME OF VICARIOUS REDEMPTION 83 - - MEDIATORIAL RELIGION 147 - - FIVE POINTS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH 177 - - CREED AND HERESIES OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY 201 - - THE CREED OF CHRISTENDOM 266 - - THE ETHICS OF CHRISTENDOM 299 - - THE RESTORATION OF BELIEF 356 - - ONE GOSPEL IN MANY DIALECTS 399 - - ST. PAUL AND HIS MODERN STUDENTS 414 - - SIN: WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS NOT 466 - - THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS IN AN AGE OF CONTROVERSY 478 - - - -INTRODUCTORY THOUGHTS, - -FROM - -MR. MARTINEAU'S WRITINGS. - - - - -INTRODUCTION. - - -The American Unitarian Association in 1835 reprinted from the English -edition, among their Tracts, a Sermon on "The Existing State of Theology -as an Intellectual Pursuit and of Religion, as a Moral Influence." Its -rare merits elicited great praise. Its author was the Rev. James -Martineau, then a settled minister in Liverpool. Since that time, his -occasional publications from year to year have been winning a wider -audience, and awakening a deeper admiration. The history of his mind has -been a broadening track of light. And now the Association feel that they -cannot do a greater favor to the reading public, or better aid that -cause of Liberal Christianity whose servants they are, than by printing -a collection of the later writings of this gifted man, whom they first -introduced to American Unitarians a quarter of a century ago. - -The list of works prefixed to the article here entitled "Distinctive -Types of Christianity," as it appeared in the Westminster Review, and -the opening sentence referring to them, have been accidentally omitted. -Two or three of the papers belong to the author's earlier years, but are -inserted here equally on account of their eminent ability, their -special timeliness, and their striking adaptation to the general purpose -of the work; namely, to throw light on the true nature of Christianity. -They will also be new to most of those whom they now reach. The last -paper in the volume is one of the first its writer published, in his -comparative youth. We shall be disappointed if the benignant wisdom and -moral fidelity of its catholic lessons do not secure a sympathetic -response in many a quarter once closed against such appeals. - -In selecting from Mr. Martineau's numerous invaluable articles, not -already published in book-form, the contents of the present work, the -rule has not been so much to choose the ablest productions, as to take -those best fitted to meet the wants of the time, by diffusing among -ministers, students of divinity, and the cultivated laity a knowledge -of the most advanced theological and religious thought yet attained. -We regret that the necessary limits of the volume exclude several of -the author's most instructive and inspiring essays; particularly the -magnificent one in the National Review upon "Newman, Coleridge, and -Carlyle"; also the one upon "Lessing as a Theologian." - -We have called this volume "Studies of Christianity," simply as a -convenient indication of the general character of its contents. In -justice to the author, it should be borne in mind that the separate -papers were prepared to meet various occasions, without a suspicion that -they would ever be brought together to form a book. Of course they do -not express his complete views of the mighty subject which they -fragmentarily treat. The relative order and rank of his convictions, the -interpretation of Christianity from its inner side, appear much better -in his "Endeavors after the Christian Life,"--by far the richest and -noblest series of sermons in the English language. Still, a kind of -unity pervades the different pieces composing this collection. One -Christ-like strain of sentiment breathes through them all. The same -consecrating fealty to truth presides over them all. The same grand -outline of principles and unvarying standard of judgment are constantly -evident. The same marvellous acumen, breadth of learning, and exquisite -culture, everywhere appear. Each article is more or less directly an -illustration of Christianity, as something moral, spiritual, vital, -dynamic, to be practically assimilated by the soul, in distinction from -the common exposition of it, as something sacerdotal, dogmatic, formal, -forensic, once enacted and now to be mimetically observed. The energetic -patience of labor, the detersive intellect, the unalloyed devoutness of -spirit, the telescopic range both of faculty and equipment, revealed -even in these wayside products, awaken in us an unappeasable desire for -a more purposed and systematic work from the same mind, now in its -fullest maturity. In the mean time we will express our grateful -appreciation of the contributions already furnished, by giving them -further circulation, assured that no truly pious and intelligent person, -free from bigotry and shackles, can peru of delight and profit. - -Mr. Martineau is so thoroughly acquainted with the processes and -results of spiritual experience, with the sciences of nature, and with -the whole realm of metaphysical philosophy, and his own wealthy -faculties are so tenacious in their activity and freshness, that every -subject he touches receives novelty, light, and ornament. He is -emphatically a teacher for the teachers,--a greater guide and master -for the common guides and masters. Traversing the whole domain of -human contemplation with the defining lines of analysis, clothing the -severe materials of science with the colors of aesthetic art, he sheds -on every theme the illumination of intellectual genius, and transfuses -every thought with the distinctive sentiments of piety. Thus is -afforded that rarest of all spectacles,--and the one now most needed -by the cultivated religious world,--of a man who is greatly endowed at -once as philosopher, poet, and Christian, and who with simultaneous -earnestness in each capacity is devoted, by the whole labors of his -life, to the instruction of mankind. - -For these reasons, we feel it a duty to attract as much attention as -possible to Mr. Martineau's past and expected publications. The -peerless intelligence, the bracing fidelity, the essential nobleness -and catholicity, the tender beauty and reverence, of his utterances, -his consummate mastery of the great topics he handles, seem to us -fitted in a solitary degree to meet the highest wants of the age,--to -do divine service in the conflict of scepticism, sensuality, and decay -against all that is truest and purest in the religious faith and moral -life of Christendom. Therefore, to persons who, unacquainted with the -author's previous works, may read the papers here collected, we would -recommend as the best books for educated and earnest Christian -thinkers, Mr. Martineau's "Rationale of Religious Inquiry," the volume -of his "Miscellanies" edited by the Rev. T. S. King, and the two -series of "Endeavors after the Christian Life" recently republished in -one volume by Messrs. Munroe and Company. - -We shall make up the rest of this introductory paper by quoting from -some of Mr. Martineau's articles, not generally accessible, a few -specimens of those thoughts which, if freely received in these times -of theological doubt and turmoil, would lead many a religious thinker -towards the truth and peace he covets. - -How clearly the following passage shows the true - - -RELATION BETWEEN NATURAL AND REVEALED RELIGION. - -The contempt with which it is the frequent practice of divines to treat -the grounds of natural religion, betrays an ignorance both of the true -office of revelation and of the true wants of the human heart. It cannot -be justified, except on the supposition that there is some contradiction -between the teachings of creation and those of Christ, with some decided -preponderance of proof in favor of the latter. Even if the Gospel -furnished a series of perfectly new truths, of which nature had been -profoundly silent, it would be neither reasonable nor safe to fix -exclusive attention on these recent and historical acquisitions, and -prohibit all reference to those elder oracles of God, by which his -Spirit, enshrined in the glories of his universe, taught the fathers of -our race. And if it be the function of Christianity not to administer -truth entirely new, but to corroborate by fresh evidence, and invest -with new beauty, and publish to the millions with a voice of power, a -faith latent already in the hearts of many, and scattered through the -speculations of the wise and noble few,--to erect into realities the -dreams which had visited a half-inspired philosophy, interpreting the -life and lot of man;--then there is a relation between the religion of -nature and that of Christ,--a relation of original and -supplement,--which renders the one essential to the apprehension of the -other. Revelation, you say, has given us the clew by which to thread the -labyrinth of creation, and extricate ourselves from its passages of -mystery and gloom. Be it so; still, _there_, in the scene thus cleared -of its perplexity, must our worship be paid, and the manifestations of -Deity be sought. If the use of revelation be to explain the perplexities -of Providence and life, it would be a strange use to make of the -explanation were we to turn away from the thing explained. We hold the -key of heaven in our hands. What folly to be for ever extolling and -venerating it, whilst we prohibit all approach to the temple whose gates -it is destined to unlock. - -One would search long to find a finer illustration than is here given -of the real - - -NATURE OF DEVOTION. - -In Devotion there is this great peculiarity,--that it is neither the -_work_ nor the _play_ of our nature, but is something higher than -either,--more ideal than the one, more real than the other. All human -activities besides are one of these two things,--either the mere aim -at an external end, or the mere outcome of an inner feeling. On the -one hand, we plough and sow, we build and navigate, that we may win -the adornments and securities of life; on the other hand, we sing and -dance, we carve and paint, that we may put forth the pressure of -harmony and joy and beauty breaking from within. Mechanical Toil -terminates in a solid product; graceful Art is content with simple -expression; but Religion is degraded when it is reduced to either -character. It is not a labor of utility; and he who looks to it as a -means of safety, to ingratiate himself with an awful God, and bespeak -an interest in a hidden Future, is an utter stranger to its essence; -his habits and words may be cast in its mould, but the spark of its -life is not kindled in his heart. When fed by the fuel of prudence, -the fire is all spent in fusing it into form; and the finished product -is a cold and metal mimicry, that neither moves nor glows. Nor is -Religion a simple gesture of passion; and to class it with mere -natural language, to treat it as the rhythmical delirium of the soul -working off an irrepressible enthusiasm, is to empty it of its real -meaning and contents, and sink it from a divine attraction to a human -excitement. The postures and movements and tones which simply -manifest the impassioned mind are content to go off into space, and -pass away; they direct themselves nowhither; they have no more -_object_ than a convulsion; they ask only leave to be the last shape -of a feeling that must have way; and be the inspiration what it may, -they close and consummate its history. But he who _prays_ is at the -beginning of aspiration, not at the evaporating end of impulse; he is -drawn, not driven; he is not painting _himself_ upon vacancy, but is -surrendering himself to a Presence real and everlasting. If he flings -out his arms, it is not in blind paroxysm, but that he may embrace and -be embraced; if he cries aloud, it is that he may be heard; if he -makes melody of the silent heart, it is no soliloquy flung into -emptiness, but the low-breathing love of spirit to Spirit. Devotion is -not the play even of the highest faculties, but their deep earnest. It -is no doubt the culminating point of reverence; but reverence is -impossible without an object, and could never culminate at all, or -pass into the Infinite, unless its object did so too. In every case we -find that the faculties and susceptibilities of a being tell true, and -are the exact measure of the outer life it has to live; and just as -many and as large proportions as it has, to just so many and so great -objects does it stand related; so that from the axis of its nature you -may always draw the curve of its existence. Human worship, therefore, -turning to the living God as the infant's eye to light, is itself a -witness to Him whom it feels after and adores; it is "the image and -shadow of heavenly things," the parallel chamber in our nature with -that Holy of Holies whither its incense ever ascends. - -In a similar strain is this argument to show that - - -DEVOTION IS NOT A MISTAKE. - -Be assured, all visible greatness of mind grows in looking at an -invisible that is greater. And since it is inconceivable that what is -most sublime in humanity should spring from vision of a thing that is -not, that what is most real and commanding with us should come of -stretching the soul into the unreal and empty, that historic -durability should be the gift of spectral fancies, we must hold these -devout natures to be at one with everlasting Fact,--to feel truly that -the august forms of Justice and Holiness are at home in heaven, the -object there of clearer insight and more perfect veneration. There are -those who please themselves with the idea that the world will outgrow -its habits of worship; that the newspaper will supersede the preacher -and prophet; that the apprehension of scientific laws will replace the -fervor of moral inspirations; that this sphere of being will then be -perfectly administered when no reference to another distracts -attention. But, for my own part, I am persuaded, that life would soon -become intolerable on earth, were it copied from nothing in the -heavens; that its deeper affections would pine away and its lights of -purest thought grow pale, if it lay shrouded in no Holy Spirit, but -only in the wilderness of space. The most sagacious secular voice -leaves, after all, a chord untouched in the human heart: listening too -long to its didactic monotone, we begin to sigh for the rich music of -hope and faith. The dry glare of noonday knowledge hurts the eye by -plying it for use and denying it beauty; and we long to be screened -behind a cloud or two of moisture and of mystery, that shall mellow -the glory and cool the air. Never can the world be less to us, than -when we make it all in all. - -Our author makes a striking reply to the common assertion that - - -"THEOLOGY IS NOT A PROGRESSIVE SCIENCE." - -It may, however, be retrogressive; and it is sure to repay flippant -neglect by lending its empty space to mean delusions. To its great -problems _some_ answer will always be attempted; and there is much to -choose between the solutions, however imperfect, found by reverential -wisdom, and the degrading falsehoods tendered in reply by the -indifferent and superficial. Even in their failures, there is a vast -difference between the explorings of the seeing and the blind. We deny, -however, that Christian theology can assume any aspect of failure, -except to those who use a false measure of success. It is not in the -nature of religion, of poetry, of art, to exhibit the kind of progress -that belongs to physical science. They differ from it in seeking, not -the _phenomena_ of the universe, but its _essence_,--not its laws of -change, but its eternal meanings,--not outward nature, in short, except -as expressive of the inner thought of God; and being thus intent upon -the enduring spirit and very ground of things, they cannot grow by -numerical accretion of facts and exacter registration of successions. -They are the product, not of the patient sense and comparing -intelligence which are always at hand, but of a deeper and finer -insight, changing with the atmosphere of the affections and will. -Instead of looking, therefore, for perpetual advance of discovery in -theology, we should naturally expect an ebb and flow of light, answering -to the moral condition of men's minds; and may be content if the divine -truth, lost in the dulness of a material age, clears itself into fresh -forms with the returning breath of a better time. - -Most readers will find suggestions of great freshness in the passage -next cited:-- - - -THE HEART OF CHRISTIANITY. - -To lose sight of this principle in estimating Christianity, and to -insist on judging it, not by its matured character in Christendom, not -by the _unconscious spirit_ of its founders, but by their personal -views and purposes, is to overlook the divine in it in order to fasten -on the human; to seek the winged creature of the air in the throbbing -chrysalis; and is like judging the place of the Hebrews in history by -the court and the proverbs of Solomon, or the value of Puritanism by -the sermon of a hill-preacher before the civil war. The primitive -Christianity was certainly _different_ from that of other ages; but -there is no reason for believing that it was _better_. The -representation often made of the early Church, as having only truth, -and feeling only love, and living in simple sanctity, is contradicted -by every page of the Christian records. The Epistles are entirely -occupied in driving back guilt and passion, or in correcting errors of -belief; nor is it _always_ possible to approve of the temper in which -they perform the one task, or to assent to the methods by which they -attempt the other. Principles and affections were indeed secreted in -the heart of the first disciples, which were to have a great future, -and to become the highest truth of the world. But it was precisely of -these that they rarely thought at all. The Apostles themselves speak -slightingly of them, as baby's food; and the great faith in God, the -need of repentant purity of heart, with the trust in immortality,--the -very doctrines which we should name as the permanent essence of -Christian faith,--are expressly declared by them to be the childish -rudiments of belief, on which the attention of the grown Christian -will disdain to dwell. And what did they prefer to these sublime -truths, as the nutriment of their life and the pride of their wisdom? -Allegories about Isaac and Ishmael, parallels between Christ and -Melchisedec, new readings of history and prophecy to suit the events -in Palestine, and a constant outlook for the end of all things. These -were the grand topics on which their minds eagerly worked, and on -which they labored to construct a consistent theory. These give the -form to their doctrine, the matter to their spirit. These are what you -will get, if you go indiscriminately to their writings for a creed: -and these are no more Christianity than the pretensions of Hildebrand -or the visions of Swedenborg. The true religion lies elsewhere, just -in the things that were _ever present with them, but never esteemed_. -Just as your friend may spend his anxiety on his station, his -usefulness, his appearance and repute, and fear lest he should show -nothing deserving your regard, while all the time you love him for the -pure graces, the native wild-flowers, of his heart; so do the -choicest servants of God ever think one thing of themselves, while -they are dear to him and revered by us for quite another. "The weak -things" in the Church not less than in "the world hath he chosen to -confound the mighty; the simple, to strike dumb the wise; and things -that are not, to supersede the things that are." - -In rude ages, and amid feudal customs, it has perhaps been no unhappy -thing that this image of servitude has been transmitted into the -conceptions of faith: it may have touched with some sanctity an -inevitable submission, and mingled a sentiment of loyalty with -religion. But the _external relation_ of serf and lord is no type of -the _internal relation_ of spirit to spirit, which alone constitutes -religion to us. To God himself, with all his infinitude, we are not -_slaves_; we are not his _property_, but his children; he regards us, -not as _things_, but as _persons_; he does not so much command us, as -appeal to us; and in our obedience, it is not his _bidding_ that we -serve, but that divine Law of Right of which he makes us conscious as -the rule of His nature only more perfectly than of ours. To obey him -as _slaves_, in fear, and with an eye upon his power, is, with all our -punctuality and anxiety, simply and entirely to _disobey_ him; nor is -anything precious in his sight, except the free consent of heart with -which we apprehend what is holy to his thought and embrace what is in -harmony with his perfection. Still less can we be _slaves_ to Christ, -who is no autocrat to us, but our freely followed leader towards God; -the guide of our pilgrim troop in quest of a holy land; who gives us -no law from the mandates of his will, but only interprets for us, and -makes burn within us, in characters of fire, the law of our own -hearts; who has no power over us, except through the affections he -awakens and the aspirations he sets upon the watch. We have emerged -from the Religion of _Law_, whose only sentiment is that of _obedience -to sovereignty_; we have passed from the religion of _Salvation_, -whose life consists in _gratitude to a Deliverer_; and we are capable -only of a religion of _reverence_, which bows before the _authority of -Goodness_. And in the infinite ranks of excellence, from the highest -to the lowest, there are no lords and slaves; the dependence is ever -that of internal charm, not of external bond; the _authority_ is but -represented and impersonated in another and a better soul, but has its -living seat within our own; and in this true and elevating worship, -the more we are disposed of by another, the more do we feel that we -are our own. This is a relation which the political terms of the -expected theocracy are ill adapted to express; and if we have required -many centuries to grope our way to this clearest glory of religion, to -disengage it from the impure admixture of servile fear and revolting -presumption; if it has taken long for us to melt away in our -imagination the images of thrones and tribunals, of prize-givings and -prisons, of a police and assizes of the universe; if only at the -eleventh hour of our faith, the cloud has passed away, and shown us -the true angel-ladder that springs from earth to heaven, the pure -climax of souls whereon each below looks up and rises, yet each above -bends down and helps;--the discovery which brings such peace and -freedom to the heart, has been delayed by the mistaken identification -of the entire creed of the first age with the essence of Christianity. -Now that God has shown us so much more, has tried the divine seed of -the Gospel on so various a soil of history, and enabled us to -distinguish its fairest blossoms and its choicest fruits, a much -larger meaning than was possible at first must be given to the purpose -of his revelation. Even to Paul, Christ was mainly the great -representative of a theocratic idea; and was in no other sense an -object of _spiritual_ belief, than that he was not on earth and -mortal, but in heaven and immortal. That _faith_ in Christ, which then -prominently denoted belief in his appointed return, and _allegiance_ -to him as God's viceroy in this world, is now transferred into quite a -different thing. It is altogether a moral and affectionate sentiment: -an acknowledgment of him as the highest impersonation of divine -excellence and inspired insight yet given to the world; a trust in him -as the only realized type of perfection that can mediate for us -between ourselves and God; a faithfulness to him, as making us -conscious of what we are and what God and our conscience would have us -to be. It is vain to pretend that revelation is a fixed and -stereotyped thing. It was born, as the divinest things must be, among -human conditions; and into it ever since human conditions have -perpetually flowed. The elements of Hebrew thought surrounded the -sacred centre at first, and have been erroneously identified with it -by all Unitarian churches in every age. The Hellenic intellect -afterwards streamed towards the fresh point of life and faith, and -gathered around it the metaphysical system of Trinitarian dogma in -which orthodox communions of all times have, with parallel error, -sought the essence of the Gospel. The true principle of the religion -has been _secreted in both, and consisted in neither_: it has lain -unnoticed in the midst, in the silent chamber of the heart, around -which the clamor of the disputatious intellect whirls without -entrance. The agency of Christ's mind as the expression of God's moral -nature and providence, and as the realized ideal of beauty and -excellence,--this is the power of God and the wisdom of God, which has -made vain the counsels of the world, and baffled the foolishness of -the Church. This is the Gospel's centre of stability,--"Jesus Christ, -the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." - -Few persons can be insensible to the sublimity of this expression upon -the relation between - - -CHRIST, NATURE, PROVIDENCE, AND GOD. - -In conclusion, then, I revert, with freshened persuasion, to the -statement with which I commenced. Jesus Christ of Nazareth, God hath -presented to us simply in his inspired humanity. Him we accept, not -indeed as very God, but as the true image of God, commissioned to show -what no written doctrinal record could declare, the entire moral -perfections of Deity. We accept, not indeed his body, not the -struggles of his sensitive nature, not the travail of his soul, but -his purity, his tenderness, his absolute devotion to the great idea of -right, his patient and compassionate warfare against misery and guilt, -as the most distinct and beautiful expression of the Divine mind. The -peculiar office of Christ is to supply a new _moral_ image of -Providence; and everything, therefore, except the _moral_ complexion -of his mind, we leave behind as human and historical merely, and apply -to no religious use. I have already stated in what way nature and the -Gospel combine to bring before us the great object of our trust and -worship. The universe gives us the scale of God, and Christ, his -Spirit. We climb to the infinitude of his nature by the awful pathway -of the stars, where whole forests of worlds silently quiver here and -there, like a small leaf of light. We dive into his eternity, through -the ocean waves of time, that roll and solemnly break on the -imagination, as we trace the wrecks of departed things upon our -present globe. The scope of his intellect, and the majesty of his -rule, are seen in the tranquil order and everlasting silence that -reign through the fields of his volition. And the spirit that animates -the whole is like that of the Prophet of Nazareth; the thoughts that -fly upon the swift light throughout creation, charged with fates -unnumbered, are like the healing mercies of One that passed no sorrow -by. The government of this world, its mysterious allotments of good -and ill, its successions of birth and death, its hopes of progress and -of peace, each life of individual or nation, is under the -administration of One, of whose rectitude and benevolence, whose -sympathy with all the holiest aspirations of our virtue and our love, -Christ is the appointed emblem. A faith that spreads around and within -the mind a Deity thus sublime and holy, feeds the light of every pure -affection, and presses with omnipotent power on the conscience; and -our only prayer is, that we may walk as children of such light. - -It seems as if no one capable of understanding could resist the -convincing cogency of the following exhibition of - - -THE IDEA OF VICARIOUS JUSTICE. - -It is only natural that the parable of the Prodigal Son should be no -favorite with those who deny the unconditional mercy of God. The place -which this divine tale occupies in the Unitarian theology appears to -be filled, in the orthodox scheme, by the story of Zaleucus, king of -the Locrians; which has been appealed to in the present controversy by -both the lecturers on the Atonement, and seems to be the only -endurable illustration presented, even by Pagan history, of the -execution of vicarious punishment. This monarch had passed a law -condemning adulterers to the loss of both eyes. His own son was -convicted of the crime; and, to satisfy at once the claims of law and -of clemency, the royal parent "commanded one of his own eyes to be -pulled out, and one of his son's." Is it too bold a heresy to confess -that there seems to me something heathenish in this example, and that, -as an exponent of the Divine character, I more willingly revere the -Father of the prodigal than the father of the adulterer? - -Without entering, however, into any comparison between the Locrian and -the Galilean parable, I would observe, that the vicarious theory -receives no illustration from this fragment of ancient history. There -is no analogy between the cases, except in the violation of truth and -wisdom which both exhibit; and whatever we are instructed to admire in -Zaleucus, will be found on close inspection to be absent from the -orthodox representation of God. We pity the Grecian king, who had made -a law without foresight of its application, and so sympathize with his -desire to evade it, that any quibble which legal ingenuity can devise -for this purpose passes with slight condemnation; casuistry refuses to -be severe with a man implicated in such a difficulty. But the Creator -and Legislator of the human race, having perfect knowledge of the -future, can never be surprised into a similar perplexity; or ever pass -a law at one time which at another he desires to evade. Even were it -so, there would seem to be less that is unworthy of his moral -perfection in saying plainly, with the ancient Hebrews, that he -"repented of the evil he thought to do," and said, "It shall not be," -than in ascribing to him a device for preserving consistency, in which -no one capable of appreciating veracity can pretend to discern any -sincere fulfilment of the law. However barbarous the idea of Divine -"repentance," it is at least ingenuous. Nor does this incident of -Zaleucus and his son present any parallel to the alleged relation -between the Divine Father who receives, and the Divine Son who gives, -the satisfaction for human guilt. The Locrian king took a part of the -penalty himself, and left the remainder where it was due; but the -Sovereign Lawgiver of Calvinism puts the whole upon another. To -sustain the analogy, Zaleucus should have permitted an innocent son to -have both his eyes put out, and the convicted adulterer to escape. - -The doctrine of Atonement has introduced among Trinitarians a mode of -speaking respecting God, which grates most painfully against the -reverential affections due to him. His nature is dismembered into a -number of attributes, foreign to each other, and preferring rival -claims; the Divine tranquillity appears as the equilibrium of opposing -pressures,--the Divine administration as a resultant from the -collision of hostile forces. Goodness pleads for that which holiness -forbids; and the Paternal God would do many a mercy, did the Sovereign -God allow. The idea of a conflict or embarrassment in the Supreme Mind -being thus introduced, and the believer being haunted by the feeling -of some tremendous difficulty affecting the Infinite government, the -vicarious economy is brought forward as the relief, the solution of -the whole perplexity; the union, by a blessed compromise, of -attributes that could never combine in any scheme before. The main -business of theology is made to consist in stating the conditions and -expounding the solution of this imaginary problem. The cardinal -difficulty is thought to be the reconciliation of justice and mercy; -and, as the one is represented under the image of a Sovereign, the -other under that of a Father, the question assumes this form: How can -the same being at every moment possess both these characters, without -abandoning any function or feeling appropriate to either? how, -especially, can the Judge remit?--it is beyond his power; yet how can -the Parent punish to the uttermost?--it is contrary to his nature. - -All this difficulty is merely fictitious, arising out of the -determination to make out that God is both wholly Judge and wholly -Father; from an anxiety, that is, to adhere to two metaphors, as -applicable, in every particular, to the Divine Being. It is evident that -both must be, to a great extent, inappropriate; and in nothing, surely, -is the impropriety more manifest, than in the assertion that, as -sovereign, God is naturally bound to execute laws which, nevertheless, -it would be desirable to remit, or change in their operation. Whatever -painful necessities the imperfection of human legislation and judicial -procedure may impose, the Omniscient Ruler can make no law which he will -not to all eternity, and with entire consent of his whole nature, deem -it well to execute. This is the Unitarian answer to the constant -question, "How can God forgive in defiance of his own law?" It is not in -defiance of his laws: every one of which will be fulfilled to the -uttermost, in conformity with his first intent; but nowhere has he -declared that he would not forgive. All justice consists in treating -moral agents according to their character; the inexorability of human -law arises solely from the imperfection with which it can attain this -end, and is not the essence, but the alloy, of equity; but God, who -searches and controls the heart, exercises that perfect justice, which -permits the penal suffering to depart only with the moral guilt; and -pardons, not by cancelling any sentence, but by obeying his eternal -purpose to meet the wanderer returning homeward, and give his blessing -to the restored. Only by such restoration can any past guilt be effaced. -The thoughts, emotions, and sufferings of sin, once committed, are woven -into the fabric of the soul; and are as incapable of being absolutely -obliterated thence and put back into non-existence, as moments of being -struck from the past, or the parts of space from infinitude. Herein we -behold alike "the goodness and the severity of God"; and adore in him, -not the balance of contrary tendencies, but the harmony of consentaneous -perfections. How plainly does experience show that, if his personal -unity be given up, his moral unity cannot be preserved! - -The author himself is the best exemplification of the man described in -this account of the - - -DIFFERENCE BETWEEN APPREHENSION AND INTERPRETATION. - -The difference between the ordinary visual gaze upon the external -universe, and the interpreting glance of science, is felt by every -cultivated understanding to be immeasurable;--and the contrast is not -less between that dull sense of what passes within him, which is forced -upon a man by mere practical experience, and the exact consciousness, -the discriminative perception, the easy comprehension of his own (and, -so far as they are expressed by faithful symbols, of others') states and -affections, possessed by the patient analyst of thought and emotion, and -careful collector of their laws. The mighty mass of human achievement -and human failure, in intellectual research, in moral endeavor, in -social economy and government, lapses into order before him, and -distributes itself among the provinces of determinate laws. The -structure of a child's perplexity, and the fallacies of the most -ambitious hypothesis, lie open to him as readily, as to the artisan a -flaw in the fabric of his own craft. The creations of art fall before -him into their elements; and, dissolving away their constituent -_matter_, which is an accident of their age, leave upon his mind their -permanent _form_ of beauty, as his guide to a true and noble criticism. -The progress and the aberrations of human reason, in its quest of truth, -are as clearly appreciated by him, as the passages of happy skill or -ignorant roving in some voyage of discovery, when the outlines and -relations of the sphere on which it is made become fully known. -Discerning distinctly the different kinds of evidence appropriate to -different departments of truth, and weighing the scientific value of -every idea and method of thought, he is not at the mercy of each -superficial impression and obtrusive phase presented to him by the -subjects of his contemplation; but he attains a certain rational tact -and graduated feeling of certainty in abstract matters of opinion, by -which he escapes alike the miseries of undefined doubt, and the passions -of unqualified dogmatism. In short, the great idea of Science is applied -by him to the complicated workings of the mind of man; interprets the -activities of his nature, and gives laws to the administration of his -life; and, with wonderful analysis, investigates the properties, and -establishes the equation, of their most labyrinthine curves. - -What a rebuke upon dogmatic sciolists, what a glorious invitation to -study, are conveyed in the genial, broad, mental hospitality of the -succeeding paragraph! - - -NECESSITY OF LEARNING IN PHILOSOPHY. - -If there is one department of knowledge more than another in which a -contemptuous disregard of the meditations and theories of distant -periods and nations is misplaced, it is in the philosophy of -man,--which can have no adequate breadth of basis till it reposes on -the consciousness and covers the mental experience of the universal -race; and to construct which out of purely personal materials, is like -attempting to lay down the curves and finish the theory of terrestrial -magnetism on the strength of a few closet experiments. No man, however -large-thoughted and composite his mind, can accept of _himself_ as the -type of universal human nature. It will even be a great and rare -endowment, if, with every aid of exact learning and unwearying -patience, he is able to penetrate the atmosphere of others' -understanding, and to observe the forms and colors which the objects -of contemplation assume, when beheld through this peculiar medium. -Simply to avail one's self of the experience of mankind, and know what -it has really been, demands no little scope of imagination and -versatility of intellectual sympathy. When these qualities are so -deficient in a thinker that he cannot well achieve this knowledge, it -is a great misfortune to his philosophy; when the want is such that he -does not even desire it, it amounts to an absolute disqualification. -Without, therefore, pledging ourselves to the eclectic principles -which prevail in the present school of philosophy in France, we must -beware of the intolerant dogmatism of Bentham in England, sanctioned, -as we have seen, by one of the masters of the antagonist metaphysics -in Germany. Indeed, it will be a chief purpose of all my lectures to -enable you to profit by the light of other minds; in every province of -the vast region which we shall explore together, to indicate the paths -which they have traversed before, nor ever to turn away from their -points of discovery, without raising some rude monument at least of -honest and commemorative praise. To introduce you to the works, to -interpret the difficulties, to do honor to the labors, to review the -opinions, of the great masters of speculative thought in every age and -in many lands, will be an indispensable portion of my duty;--a task -most arduous indeed, but than which none can be more grateful to one -who loves to trace, through all their affinities, the indestructible -types of truth and beauty in the human mind; and to mark the natural -laws, connecting together the most opposite continents and climes of -thought, as parts, successively colonized and cultivated, of one great -intellectual world. But in addition to the study of the several -classes of psychological and moral doctrine as they present themselves -in the _order of science_, it will be important to spread out the -literature of philosophy before us in the _order of time_; to gain an -insight into the natural development of successive modes of thought on -speculative subjects; to notice the action and reaction of philosophy -and practical life; to ascertain whether opinion on these abstract -matters really advances into knowledge and has any determinate -progression, or whether it oscillates for ever on either side of some -fixed idea, or line of mental gravitation. In short, having surveyed -our subject systematically, we shall go over it again chronologically; -and call upon philosophy, when it has recited its creed, and revealed -its wisdom, to finish all by writing its history. - -The hints given in Mr. Martineau's frequent references to the bearing -of scientific knowledge and laws upon theological speculations are -very important. We adduce a single example. - - -PHYSICAL SCIENCE AND RELIGION. - -An accomplished and thoughtful observer of nature--Hugh Miller, the -geologist--has somewhere remarked, that religion has lost its -dependence on metaphysical theories, and must henceforth maintain -itself upon the domain of physical science. He accordingly exhorts the -guardians of sacred truth to prepare themselves for the approaching -crisis in its history, by exchanging the study of thoughts for the -apprehension of things, and carefully cultivating the habit of -inductive research. The advice is excellent, and proceeds from one -whose own example has amply proved its worth; and unless the clergy -qualify themselves to take part in the discussions which open -themselves with the advance of natural knowledge, they will assuredly -be neither secure in their personal convictions nor faithful to their -public trust. The only fault to be found with this counsel is, that in -recommending one kind of knowledge it disparages another, and betrays -that limited intellectual sympathy which is the bane of all noble -culture. Geology, astronomy, chemistry, so far from succeeding to the -inheritance of metaphysics, do but enrich its problems with new -conceptions and give a larger outline to its range; and should they, -in the wantonness of their young ascendency, persuade men to its -neglect, they will pay the penalties of their contempt by the -appearance of confusion in their own doctrine. The advance of any one -line of human thought demands--especially for the security of -faith--the parallel movement of all the rest; and the attempt to -substitute one intellectual reliance for another, mistakes for -progress of knowledge what may be only an exchange of ignorance. In -particular, the study of external nature must proceed _pari passu_ -with the study of the human mind; and the errors of an age too -exclusively reflective will not be remedied, but only reversed, by -mere reaction into sciences of outward fact and observation. These -physical pursuits, followed into their further haunts, rapidly run up -into a series of notions common to them all,--expressed by such words -as _Law_, _Cause_, _Force_,--which at once transfer the jurisdiction -from the provincial courts of the special sciences to the high -chancery of universal philosophy. To conduct the pleadings--still more -to pronounce the judgment--there, other habits of mind are needed than -are required in the museum and the observatory; and the history of -knowledge, past and present, abounds with instances of men who, with -the highest merit in particular walks of science, have combined a -curious incompetency of survey over the whole. Hence, very few natural -philosophers, however eminent for great discoveries and dreaded by the -priesthood of their day, have made any deep and durable impression on -the religious conception of the universe, as the product and -expression of an Infinite Mind; and in tracing the eras of human -faith, the deep thinker comes more prominently into view than the -skilful interrogator of nature. In the history of religion, Plato is a -greater figure than Archimedes; Spinoza than Newton; Hume and Kant -than Volta and La Place; even Thomas Carlyle than Justus Liebig. Our -picture indeed of the system of things is immensely enlarged, both in -space and duration, by the progress of descriptive science; and the -grouping of its objects and events is materially changed. But the -altered scene carries with it the same expression to the soul; speaks -the same language as to its origin; renews its ancient glance with an -auguster beauty; and, in spite of all dynamic theories, reproduces the -very modes of faith and doubt which belonged to the age both of the -old Organon and of the new. - -The ultimate problem of all philosophy and all religion is this: "How -are we to conceive aright the origin and first principle of things?" -The answers, it has been contended by a living author of distinguished -merit, are necessarily reducible to two, between which all systems are -divided, and on the decision of whose controversy, all antagonist -speculations would lay down their arms. "In the beginning was FORCE," -says one class of thinkers; "force, singular or plural, splitting into -opposites, standing off into polarities, ramifying into attractions -and repulsions, heat and magnetism, and climbing through the stages of -physical, vital, animal, to the mental life itself." "On the -contrary," says the other class, "in the beginning was THOUGHT; and -only in the necessary evolution of its eternal ideas into expression -does force arise,--self-realizing thought declaring itself in the -types of being and the laws of phenomena." We need hardly say, that -the former of these two notions coalesces with the creed of Atheism, -and is most frequently met with upon the path of the physical -sciences, while the latter is favored by the mathematical and -metaphysical, and gives the essence of Pantheism. Each of them has -insurmountable difficulties, with which it is successfully taunted by -the other. Start from blind force; and how, by any spinning from that -solitary centre, are we ever to arrive at the seeing intellect? Can -the lower create the higher, and the unconscious enable us to think? -Start from pure thinking, and how then can you get any force for the -production of objective effects? How metamorphose a passage of dialect -into the power of gravitation, and a silent corollary into a flash of -lightning? In taking the intellect as the type of God, this difficulty -must always be felt. We are well aware that it is not in _this_ -endowment that our dynamic energy resides. The _activity_ which we -ascribe to our intellect is not a power going out into external -efficiency, but a mere passage across the internal field of successive -thoughts as spontaneous phenomena. Nor have we, as thinking beings -only, any _option_ with respect to the thoughts thus streaming over -the theatre of rational consciousness; our constitution legislates for -us in this particular, and the order of suggestion is determined by -laws having their seat in us. Finally, we are not, by mere thinking -capacity, constituted _persons_, any more than a sleeper who should -never wake, yet always be engaged with rational and scientific dreams, -would be a person. Without some further endowment, we should only be a -_logical life_ and development. All these characters are imported into -the conception of God, when he is represented as conforming to the -type of reason. The activity of intellect being wholly internal, the -phenomena of the Universe could not be referred to Him as a thinking -being, were they not gathered up into the interior of his nature, and -conceived, not as objective effects of his power, but as purely -subjective successions within the theatre of his infinitude. Intellect -again having no option, the God of this theory is without freedom, and -is represented as the eternal necessity of reason. And lastly, in -fidelity to the same analogy, He is not a divine _Person_, but rather -a _Thinking Thing_, or the thinking function of the universe; we may -say, _universal science in a state of self-consciousness_. The -necessity under which Pantheism lies, of fetching all that is to be -referred to God into the _interior_ of his being, and dealing with it -as not less a necessary manifestation of his mental essence than are -our ideas of the mind that has them, explains the unwillingness of -this system to allow any motives to God, any field of objective -operation, any special relation to individuals, any revealing -interposition, any _supernatural_ agency. - -Is it however true, that human belief can only choose between these -two extremes, and must oscillate eternally between the Atheistic -homage to Force, and the Pantheistic to Thought? Far from it; and it -is curiously indicative of the state of the philosophic atmosphere in -Germany, that one of her most discerning and wide-seeing authors -should find no third possibility within the sphere of vision. In any -latitude except one in which moral science has altogether melted away -in the universal solvent of metaphysics, it would occur as one of the -most obvious suggestions, that the intellect is not the only element -of human nature which may be taken as type of the Divine, and as -furnishing a possible solution to the problem of origination. Quitting -the two poles of extreme philosophy, confessedly incompetent in their -separation, we submit that WILL presents the middle point which takes -up into itself Thought on the one hand and Force on the other; and -which yet, so far from appearing to us as a _compound_ arising out of -them as an effect, is more easily conceived than either as the -originating prefix of all phenomena. It has none of the -disqualifications which we have remarked as flowing from the others -into their respective systems of doctrine. It carries with it, in its -very idea, the co-presence of Thought, as the necessary element within -whose sphere it has to manifest itself. Its phenomena cannot exist -_alone_; it acts on preconceptions, which stand related to it, -however, not as its source, but as its conditions, and are its -co-ordinates in the effect rather than its generating antecedents. If -therefore all things are issued by Will, there is Mind at the -fountain-head, and the absurdity is avoided of deriving intelligence -from unintelligence. While it thus escapes the difficulty of passing -from mere Force to Thought, it is equally clear of the opposite -difficulty of making mere Thought supply any Force. The activity of -Will is not, like that of Intellect, a subjective transit of -regimented ideas, but an _objective_ power _going out_ for the -production of effects; nay, it is a _free_ power, exercising -_preference_ among data furnished by internal or external conditions -present in its field; and it thus constitutes proper _Causality_, -which always implies control over an alternative. We need hardly add, -that all the requisites are thus complete for the true idea of a -_Person_; and an Infinite Being contemplated under this type is -neither a fateful nor a logical principle of necessity, but a living -God, out of whose purposed legislation has sprung whatever necessity -there is, except the self-existent beauty of his holiness. Thus, -between the Force of the physical Atheist, and the Thought of the -metaphysical Pantheist, we fix upon the fulcrum of Will as the true -balance-point of a moral Theism. - -It would be impossible, perhaps, to find anywhere a finer instance of -perspicuity in condensation, than is given in the following reference to - - -LESSING'S THEOLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS. - -Lessing refused to surrender Christianity, on proof of error in its -first teachers, uncertainty in its reported miracles, contradictions -in its early literature, misapplication of Messianic prophecies. All -these he regards as but the external accidents, the transitory media, -of the religion, constituting, it may be, its support in one age and -its weakness in another. They do not belong to its inner essence, in -which alone the real evidence of spiritual truth is found; and he who -detects anything amiss with them may even render a service by driving -men from sham-proofs, that really persuade no one, to true ones that -lie at the heart of things. Religious doctrine cannot be deduced from -mere historical facts without a [Greek: metabasis eis allo genos] -vitiating the whole process. _Facts_ indeed _may_ become the proper -ground of moral and spiritual faith; but then they must be facts which -come over again and again, and betray an element that is permanent and -eternal; which form part of the experience and consciousness of -humanity; and ally themselves with the Divine by not losing their -_presence_ in the world. But _unrepeated facts_, which limit -themselves to a moment, which are the incidents of a single -personality, and are left behind quite insulated in the past, -show--were it only by your not expecting them again--that they are -detached from the persistent and essential life of the universe and -humanity. They are but once and away; and least of all, therefore, can -testify of the untransitory and ever-living. The real can teach us -only so far as it has an ideal kernel, redeeming it from the -character of a solitary phenomenon. Among the various expositions and -applications of this favorite theme of Lessing's, we select the -following sentences from his Axiomata. - -1. "The Bible evidently contains more than belongs to Religion." - -2. "That in this '_more_' the Bible is still infallible, is mere -hypothesis." - -3. "The letter is not the spirit, and the Bible is not the Religion." - -4. "The objections therefore against the letter and against the Bible, -are not on that account objections against the spirit and against the -Religion." - -5. "Moreover there was a religion ere there was a Bible." - -6. "Christianity was in being before Evangelists and Apostles had -written. Some time elapsed before the first of them wrote, and a very -considerable time before the whole canon was constituted." - -7. "However much, therefore, may depend on these writings, it is -impossible that the whole truth of the Christian religion can rest -upon them." - -8. "If there was a period during which, diffused as the Christian -religion already was, and many as were the souls filled already with -its power, still not a letter had yet been written of the records -which have come down to us; then it must be also possible for all the -writings of Evangelists and Apostles to perish, yet the religion -taught by them still to subsist." - -9. "The religion is not true because Evangelists and Apostles taught -it; but they taught it because it is true." - -10. "Its interior truth must furnish the interpretation of the -writings it has handed down; and no writings handed down can give it -interior truth, if it has none." - -In his controversy with Goeze, he illustrates this distinction between -the essence and the historical form of Christianity, by a parable to -the following effect. A wise king of a great realm built a palace of -immense size and very peculiar architecture. About this structure, -there came from the very first a foolish strife to be carried on, -especially among reputed connoisseurs, people, that is, who had least -looked into the interior. This strife was not about the palace itself, -but about various old ground-plans of it, and drawings of the same, -very difficult to make out. Once, when the watchmen cried out "Fire," -these connoisseurs, instead of running to help, snatched up their -plans, and, instead of putting out the fire on the spot, kept standing -with their plans in hand, making a hubbub all the while, and -squabbling about whether this was the spot on fire, and that the place -to put it out. Happily, the safety of the palace did not depend on -these busy wranglers, for it was not on fire at all; the watchmen had -been frightened by the Northern lights, and mistaken them for fire. It -is impossible to convey by a clearer image Lessing's feeling, that a -Christianity once incorporated in the very substance of history and -civilization, seated deep in human sentiment and thought, and -developed into literature, law, and life, subsists independently of -critical questions, and is with us, not as the contingent vapor that a -wind may rise to blow away, but as the cloud that has dropped its rain -and mingled with the roots of things. - -In immediate contrast with the foregoing application of a critical -method to the historic documents of Christianity, it is beautiful to -see the same genius turned with eager joy to a practical -recommendation of the experimental life of Christianity. - - -THE REDEEMING LAW OF SYMPATHY. - -It is quite true, that self-cure is of all things the most arduous; -but that which is impossible _to the man within us_, may be altogether -possible _to the God_. In truth, the denial of such changes, under the -affectation of great knowledge of man, shows an incredible ignorance -of men. Why, the history of every great religious revolution, such as -the spread of Methodism, is made up of nothing else; the instances -occurring in such number and variety, as to transform the character of -whole districts and vast populations, and to put all scepticism at -utter defiance. And if some more philosophic authority is needed for -the fact, we may be content with the sanction of Lord Bacon, who -observed that a man reforms his habits either altogether or not at -all. Deterioration of mind is indeed always gradual; recovery usually -sudden; for God, by a mystery of mercy, has established this -distinction in our secret nature,--that, while we cannot, by one dark -plunge, sympathize with guilt far beneath us, but gaze at it with -recoil till intermediate shades have rendered the degradation -tolerable, we are yet capable of sympathizing with moral excellence -and beauty infinitely above us; so that, while the debased may shudder -and sicken at even the true picture of themselves, they can feel the -silent majesty of self-denying and disinterested duty. With a demon -can no man feel complacency, though the demon be himself; but God can -all spirits reverence, though his holiness be an infinite deep. And -thus the soul, privately uneasy at its insincere state, is prepared, -when vividly presented with some sublime object veiled before, to be -pierced, as by a flash from heaven, with an instant veneration, -sometimes intense enough to fuse the fetters of habit, and drop them -to the earth whence they were forged. The mind is ready, like a liquid -on the eve of crystallization, to yield up its state on the touch of -the first sharp point, and dart, over its surface and in its depths, -into brilliant and beautiful forms, and from being turbid and weak as -water, to become clear as crystal, and solid as the rock. - -One of the most elaborate and valuable productions from Mr. -Martineau's pen, an article closely allied in all respects to the -ensuing Studies of Christianity, is the one of some portions of which -we herewith present an epitome. - - -THE CHRISTIAN VIEW OF MORAL EVIL. - -The Divine sentiments towards right and wrong every man naturally -believes to be a reflection of whatever is most pure and solemn in his -own. We cannot be sincerely persuaded, that God looks with aversion on -dispositions which we revere as good and noble; or that he regards with -lax indifference the selfish and criminal passions which awaken our own -disgust. We may well suppose, indeed, his scrutiny more searching, his -estimate more severely true, his rebuking look more awful, than our -self-examination and remorse can fitly represent; but we cannot doubt -that our moral emotions, as far as they go, are in sympathy with his; -that we know, by our own consciousness, the general direction of his -approval and displeasure; and that, in proportion as our perceptions of -duty are rendered clear, our judgment more nearly approaches the -precision of the Omniscient award. Our own conscience is the window of -heaven through which we gaze on God; and, as its colors perpetually -change, his aspect changes too;--if they are bright and fair, he dwells -as in the warm light of a rejoicing love; if they are dark and turbid, -he hides himself in robes of cloud and storm. When you have lost your -self-respect, you have never thought yourself an object of Divine -complacency. In moments fresh from sin, flushed with the shame of an -insulted mind, when you have broken another resolve, or turned your back -upon a noble toil, or succumbed to a mean passion, or lapsed into the -sickness of self-indulgence, could you ever turn a clear and open face -to God, nor think it terrible to meet his eye? Could you imagine -yourself in congeniality with him, when you gave yourself up to the -voluble sophistry of self-excuse, and the loose hurry of forgetfulness? -Or did you not discern him rather in your own accusing heart, and meet -him in the silent anguish of full confession, and find in the -recognition of your alienation the first hope of return? To all -unperverted minds, the verdict of conscience sounds with a -preternatural voice; it is not the homely talk of their own poor -judgment, but an oracle of the sanctuary. There is something of -anticipation in our remorse, as well as of retrospect; and we feel that -it is not the mere survey of a gloomy past with the slow lamp of our -understanding, but a momentary piercing of the future with the vivid -lightning of the skies. Our moral nature, left to itself, intuitively -believes that guilt is an estrangement from God,--an unqualified -opposition to his will,--a literal service of the enemy; that he abhors -it, and will give it no rest till it is driven from his presence, that -is, into annihilation; that no part of our mind belongs to him but the -pure, and just, and disinterested affections which he fosters, the -faithful will which he strengthens, the virtue, often damped, whose -smoking flax he will not quench, and the good resolves, ever frail, -whose bruised reed he will not break; and that he has no relation but of -displeasure, no contact but of resistance, with our selfishness and sin. -In the simple faith of the conscience it is no figure of speech to say, -that God "is angry with the wicked every day," and is "of purer eyes -than to behold iniquity." So long as the natural religion of the heart -is undisturbed, to sin is, in the plainest and most positive sense, to -set up against Heaven, and frustrate its will. - -Soon, however, the understanding disturbs the tranquillity of this -belief, and constructs a rival creed. The primitive conception of God -is acquired, I believe, without reasoning, and emerges from the -affections; it is a transcript of our own emotions,--an investiture of -them with external personality and infinite magnitude. But a secondary -idea of Deity arises in the intellect, from its reasonings about -causation. Curiosity is felt respecting the origin of things; and the -order, beauty, and mechanism of external nature are too conspicuous -not to force upon the observation the conviction of a great Architect -of the universe, from whose designing reason its forces and its laws -mysteriously sprung. Hence the _intellectual_ conception of _God the -Creator_, which comes into inevitable collision with the _moral_ -notion of _God the holy watch of virtue_. For if the system of -creation is the production of his Omniscience; if he has constituted -human nature as it is, and placed it in the scene whereon it acts; if -the arrangements by which happiness is allotted, and character is -formed, are the contrivance of his thought and the work of his -hand,--then the sufferings and the guilt of every being were objects -of his original contemplation, and the productions of his own design. -The deed of crime must, in this case, be as much an integral part of -his Providence, as the efforts and sacrifices of virtue; and the -monsters of licentiousness and tyranny, whose images deform the -scenery of history, are no less truly his appointed instruments, than -the martyr and the sage. And though we remain convinced that he does -not make choice of evil in his government for its own sake, but only -for ultimate ends worthy of his perfections, still we can no longer -see how he can truly hate that which he employs for the production of -good. That which is his chosen instrument cannot be sincerely regarded -as his everlasting enemy; and only figuratively can he be said to -repudiate a power which he continually wields. There must be _some -sense_ in which it appears, in the eye of Omniscience, to be eligible; -some point of view at which its horrors vanish; and where the moral -distinctions, which we feel ourselves impelled to venerate, disappear -from the regards of God. - -Here, then, is a fearful contradiction between the religion of -conscience and the religion of the understanding; the one pronouncing -evil to be the antagonist, the other to be the agent, of the Divine -will. In every age has this difficulty laid a heavy weight upon the -human heart; in every age has it pointed the sarcasm of the blasphemer, -mingled an occasional sadness with the hopes of benevolence, and tinged -the devotion of the thoughtful with a somewhat melancholy trust. The -whole history of speculative religion is one prolonged effort of the -human mind to destroy this contrariety; system after system has been -born in the struggle to cast the oppression off,--with what result, it -will be my object at present to explain. The question which we have to -consider is this, "How should a Christian think of the origin and -existence of evil?" I propose to advert, first, to the speculative; -secondly, to the scriptural; thirdly, to the moral relations of the -subject; to inquire what relief we can obtain from philosophical -schemes, from biblical doctrine, and from practical Christianity. - - * * * * * - -Let us then, for final decision, consult the practical spirit of -Christianity, and ascertain to what view of the origin of sin it -awards the preference. Is it well for the consciences and characters -of men, to consider God--either directly or through his dependant, -Satan, either by his general laws or by vitiating the constitution of -our first parents--as the primary source of moral evil? _or_, on the -contrary, to regard it as in no sense whatever willed by the Supreme -Mind, and absolutely inimical to his Providence? Are we most in -harmony with the characteristic spirit of the Gospel when we call sin -his instrument, or when we call it his enemy? For myself, I can never -sit at the feet of Jesus, and yield up a reverential heart to his -great lessons, without casting myself on the persuasion, that God and -evil are everlasting foes; that never, and for no end, did he create -it; that his will is utterly against it, nor ever touches it, but with -annihilating force. Any other view appears to be injurious to the -characteristic sentiments, and at variance with the distinguishing -genius, of Christian morality. - -(1.) Christianity is distinguished by the profound sentiment of -_individual responsibility_ which pervades it. All the arbitrary forms, -and sacerdotal interpositions, and hereditary rights, through which -other systems seek the Divine favor, are disowned by it. It is a -religion eminently _personal_; establishing the most intimate and -solitary dealings between God and every human soul. It is a religion -eminently _natural_; eradicating no indigenous affection of our mind, -distorting no primitive moral sentiment; but simply consecrating the -obligations proper to our nature, and taking up with a divine voice the -whispers, scarce articulate before, of the conscience within us. In this -deep harmony with our inmost consciousness of duty resides the true -power of our religion. It subdues and governs our hearts, as a wise -conqueror rules the empire he has won; not by imposing a system of -strange laws, but by arming with higher authority, and administering -with more resolute precision, the laws already recognized and revered. - -To trifle in any way with this plain and solemn principle, to invent -forms of speech tending to conceal it, to apply to moral good and ill -language which assimilates them to physical objects and exchangeable -property, implies frivolous and irreverent ideas of sin and -excellence. The whole weight of this charge evidently falls on the -scheme which speaks of human guilt as an hereditary entail; a scheme -which shocks and confounds our primary notion of right and wrong, and, -by rendering them impersonal qualities, reduces them to empty names. -No construction can be given to the system, which does not pass this -insult on the conscience. In what sense do we share the guilt of our -progenitor? His concession to temptation did not occur within our -mind, or belong in any way to our history. And if, without -participation in the _act_ of wrong, we are to have its _penalties_, -crimes in the planet Saturn may be expected to shower curses on the -earth; for why may not justice go astray in space, as reasonably as in -time? If nothing more be meant, than that from our first parents we -inherit a constitution _liable_ to intellectual error and moral -transgression,--still it is evident that, _until_ this liability takes -actual effect, no sin exists, but only its possibility; and _when_ it -takes effect, there is just so much guilt, and no more, than might be -committed by the individual's will: so that where there is _no_ -volition, as in infancy, cruelty only could inflict punishment; and -where there is _pure_ volition, as in many a good passage of the -foulest life, equity itself could not withhold approval. - -(2.) I submit as a second distinguishing feature of practical -Christianity, that it makes no great, certainly no exclusive, appeal -to the _prudential feelings_, as instruments of duty; treats them as -morally incapable of so sacred a work; and relies, chiefly and -characteristically, on affections of the heart, which no motives of -reward and punishment can have the smallest tendency to excite. - -The Gospel, indeed, like all things divine, is unsystematic and -unbound by technical distinctions, and makes no metaphysical -separation between the will and the affections. It is too profoundly -adapted to our nature, not to address itself copiously to both. The -doctrine of retribution, being a solemn truth, appears with all its -native force in the teachings of Christ, and arms many of his appeals -with a persuasion just and terrible. But never was there a religion -(containing these motives at all) so frugal in the use of them; so -able, on fit occasions, to dispense with them; so rich in those -inimitable touches of moral beauty, and tones that penetrate the -conscience, and generous trust in the better sympathies, which -distinguish a morality of the affections. In Christ himself, where is -there a trace of the obedience of pious self-interest, computing its -everlasting gains, and making out a case for compensation, by -submitting to infinite wisdom? In his character, which is the -impersonation of his religion, we surely have a perfect image of -spontaneous goodness, unhaunted by the idea of personal enjoyment, -and, like that of God, unbidden but by the intuitions of conscience -and the impulses of love. And what teacher less divine ever made such -high and bold demands on our disinterestedness? To lend out our virtue -upon interest, to "love them only who love us," he pronounced to be -the sinners' morality; nor was the feeling of duty ever reached, but -by those who could "do good, hoping for _nothing_ again," except that -greatest of rewards to a true and faithful heart, to be "the children -of the Highest," who "is kind unto the unthankful and the evil." In -the view of Jesus, all dealings between God and men were not of -bargain, but of affection. We must surrender ourselves to him without -terms; must be ashamed to doubt him who feeds the birds of the air, -and, like the lily of the field, look up to him with a bright and -loving eye; and he, for our much love, will pity and forgive us. In -his own ministry, how much less did our Lord rely for disciples on the -cogency of mere proof, and the inducements of hope and fear, than on -the power of moral sympathy, by which every one that was of God -naturally loved him and heard his words; by which the good shepherd -knew his sheep, and they listened to his voice, and followed him; and -without which no man could come unto him, for no spirit of the Father -drew him. No condition of discipleship did Christ impose, save that of -"faith in him"; absolute trust in the spirit of his mind; a desire of -self-abandonment to a love and fidelity like his, without tampering -with expediency, or hesitancy in peril, or shrinking from death. - -There is, then, a wide variance between the genius of Christianity, -and that philosophy which teaches that all men must be bought over to -the side of goodness and of God, by a price suited to their particular -form of selfishness and appetite for pleasure. Our religion is -remarkable for the large confidence it reposes on the disinterested -affections, and the vast proportion of the work of life it consigns to -them. And in thus seeking to subordinate and tranquillize the -prudential feelings, Christ manifested how well he knew what was in -man. He recognized the truth, which all experience declares, that in -these emotions is nothing great, nothing lovable, nothing powerful; -that their energy is perpetually found incapable of withstanding the -impetuosity of passion; and that all transcendent virtues, all that -brings us to tremble or to kneel, all the enterprises and conflicts -which dignify history, and have stamped any new feature on human life, -have had their origin in the disinterested region of the mind,--in -affections unconsciously entranced by some object sanctifying and -divine. He knew, for it was his special mission to make all men feel, -that it is the office of true religion to cleanse the sanctuary of the -secret affections, and effect a regeneration of the heart. And this is -a task which no direct _nisus_ of the will can possibly accomplish, -and to which, therefore, all offers of reward and punishment, -operating only on the will, are quite inapplicable. The single -function of volition is _to act_; over the executive part of our -nature it is supreme, over the emotional it is powerless; and all the -wrestlings of desire for self-cure and self-elevation, are like the -struggles of a child to lift himself. He who is anxious to be a -philanthropist, is admiring benevolence, instead of loving men; and -whoever is laboring to warm his devotions, yearns after piety, not -after God. The mind can by no spasmodic bound seize on a new height of -emotion, or change the light in which objects appear before its view. -Persuade the judgment, bribe the self-interests, terrify the -expectations, as you will, you can neither dislodge a favorite, nor -enthrone a stranger, in the heart. Show me a child that flings an -affectionate arm around a parent, and lights up his eyes beneath her -face, and I know that there have been no lectures there upon filial -love; but that the mother, being lovable, has _of necessity_ been -loved; for to genial minds it is as impossible to withhold a pure -affection, when its object is presented, as for the flower to sulk -within the mould, and clasp itself tight within the bud, when the -gentle force of spring invites its petals to curl out into the warm -light. As you reverence all good affections of our nature, and desire -to awaken them, never call them duties, though they be so; for so -doing, you address yourself to the will; and by hard trying no -attachment ever entered the heart. Never preach on their great -desirableness and propriety; for so doing, you ask audience of the -judgment; and by way of the understanding no glow of noble passion -ever came. Never, above all, reckon up their balance of good and ill; -for so doing, you exhort self-interest; and by that soiled way no true -love will consent to pass. Nay, never talk of them, nor even gaze -curiously at them; for if they be of any worth and delicacy, they will -be instantly looked out of countenance and fly. Nothing worthy of -human veneration will condescend to be embraced, but for its own sake: -grasp it for its excellent results,--make but the faintest offer to -use it as a tool, and it slips away at the very conception of such -insult. The functions of a healthy body go on, not by knowledge of -physiology, but by the instinctive vigor of nature; and you will no -more brace the spiritual faculties to noble energy and true life by -study of the uses of every feeling, than you can train an athlete for -the race by lectures on every muscle of every limb. The mind is not -voluntarily active in the acquisition of any great idea, any new -inspiration of faith; but passive, fixed on the object which has -dawned upon it, and filled it with fresh light. - -If this be true, and if it be the object of practical Christianity, -not only to direct our hands aright, but to inspire our hearts, then -can its ends never be achieved by the mere force of reward and -punishment; then no system can prove its sufficiency by showing that -it retains the doctrine of retribution, and must even be held -convicted of moral incompetency, if it trusts the conscience mainly to -the prudential feelings, without due provision for enlisting the -co-operation of many a disinterested affection. - -We cannot refrain from affording those into whose hands this volume -will go, the pleasure and the lofty encouragement which they must -derive from the perusal of an extract on - - -THE TRANSMISSION OF SUPERIOR THOUGHTS. - -It is a law of Providence in communities, that ideas shall be -propagated downwards through the several gradations of minds. They -have their origin in the suggestions of genius, and the meditations of -philosophy; they are assimilated by those who can admire what is great -and true, but cannot originate; and thence they are slowly infused -into the popular mind. The rapidity of the process may vary in -different times, with the facilities for the transmission of thought, -but its order is constant. Temporary causes may shield the inferior -ranks of intelligence from the influence of the superior; fanaticism -may interpose for a while with success; a want of the true spirit of -sympathy between the instructors and the instructed may check by a -moral repulsion the natural radiation of intellect;--but, in the end, -Providence will re-assert its rule; and the conceptions born in the -quiet heights of contemplation will precipitate themselves on the busy -multitudes below. This principle interprets history and presages -futurity. It shows us in the popular feeling and traditions of one -age, a reflection from the philosophy of a preceding; and from the -prevailing style of sentiment and speculation among the cultivated -classes now, it enables us to foresee the spirit of a coming age. Nor -only to foresee it, but to exercise over it a power, in the use of -which there is a grave responsibility. If we are far-sighted in our -views of improvement; if we are ambitious less of immediate and -superficial effects than of the final and deep-seated agency of -generous and holy principles; if our love of opinions is a genuine -expression of the disinterested love of truth;--we shall remember who -are the teachers of futurity; we shall appeal to those, within whose -closets God is already computing the destinies of remote -generations,--men at once erudite and free, men who have the materials -of knowledge with which to determine the great problems of morals and -religion, and the genius to think and imagine and feel, without let or -hinderance of hope or fear. - -We linger over the pages from which the preceding selections have been -made, unwilling to end our grateful task of love. But one quotation -more must be the last. With it we commend these Studies of -Christianity, these timely thoughts for religious thinkers, to the -candid and affectionate inquirers within all sects, confident that, so -far as the work obtains a fit reception, it will exert that purifying, -liberalizing, and sanctifying power which is the genuine influence of -Christ. - - -CHRISTIANITY AND SECTARIAN THEOLOGY. - -The sectarian state of theology in this country cannot but be regarded -as eminently unnatural. Its cold and hard ministrations are entirely -alien to the wants of the popular mind, which, except under the -discipline of artificial influences, is always most awake to generous -impressions. Its malignant exclusiveness is a perversion of the natural -veneration of the human heart, which, except where it is interfered with -by narrow and selfish systems, pours itself out, not in hatred towards -anything that lives, but in love to the invisible objects of trust and -hope. Its disputatious trifling is an insult to the sanctity of -conscience, which, except where it is betrayed into oblivion of its -delicate and holy office, supplicates of religion, not a new ferocity of -dogmatism, but an enlargement and refinement of its sense of right. It -is the temper of sectarianism to seize on every deformity of every -creed, and exhibit this caricature to the world's gaze and aversion. It -is the spirit of the soul's natural piety to alight on whatever is -beautiful and touching in every faith, and take there its secret draught -of pure and fresh emotion. It is the passages of poetry and pathos in a -system, which alone can lay a strong hold on the general mind and give -them permanence; and even the wild fictions which have endeared Romanism -to the hearts of so many centuries, possess their elements of tenderness -and magnificence. The fundamental principle of one who would administer -religion to the minds of his fellow-men should be, that all that has -ever been extensively venerated must possess ingredients that are -venerable. If, in the spirit of sectarianism, he sees nothing in it but -absurdity, it only proves that he does not see it all; it must have an -aspect, which he has not yet caught, that awes the imagination, or -touches the affections, or moves the conscience; and those who receive -it neither will nor should abandon it, till something is substituted, -not only more consonant with the reason, but more awakening to these -higher faculties of soul. Hence, a rigid accuracy and logical -penetration of mind, the power of detecting and exposing error, are not -the only qualities needed by the religious reformer; and in a deep and -reverential sympathy with human feelings, a quick perception of the -great and beautiful, a promptitude to cast himself into the minds of -others, and gaze through their eyes at the objects which they love, he -will find the instrument of the sublimest intellectual power. The -precise logician may sit eternally in the centre of his own circle of -correct ideas, and preach demonstrably the folly of the world's -superstitions; yet he will never affect the thoughts of any but -marble-minded beings like himself. He disregards the fine tissue of -emotions that clings round the objects which he so harshly handles; and -has yet to learn the art of preserving its fabric unimpaired, while he -enfolds within it something more worthy for it to foster and adore. - -As, then, it is to the moral and imaginative powers of the human mind -that religion chiefly attaches itself, as it is by these that the want -of it is most strongly felt, so is it to these that its ministrations -should be, for the most part, addressed. While theologians are -discussing the evidences of creeds, let teachers be conducting them to -their applications. Let their respective resources of feeling and -conception be unfolded before the soul of mankind; let it be tried -what mental energy they can inspire, what purity of moral perception -infuse, what dignity of principle erect, what toils of philanthropy -sustain. Thus would arise a new criterion of judgment between -differing systems; for that system must possess most truth which -creates the most intelligence and virtue. Thus would the deeper -devotional wants of society be no longer mocked by the privilege of -choice among a few captious, verbal, and precise forms of belief. -Thus, too, would the alienation which repels sect from sect give place -to an incipient and growing sympathy; for when high intellect and -excellence approach and stand in meek homage beneath the cross, how -soon are the jarring voices of disputants hushed in the stillness of -reverence! Who does not feel the refreshment, when some stream of -pure poetry, like Heber's, winds into the desert of theology! when -some flash of genius, like that of Chalmers, darts through its dull -atmosphere! some strains of eloquence, like those of Channing, float -from a distance on its heavy silence! - -Such, then, are the objects which should be contemplated by those who, -in the present times, aim at the reformation of religious -sentiment;--first, the elevation of theology as an intellectual -pursuit; secondly, the better application of religion as a moral -influence. Both these objects are directly or indirectly promoted by -the Association whose cause I am privileged to advocate. It aids the -first, by the distribution of many a work, the production of such -minds as must redeem theology from contempt. It advances the second, -by establishing union and sympathy among those whose first principles -are in direct contradiction to all that is sectarian, and who desire -only to emancipate the understanding from all that enfeebles, and the -heart from all that narrows it. The triumph of its doctrines would be, -not the ascendency of one sect, but the harmony of all. Let but the -diversities which separate Christians retire, and the truths which -they all profess to love advance to prominence, and, whatever may -become of party names, our aims are fulfilled, and our satisfaction is -complete. When faith in the paternity of God shall have kindled an -affectionate and lofty devotion; when the vision of immortality, -imparted by Christ's resurrection, shall have created that spirit of -duty which was the holiest inspiration of his life; when the sincere -recognition of human brotherhood shall have supplanted all exclusive -institutions, and banded society together under the vow of mutual aid -and the hope of everlasting progress, our work will be done, our -reward before us, and our little community of reformers lost in the -wide fraternity of enlightened and benevolent men. - -The day is yet distant, and can be won only by the toil of earnest and -faithful minds. In the mean while, it is no light solace to see that -the tendencies of Providence are towards its accelerated approach. And -however dispiriting may sometimes be the variety and conflicts of -human sentiment,--however remote the dissonance of controversy from -that harmony of will which would seem essential to perfected society, -it is through this very process that the great ends of improvement are -to be attained. Hereafter it will be seen, much more clearly than we -can see it now, that opinion generates knowledge. Like the ethereal -waves, whose inconceivable rapidity and number are said to impart the -sensation of vision, the undulations of opinion are speeding on to -produce the perception of truth. They are the infinitely complex and -delicate movements of that universal Human Mind, whose quiescence is -darkness,--whose agitation, light. - -To the fit and numerous readers whom we trust they will find, these -papers are now submitted, in the earnest hope that the author will at -no distant day follow them with some more systematic and rounded -survey of the same great subject,--the components and developments of -Christianity. - - W. R. A. - - - - -STUDIES OF CHRISTIANITY. - - - - -DISTINCTIVE TYPES OF CHRISTIANITY. - - -If unity be the character of truth, no generation was ever so far gone -in errors as our own: nor is the weariness surprising, with which -statesmen and philosophers turn away from the Babel of Divinity, and, in -despair of scaling the heavens, apply themselves to found and adorn the -politics of this world. But the confusion of tongues is too positive and -obtrusive a fact to be escaped by mere retreat: it bids defiance to -polite evasion: it pursues life into every public place and private -haunt; invades the home, the school, the college, the court, the -legislature; and, besides the problems which it fails to solve, -constitutes in itself a new one, not undeserving the closest study and -reflection. To the believers in doctrinal finality, who imagine the -whole sacred economy to be settled by a documentary revelation, the -reopening of every question, down to the very basis of religious faith, -must be an appalling phenomenon, charging either failure on the presumed -designs of God or a traitorous perversity on even the most gifted and -upright of men. And not a whit better is the conclusion of a conceited -illuminism, which, either boldly recalling the human mind to the -sciences of induction, despises all faith as false alike; or, conscious -at least of its own incompetency, pleases itself with a more indulgent -scepticism, and accepts them all as true. If no better revenge can be -taken on pious dogmatism than by falling into the cant of an eclectic -neutrality or an impious despair, there is little encouragement for any -high-minded man to take part against the bigotries of the present on -behalf of sickly negations in the future. The world is better left in -the hands of the poorest interpreter of Paul, and most degenerate heirs -of Augustine and Pascal, than transferred to the dialectic of Proclus or -the materialism of the living "_Fondateur de la Religion de -l'Humanite_."[1] There are those, however, who deny that we are left to -any such alternative; who cannot conceive that human aspirations after -divine reality shall for ever pine and sigh in vain; who contend that -objective truth in reference to morals and religion is attainable, and -has been largely attained;--and who, accordingly, despairing of neither -philosophy nor Christianity, require only the free intercommunion of the -two to appreciate the contradictions of the present without foregoing -the hope of greater unity in the future. The controversies of the hour -are but ill understood by one who remains enclosed within them, and -judges them only on their own assumptions. Like a village brawl, which, -with only the sound of vulgar noise, may be the ripe fruit of oppression -and the germ of revolution, they have an assigned place in the unfolding -of modern civilization; and not till their place is computed in the life -of the human race, and the law which brings them up in our age is -observed, can their real significance be apprehended, and all anger at -their clamorous littleness be lost in hope of their ulterior issues. -Regarded from this higher point, the surface of religious belief in -England, at first sight a mere troubled fermentation of struggling -elements, betrays some organic principle of order, and many salient -points of promise. - -We hazard no theory of religion in saying that there is a natural -correspondence between the genius of a people and the form of their -belief. Each mood of mind brings its own wants and aspirations, colors -its own ideal, and interprets best that part of life and the universe -with which it is in sympathy. John Knox would have been misplaced in -Athens, and Tanler could not have lived on the moralism of Kant. No -doubt the ultimate seat of human faith lies deep down below the special -propensities of individuals or tribes,--in a consciousness and faculty -common to the race. But ere it comes to the surface, and disengages -itself in a concrete shape, its type and color will be affected by the -strata of thought and feeling through which it emerges into the light. -Without pretending to an exhaustive classification, we find four chief -temperaments of mind expressed in the theologies and scepticisms of -civilized Europe: the quest of physical _order_, the sense of _right_, -the instinct of _beauty_, and the consciousness of tempestuous -_impulses_ carrying the will off its feet. Variously blended in the -characters of average persons, these tendencies are liable to separate -their intensities, and severally dominate almost alone in minds of great -force and periods of special action or reaction. Were each left to -itself to form its own unaided creed, the doctrine of mere Science would -be _atheistic_; of Conscience, _theistic_; of Art, _pantheistic_; of -Passion, _sacrificial_. The evidence of this distribution of tendencies -is equally conclusive, whether we look to its rational ground or to its -historical exemplification; and a few words on each head will suffice to -clear and justify it. - -Notwithstanding some occasional attempts to exhibit natural theology as -a necessary extension of natural philosophy, it is plain that the -maxims, which are ultimate for physical Science, stop short of contact -with Religion; that the final appeal of the two is carried to different -faculties; and that the scope and sphere of the one may be complete -without borrowing any conception from the other. The assumption, for -instance, that "we can know nothing but _phenomena_," directly excludes -all permanent and eternal Being as the possible object of rational -thought. And as "phenomena" are apprehensible only by the _observing_ -faculties, whatever refuses to put in an appearance in _their_ court is -nonsuited as an unreality. And again, physical knowledge has -accomplished its aim, as soon as it can predict all the successions that -lie within its field of time and space; and nowhere in this system of -series, nor in the calculated forces which yield it to the view, does -any divine _Person_ look in upon the mind. Whoever, by the restraints of -a hypothetical necessity, detains his intellect _within_ nature, debars -himself _ipso facto_ from any faith that _transcends_ nature, and -recognizes no reserve of _super_natural possibilities, hidden in a Mind -of which the actual universe is but the finite expression. We do not, of -course, intend to affirm that scientific culture cannot coexist with -religious belief;--so preposterous an assertion would be confuted by a -manifold experience;--but only that, where the canons of inductive -knowledge are invested with unconditional universality, and are -logically carried out as valid for all thought, they shut the door upon -the sources of faith. It is the old battle, of which history supplies -such abundant illustration; which brought Parmenides and Protagoras upon -the lists at opposite ends on the field of philosophy; which Bacon -profoundly avoided by assigning separate empires, without common -boundary, to science and religion; but which his modern disciples have -rashly renewed, by invading the realm left sacred by him. Uneasy -relations have always subsisted in Christendom between the investigators -of nature and the trustees of the faith: the men of science rarely -quitting, unless for signs of unequivocal aversion, the attitude of -polite indifference to the Church; and in their turn watched with the -jealous eye of sacerdotal vigilance. It is no untrue instinct that has -hitherto maintained them in this posture of mutual suspicion: to -exchange which for a hearty and intelligent reverence for each other is -an achievement reserved for a higher philosophy than we yet possess. - -As Science pays homage to the _force of nature_, so Conscience -enthrones the _law of right_. The conscious subject of moral -obligation feels himself under a rule neither self-imposed and -fictitious, nor foreign and coercive;--neither a home invention nor an -outward necessity;--a rule invisible, authoritative, awful; carrying -with it an _alternative_ irreducible to the linear dynamics of the -physical world; incapable of being felt but by a free mind, or of -being given but by another. He is aware that his will follows a call -of duty not at all as his body adapts itself to the force of -gravitation; and as within him the conscientious obedience wholly -differs from the corporeal, so in the universe of realities beyond him -does the moral legislation differ from the natural, and express the -will of a person, not a mere constitution of things. No ethical -conceptions are possible at all,--except as floating shreds of -unattached thought,--without a religious background; and the sense of -responsibility, the agony of shame, the inner reverence for justice, -first find their meaning and vindication in a supreme holiness that -rules the world. Nor can any one be penetrated with the distinction -between right and wrong, without recognizing it as valid for all free -beings, and incapable of local or arbitrary change. His feeling -insists on its permanent recognition and omnipresent sway; and this -unity in the Moral Law carries him to the unity of the Divine -Legislator. Theism is thus the indispensable postulate of -conscience,--its objective counterpart and justification, without -which its inspirations would be illusions, and its veracities -themselves a lie. To adduce historical proofs of this conjunction is -at once difficult and superfluous in a world whose theism is almost -all of one stock. But it will not be forgotten that Socrates, in whom -Greek religion culminated, avowedly based his reform on the -substitution of moral for physical studies. It is undeniable too that, -in spite of their fatalism, the monotheistic Mohammedans have been -surpassed by few nations in their sense of truth and fidelity; and -that wherever the same type of belief has been approached by Christian -sects, the heresy has been said to arise from an exaggerated estimate -of the moral law. - -Art, we have said, is _pantheistic_. Its aim, often unconsciously -present, is to read off the _expressiveness_ of things, and find what -it is which they would speak with their silent look. To its -perceptions, form, color, sound, motion, have a soul within them whose -life and activity they represent: and even language, by flinging -itself into the mould of rhythm and music, acquires, beyond its -logical significance, a second meaning for the affections. As if waked -up and tingling beneath the artist's loving gaze, matter lies dull -and dead no more; opens on him a responding eye; communes with him -from its steadfast brow; and becomes instinct with grace or majesty. -Instead of being the drag-weight and opposite of spiritual energies, -it becomes to him their pliant medium, the docile clay for the shapes -of finest thought, the brilliant palette for the spread of inmost -feeling. He melts the barrier away that hides from mere sense and -intellect the interior sentiment--the formative idea--of all visible -things; and his glance of sympathy changes them not less than a burst -of amber sunrise changes a leaden landscape and picks out the freshest -smiles. Thus he finds himself in a _living_ universe, ever striving to -show him a divine beauty that lurks within and presses to the surface; -and he stands before a curtain only half opaque, watching the lights -and shadows thrown on it from behind by the ceaseless play of infinite -thought. Not that the interpretation is by any means self-evident, or -accessible except to the apprehensive instinct of sympathy. For it -seems as though no form of being, no object in creation, could ever -represent completely its own type: something is lost from its -perfection in the realization; and the actual, falling short of the -ideal, can give it only to one for whom a hint suffices. This -conception of the world as an incarnate divineness does not, we are -well aware, amount to pantheism, unless it become all-comprehensive, -so as to take in not simply physical nature, but the human life and -will; and there are numbers who are saved from this extreme, either by -knowing where to draw the lines of philosophical distinction, or by -the natural force of _moral_ conviction restraining the absolutism of -imagination. But so far forth as the tendency operates, it substitutes -for the theistic reverence for a Holy _Will_ the pantheistic -recognition of a Creative _Beauty_, and presents God to the mind less -as the prototype of Conscience than as the apotheosis of Genius. The -spontaneity of poetic action is supposed to illustrate His procedure -better than the preferential decisions of the moral sentiment; and the -genesis of whatever is good and fair is referred not so much to -deliberate plan as to the eternal interfusion and circulation, -through the great whole, of a Divine Essence, which flings off the -universe and its history as a mere natural language. That this is the -religion of art, is proved by the literature of every creative period, -Greek, Italian, or Teutonic; and negatively by the comparative absence -of artistic feeling and production in ages and nations that have most -intensified at once the Unity and the Personality of God. Beauty was -the Bible of Athens; and Plato, its devoutest and most comprehensive -expounder, shows everywhere, in his metaphysics, his morals, and his -myths, the mould into which its faith inevitably falls. - -In _passionate and impulsive_ natures there is a self-contradiction -which makes their religious tendency peculiarly difficult to describe. -They are not less conscious than others of moral distinctions, and own -the sacred authority of the better invitation over the worse. Indeed, -when surprised into a fall, their remorse shares the vehemence of all -their emotions, and from the black shadow in which they sit, the -sanctity of the law which they have violated looks ineffably bright; -and they speak of its holy requirements, and of the infinite purity of -the Divine Legislator, in such fervid tone, that whatever else they -may endanger, the perfection of God's character, you feel assured, and -the obligations of human morality, are secure of reverential -maintenance. Yet the truth is precisely the reverse. At the very -moment that the law of duty is thus loftily extolled, it is on the -point of total subversion; lifted to a height precarious and unreal, -it overbalances on the other side and disappears. For the very same -stormy intensity which makes these men strong to feel the claim of -good, makes them weak to obey it. Their personality wants solidity; -and an atmosphere of tempestuous affections sweeps over it like a -hurricane on water. They can do nothing from out of their own -resolves, and are for ever drawn or driven from the fortress they were -not to surrender. What remains for them, solicited thus by forces -which are an overmatch for their just self-reliance? Is it surprising -that they no sooner confess how they _ought_ to obey, than they -declare that they _cannot_ obey? The thing is a contradiction; but it -all the better for this expresses what _they_ are: with their centre -of gravity in the wrong place, they cannot but hold the truth in -unstable equilibrium. Repose on contradiction is, however, impossible; -and the necessary result of these co-existent feelings of obligation -and incapacity is a _substitute_ for obedience. The resort to -_sacrifice_ which thus arose expressed no more, prior to the Christian -era, than the sentiment, "Take this, O Lord, 't is all I have to -give"; and afforded but a fictitious relief to the laboring spirit. It -acknowledged and attested the incompetency of the will, but made no -use of the excess of the emotions. It was the Pauline doctrine of -faith which first turned this great power to account; and virtually -said, "Are you in slavery because you cannot manage your affections? -turn their trust and enthusiasm on Christ in heaven, and let them -_manage_ you, and you shall be free." The soul that falls in love with -immortal goodness rises above the region of ineffectual strife, and -spontaneously offers what could never be extorted from the will by the -lash of self-mortifying resolve. This is the truth which underlies the -sacrificial doctrine in Christian times,--_the emancipating power of -great trusts and high inspirations_; and its very nature indicates its -birth from impassioned temperaments, and its affinity with their -special wants. The vicarious sacrifice is a mere plea, an ideal point -of attraction, for a profound allegiance of heart; which minds of this -class would hardly yield without an intense appeal to their -_gratitude_; but which, if really awakened by a clear and tranquil -moral reverence, would no less triumph over the gravitation of self. -The one needful condition for the redemption of these natures is the -objective presence and action upon them of a divine person to lift -them clear out of themselves, and render back on the healing breath of -trust the strength that only pants itself away in feverish effort. -Every doctrine of sacrifice necessarily contradicts its own premises; -because for guilt, which is personal and inalienable, it offers a -compensation which is foreign, and meets a moral ill with an unmoral -remedy. True and sound as a mere confession of weakness, it runs off -from that point into mere confusion and morbidness. But add to it the -doctrine of faith, and it acquires its proper complement; balances its -human disclaimer with a divine resource; and instead of sending its -captive through dark labyrinths of vain experiment, opens a direct way -from the chambers of humiliation to the prophet's watch-tower of -prayer and vision. Without this complement, the doctrine created -priesthoods; with it, destroys them. Without it, men are caught up in -their moments of helplessness, and handed over to ritual quackeries; -with it, they are seized in their hour of inspiration, and flung into -the arms of God. The susceptibility for either treatment depends on -the predominance of impulse and passion over breadth of imagination -and strength of will. In short, there are minds whose power is shed, -if we may say so, in _pro_tension, precipitated forwards in narrow -channels with impetuous torrent. There are others whose affluence is -in _ex_tension, and spreads out like a still lake to drink in light -from the open sky, and reflect the look of wide-encircling hills. And -there are others yet again, whose character is _in_tension, and that -move on in full volume, and with steady stream of tendency, rising and -falling little with the seasons, and holding to the limits within -which they are to go. The faith of the first is _sacrificial_; of the -second, _pantheistic_; of the third, _theistic_. - -Of the four cardinal tendencies we have named, the _scientific_ has -never been provided for within the interior of Christianity; whose -organic life and structure are complete without it. It remains, -therefore, sullenly on the outside, without renouncing at present its -atheistic propensions: and the part it has played, however important, -has been that of external check and antagonism, in the assertion of -neglected rights of knowledge, and slighted interests of mankind. This -cannot possibly continue for ever; nor is it at all consistent with -experience to suppose, that either of the opponent influences will -obtain a victory over the other. Their reconcilement, through the -mediation and within the compass of some third and more comprehensive -conception, is a task remaining for the philosophy and charity of the -future. We feel no doubt that it will be accomplished; and will spare us -that revolutionary extermination of theology and metaphysics which is -proclaimed, on behalf of positive science, by the self-appointed -Committee of the "Republique Occidentale." The other three tendencies -early worked their way into the Christian religion, and vindicated a -place within its organism. Indeed, the historical genesis of the -Catholic Church consists of little else, on the inner side of dogma and -ethics, than the successive and successful self-assertion of each of -these principles; and, on the outer side of ecclesiastical polity, than -the construction of a social framework which held them in co-existence -till the sixteenth century. The genius of three distinct peoples -conspired to fill up the measure of the early faith; and each brought -with it a separate constituent. The Hebrew believer contributed his -theistic conscience; the Hellenic, his pantheistic speculation; the -Romanic, his passionate appropriation of redemption by faith. The -elements were, from the first, mixed and struggling together; so that -the phenomena of no period, probably of no place, serve to show them -disengaged from one another and insulated. But the Ebionitish period, -with its rigorous monachism, its historical and human Christ, its -scrupulous asceticism, its sternness against wealth, represents the -_ethical_ principle in its excess. The Logos idea, and indeed the whole -development of the Trinitarian doctrine, exhibits the effort of the -_Greek_ thought to obtain recognition, and qualify the Judaic. And the -_Augustinian_ theology, pleading the wants of fervid natures, on whose -surface the web of moral doctrines alights only to be shrivelled and -disappear, completes the triad of agencies from whose confluence the -faith of Christendom arose. In the Catholic system the three ingredients -unite in one composite result; and hence the tenacity with which that -system keeps possession of the most various types of human character, -and, baffled by the spirit of one age, returns with the reaction of -another. The ethical feeling finds satisfaction in its theory of human -nature; the pantheistic, in its scheme of supernatural grace; the -sacrificial, in its conditions of redemption. Through the realism of -the mediaeval schools, its eucharistic doctrine, which is only the -theological side of that philosophical conception, becomes a direct -transfusion of Hellenic influence into the Church. And its faith in -perpetual inspiration, in the unbroken chain of physical miracle, in the -ceaseless mingling of sacramental mystery with the very substance of -this world, so far softens and diffuses the concentrated personality of -the Divine Essence, as to indulge the free fancy of art. Nor can we deny -the same capacity of beauty to its hierarchy of holy natures,--from the -village saint, through the heavenly angels, to the Son of God,--all -blended in living sympathies that cross and recross the barriers of -worlds. This comprehensive adaptation to the exigencies of mankind is a -reasonable object of admiration. But nothing can be more absurd than the -appeal to it in proof either of preternatural guidance, or of human -artifice, in the constitutive process of the Roman Church. There is -nothing very surprising in the fact, that a system which is the product -of three factors should contain them all. No doubt if these factors are, -as we contend, primary and indestructible features of our unperverted -nature, no religion can be divine and completely true which refuses to -take any of them up; and this _one_ condition of the future faith we may -learn from the Christendom of the past. The condition, however, must be -satisfied otherwise than by the strange congeries of profound truths and -puerile fancies which is dignified by the name of "Catholic doctrine." - -For, be it observed, this system has no intrinsic and necessary unity, -which would hold it together when abandoned to the free action of the -mind, whose requirements it is said to meet. It has something for -conscience, something for art, something for passion, each in its -turn; but it is not a whole that can satisfy all together. Its -contents, gathered by successive experiences, cohere through the -external grasp of a sacerdotal corporation; and if that hand be -paralyzed or relaxed, it becomes evident at once how little they have -grown together. Hence the phenomena of the sixteenth century, whose -revolt was the expression, not of theological dissent, but of -ecclesiastical disgust; and in which doctrine only accidentally fell -to pieces, because the authority that guarded and wielded it became -too rotten to be believed in. The secondary revolution, however, was -incomparably more momentous than the primary. The treasured seeds that -dropped from the shattered casket of the Church had to germinate again -in the fresh soil of the richer European mind; and the great year of -their development is still upon its round. The outward dictation of -the Apostolic See being discarded, it became necessary to find another -clew to divine truth; and the inner wants of the human soul and the -passing age came into play, with no restraint within the ample scope -of Scripture. A reconstitution of Christianity began,--on the basis, -no doubt, of materials already accumulated,--more eclectic, therefore, -and less creative, than in the infancy of the religion; but -proceeding, nevertheless, by the same law, and commencing a similar -cycle. The _order_ of development in this second life of Christendom -has not been the same as in the first; but the stages, though -transposed, do not differ taken one by one. It is only this,--that -whilst in the formation of the faith the dominant influences were -Conscience, Art, and Passion, in its Re-formation they are Passion, -Conscience, Art. At the moment when Luther shattered the fabric of -pretended unity, and compelled the husk to shed its kernels, the -season and the field were unfavorable to two out of the three, and -they lay dormant till more genial times. The _moral_ element had been -discredited by the casuistry of the confessional, the "treasure of the -Church," and the trade in meritorious works; and, decked in these vile -trappings, was flung away in generous disgust. The _aesthetic_ element -had become so paganized in Italy, and was so identified with the -reproduction of the very tastes and vices, the thought and style, nay, -even the mythology itself, which the primitive religion had expelled -as the work of demons, that the new piety shrank from it, and let it -alone. In an age when episcopates were won by an ear for hexameters or -a Ciceronian Latinity, when priests defended materialism in Tusculan -disputations, when popes frequented the comic theatre and Plautus was -acted in the Vatican, when the proceeds of a purgatorial traffic were -spent in destroying ancient basilicas and raising heathenish temples -over the sepulchres of saints, it was inevitable that beauty should -become suspected by sanctity. There remained, yet unspoiled by the -adoption of a corrupt generation, the _impetuous_ devotion and -tremendous theory of Augustine; and this, accordingly, was the -direction in which the whole early Reformation advanced. It was not -the accident that Luther was an Augustinian monk, which determined the -character of his movement. The sickened soul of Europe could breathe -no other air. Emaciated with the mockery of spiritual aliment, -revolting at the chopped straw and apples of Sodom that had been given -for fruit from the tree of life, it sighed for escape from this -choking discipline into some region fresh with the mountain breath of -faith and love, and not quite barren of "angels' food." The burdened -moral sense, so long deluded and abused, reduced to self-conscious -dotage by vain penances and vainer promises, flung away all belief in -itself, asked leave to lay its freedom down, and went into captivity -to Christ. So exclusively did the feeling of the time flow into this -channel, that no doctrine which had an ethical groundwork, or -attempted to soften in the least the implacable hostility of nature -and grace, obtained any success; while every enthusiastic excess of -the anti-catholic ideas spread like wildfire. The irreproachable -innocence and piety of the Salzburg _Gaertner-brueder_ did nothing to -save them from quick martyrdom to their Ebionitish faith; while the -atrocities and ravings of the Anabaptists of Muenster scarcely sufficed -to stop the triumph of their hideous kingdom of the saints. The -movement of the brave Zwingli, earlier and more moderate than either -Luther's or Calvin's, was easily restrained by them within the -narrowest range, whilst the Genevan Reformer, cautious and ungenial, -had but to collect his logical fuel, and kindle the terrible fire of -his dogma, and it spread from the icy chambers of his own nature and -wrapt whole kingdoms in its flames. That men without passion or -pathos themselves, who do their work by force of intellect and will, -should be successful disseminators of a doctrine that can live in no -cool air, only shows how wide was the preparation of mind, and how the -coming of this time fulfilled the long desire of nations. - -The first stage, then, of the new development of Christianity was its -_Puritan_ period. The natural perdition of man, the radical corruption -of his will, the religious indifference of all his states and actions, -and the consequent worthlessness of his morality, except for civil -uses and social police, constitute the fundamental assumptions of the -system. From this basis of despair its doctrine of atonement comes to -the rescue. The obedience of Christ is accepted in place of that which -men cannot render, and his sacrifice instead of the penalty they -deserve. Not, however, for all, but for those alone who may -appropriate the deliverance by an act of faith, and present the merits -of Christ as their offering to God, with full assurance of their -sufficiency. Nothing but a divine and involuntary conversion can -generate this faith, which follows no predisposition from the -antecedent life, but the inscrutable decree of Heaven. Once -transferred from the state of nature into that of grace, the disciple -becomes, through the Holy Spirit, a new creature; is conscious of a -sacred revolution in his tastes and affections; gives evidence of this -by good works, which, now purified in their principle, are no longer -unacceptable to God; and knows that, though he is still liable to the -sins, he is redeemed from the penalties, of a son of Adam. The Church -is the body of the converted, and while the Sacrament of Baptism -initiates the candidate, and provisionally secures him, the Communion -seals his adoption afterwards; the efficacy of both being conditional -on the inner faith of the participant. The intense and unmediated -antithesis of nature and grace, and the gulf, impassable except by -miracle, between their two spheres, may be regarded as the most -characteristic feature of this scheme. Its text-book contains the -Pauline Epistles, and opens most readily at the Romans or Galatians; -and its favorite writers are Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and Edwards. -With vast internal differences in their particular conceptions of -Christian truth and of ecclesiastical government, the so-called -Evangelical sects retain the impress of their common origin in the -dearth of any ethical or aesthetic element in their religion. - -From this alone must have resulted the fact which a plurality of -causes has concurred in producing; viz. that the Reformation soon -(within a century and a half) reached its apparent limit of extent, -and propagated itself only internally by further evolutions of -thought. It had taken up and exhausted the class of minds to which it -was specially adapted; and after appropriating these, found itself -arrested. Under the impulse of a newly-awakened piety men are disposed -to feel that they cannot attribute too much to God; and there will -always be large numbers who, from the absorbing intensity of religious -sentiment, or the dominance of predestinarian theory, or the ill -balance of partial cultivation, abdicate all personal power of good in -favor of irreversible decrees. But as the tension relaxes or the -culture enlarges, the moral instincts reassert their existence; and -the monstrous distortions incident to any theory which denies their -authority become too repulsive to be borne. Hence a reaction, in which -the natural conscience takes the lead, and insists on obtaining that -reconciliation with God which has already been conquered for the -affections. Men in whom the sense of right and wrong is deep cannot -divest themselves of reverence for it as authoritative and divine; nor -can they truly profess that it is to them an empty voice, which, -venerable as it sounds, they are never able to obey. They know what a -difference it makes to them, in the whole peace and power of their -being, whether they are faithful or whether they are false; that this -difference belongs alike to their state of nature and their state of -grace; that it is as little possible to withhold admiration from the -magnanimity of the Pagan Socrates as from that of the Christian Paul; -and that the sentiment which compels homage to both is the same that -looks up with trust and worship to the justice and holiness of God: -how, then, can they consent to draw an unreal line of impassable -separation between ethical qualities before conversion and the very -same qualities after, and abrogate in the one case the moral -distinctions which become valid in the other? The two lives,--of earth -and heaven; the two minds,--human and divine; the two states,--nature -and grace; which it is the impulse of enthusiasm to contrast, it is -the necessity of conscience to unite. When Luther first blew up the -sacerdotal bridge which had given a path across to the steps of -centuries, the boldness of the deed and the inspiration of the time -lightened the feet of men, and enabled them to spring over with him on -the wing of faith. But when the van had passed, and the more equable -and disciplined ranks of another generation were brought to the brink, -there seemed a needless rashness in the attempt, and foundations were -discovered for a structure based on the rock of nature, and making one -province of both worlds. Even Melancthon, long as he yielded to his -leader's more powerful will, could not permanently acquiesce in the -complete extinction of human responsibility; and vindicated for the -soul a voluntary co-operation with divine grace. This semi-Pelagian -example rapidly spread; first among the later Lutherans, especially of -Brunswick and Hanover; next into the school of Leyden; and finally -into the Church and universities of England. Quick to seize the -reaction in the temper of the times, the Jesuits put themselves at the -head of the same tendency in their own communion; defended against the -Jansenists a doctrine of free-will beyond even the limits of Catholic -orthodoxy; upheld Molina against Augustine, as among the Protestants -Episcopius was gaining upon Calvin. Among patriotic theologians the -authority of the Latin Church gave way in favor of the early Christian -apologists and Greek Fathers, who knew nothing of the scheme of -decrees. Divinity, under the guidance of More and Cudworth, no longer -disdained to replenish her oil and revive her flame from the lamp of -Athenian philosophy. And the conception of a universal natural law was -elaborately worked out by Grotius. As the sixteenth century was the -period of dogmatic theology, the seventeenth was that of ethical -philosophy; the whole modern history of which lies mainly within that -limit and half a century lower; and conclusively attests the decline -of a scheme of belief incompatible with the very existence of such a -science. When the Protestantism which had produced a Farel, a Beza, -and a Whitgift, offered as its representatives Locke and Limborch, -Tillotson and Butler, the nature of the change which had come over it -declares itself. It was the revolt of moral sentiment against a -doctrine that outraged it,--the re-development, under new conditions, -of the ethical principle which had fallen neglected from the broken -seed-vessel of the Catholic faith. - -The second season of the Reformation, though treated now with -unmerited disparagement, was not less worthy of admiration than the -first. High-Churchmen may be ashamed of an archbishop who proposed a -scheme of comprehension; Evangelicals, of a preacher who applauded the -Socinians; and Coleridgians, of a theologian who was no deeper in -metaphysics than the "Grotian divines"; but neither the Erastianism, -the charity, nor the common sense of a Tillotson would be at all -unsuitable at this moment to a church openly torn by dissensions and -really held together only by dependence on the state. It has been a -current opinion, perseveringly propagated by adherents of the Geneva -theology, that the spread of Arminian sentiments was equivalent to a -religious decline, and concurrent with the growth of a worldly laxity -and selfish indifference of character. The allegation is absolutely -false. In literature, in personal characteristics, and in public life, -the Latitude-men and their associates in belief bear honorable -comparison with their more rigorous forerunners. There is not only -less of passionate intolerance, but a nobler freedom from an equivocal -prudence, in the great writers of the second period, than in the -Reformers of the first: and there is more to touch the springs of -disinterestedness and elevation of mind in Cudworth and Clarke than in -Calvin and Beza. Nor did the return of ethical theory weaken the -sources of religious action. The very enterprises in which evangelical -zeal most rejoices,--missions to the heathen, and the diffusion of -the Scriptures,--were not only prosecuted but set on foot in new -directions and with more powerful instrumentalities, in the very midst -of this period, and by the very labors of its most distinguished -philosophers. The Society for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge, -and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, -were both born with the eighteenth century; and while the latter -addressed itself to the natives and slaves of the American provinces, -the former first made the Scriptures known on the Coromandel coast. It -was Boyle who, of all men of his age, displayed the most generous zeal -for the multiplication of the sacred writings, himself procuring their -translation into four or five languages. For thirty years he was -governor of a missionary corporation. Yet the complexion of his -theology is sufficiently indicated by the fact that he bought up -Pococke's Arabic translation of Grotius (De Veritate Christianae -Religionis), and was at the cost of its wide distribution in the East. -And who that has ever read it can forget Swift's letter to the Irish -viceroy (Lord Carteret), introducing Bishop Berkeley (then Dean of -Derry), and his project for resigning his preferment at home in order -that, on a stipend of L100 a year, he might devote himself to the -conversion of the American Indians? The imperturbable patience with -which the good Dean prosecuted his object, the self-devotion with -which he embarked in it his property and life, the gratefulness with -which he accepted from the government the promise of a grant, and the -treachery which broke the promise, and after seven years compelled his -return, make up a story unrivalled for its contrast of saintly -simplicity and ministerial bad faith. These and similar features of -the time superfluously refute the arbitrary and arrogant assumption, -that no piety can be living and profound except that which disbelieves -all natural religion, no gospel holy which does not renounce the moral -law, no faith prolific in works unless it begins with despising them. - -There was, however, still a defect in this gospel of conscience. -Regarding the world and life as the object of a divine administration, -and seeking to interpret them by a scheme of final causes, it was wholly -occupied with the conception of God as proposing to himself certain -ends, and arranging the means for their accomplishment. In this light He -is a Being with moral preconceptions and an economy for bringing them to -pass. Everything is for a purpose, and subsists for the sake of what is -ulterior, and forms part of a mechanism working out a prescribed -problem. The tendency of this way of thinking will inevitably be, to -hunt for providences. These the narrow mind will place in the incidents -of individual life; the comprehensive intellect, in the laws and -relations of the universe; not perhaps in either case without some -danger from human egotism of referring too much to the good and ill -which is relative to man. The infinite perfections of God will be -concentrated, so to speak, too much in the notion of His WILL, and the -powers which subserve its designs; and will in consequence be as much -misapprehended as would be our own nature by an observer assuming that -we put forth all its life and phenomena _on purpose_. Indeed, the -exclusive and unbalanced ascendency of the moral faculty tempts a man to -fancy this sort of existence the only right one for himself; to suspect -every flow of unwatched feeling, and call himself to account for the -burst of ringing laughter, or the surprise of sudden tears, and aim at -an autocratic command of his own soul. It is not wonderful that his -ideal of human character should reappear in his representation of the -Divine. The error deforms his faith as much as it tends to stiffen and -constrict his life. Leading him always to ask what a thing is _for_, it -hinders him from seeing what it _is_; in search of the _motive_, he -misses the _look_; and his interest in it being transitive, he sinks -into it with no sympathy on its own account. This is only to say, in -other words, that his prepossession detains him from the _artistic_ -contemplation of objects and events; for while it is the business of -science to inquire their _origination_, and of morals to follow their -_drift_, it remains for art to appreciate their _nature_. To feel the -type of thought which they express, to recognize the idea which they -invest with form, the mind must rest upon them, not as products or as -instruments, but as realities; and their significance must not be -imposed upon them, but read off from them. The meaning which art detects -in life and the world is not a purpose, but a sentiment; in its view the -present attitudes and development of things are rather the out-coming of -an inner feeling than the tools of a remoter end. To find room for this -mode of conception something must be added to the ethical representation -of God. He must be regarded as not always and throughout engaged in -processes of intention and volition, but as having, around this moral -centre, an infinite atmosphere of creative thought and affection, which, -like the native inspirations of a pure and sublime human soul, -spontaneously flow out in forms of beauty, and movements of rhythm, and -a thousand aspects of divine expression. Religion demands the admission -of this free element: and without it, will cease to speak home to men of -susceptible genius and poetic nature, and must limit itself more and -more to the fanatical minds that have too little regulation, and the -moral that have too much. A God who offers terms of communion only to -the passionate and to the conscientious, will not touch the springs of -worship in perceptive and meditative men. _Their_ prayer is less to know -the published rules than to overhear the lonely whispers of the Eternal -Mind, to be at one with His immediate life in the universe, and to shape -or sing into articulate utterance the silent inspirations of which all -existence is full. Their peculiar faculties supply them with other -interests than about their sins, their salvation, and their conscience; -they feel neither sufficiently guilty, nor sufficiently anxious to be -good, to make a religion out of the one consciousness or the other; but -if, indeed, it be God that flashes on them in so many lights of solemn -beauty from the face of common things, that wipes off sometimes the -steams of custom from the window of the soul, and surprises it with a -presence of tenderness and mystery,--if the tension of creative thought -in themselves, which can rest in nothing imperfect, yet realize nothing -perfect, be an unconscious aspiration towards Him,--then there is a way -of access to their inner faith, and a temple pavement on which they will -consent to kneel. It is, we believe, the inability of Protestantism, in -either of its previous forms, to meet this order of wants, that has -reduced it to its state of weakness and discredit; and the struggle of -thought, characteristic of the present century, is an unconscious -attempt to supply the defect, and to vindicate, for the third element of -Catholic Christianity, the possibility of development in the open air of -Protestant belief. The change began, like both of the earlier ones, in -Germany; and it was from Plato that Schleiermacher learned where the -weakness of Christian dogma lay, and in what field of thought he might -create a diversion from the disastrous assaults of French materialism, -and restore the balance of the fight. An Hellenic spirit was infused -into the scientific theology of the Continent, and has never ceased to -prevail there, though Aristotle has long succeeded to Plato as the -channel of influence. When Hegel, long the rival of Schleiermacher, -triumphed over him, not only in the coteries of Berlin, but in the -schools of Germany, he no doubt turned the philosophy which had been -invoked to preserve the faith into a dialectic, at whose magic touch it -deliquesced; and no one who has followed the application of his -principles to history and dogma can be surprised at the antipathy they -awaken in the Church. But it would be a mistake to suppose that the step -into Pantheism was made by Hegel, and that the opposing theologians -raised up by the great preacher of Berlin occupy in this respect any -different ground. Since the time of Jacobi theism proper has not been -heard of in Germany: the very writers who _mean_ to defend it, surrender -it in the disguise of their definition of personality; and so steeped is -the whole national mind in the colors of Hellenic thought, that from -Neander to Strauss can be found, in our deliberate judgment, only -different shades of the same pantheistic conception. What does this -denote but a universal sigh after a God, who shall be neither a Jehovah, -a Judaic [Greek: autokrator], nor a redeeming _Deus ex machina_, -supervening upon the theatre of history, but a living and energizing -Spirit, quickening the very heart of to-day, and whispering round the -dome of Herschel's sky not less than in the third story of Paul's -heaven? In some this feeling breaks out in devilish defiance, as in the -unhappy Heinrich Heine's saying, "I am no child, I do not want a -Heavenly Father any more": in others it breathes out, as with Novalis, -in a tender mysticism, and is traceable by the reverent footfall and -uncovered head with which they pace, as in a cathedral, the solemn -aisles of life and nature. The expression of this tendency has passed -into the literature of our own language, and every year is tinging it -more and more with its characteristic hues. Emerson affords the purest -and most unmixed example; but perhaps the earlier writings of -Carlyle,--before the divine thirst had advanced so much into a human -_rabies_,--and more especially his _Sartor Resartus_, may be taken as -the real gospel of this sentiment. The intense operation of these -essays, so entirely alien to the traditions of English thought and -taste, is an evidence of something more than the genius of their -authors: it is proof of a certain combustible state of the English mind, -prepared by drought and deadness to burst into the flame of this new -worship. This feeling, diffused through the very air of the time, has -unmistakably evinced its essential identity with the instinct of art; in -part, by a direct affluence and excellence of production unknown to the -preceding age, but still more, in the wide extension of an appreciating -love for the creations of artistic genius. The melancholy prophets who -see in this spreading susceptibility only a morbid symptom of decadent -civilization, are misled, we hope, by imperfect historical parallels. -The flower, no doubt, both of Athenian and of Italian culture, was most -brilliant just before it drooped. But the soil which bore it, and the -elements that surrounded it, had no essential resemblance to the -conditions of modern English society, in which, above all, there are the -unexhausted juices of a moral faith and a strenuous habit, not stimulant -perhaps of hasty growth, but giving hardihood against the open air and -the natural seasons. - -By the rules of technical theology, it may appear strange to reckon -the turn from theism to pantheism as a _third stage of the -Reformation_; as if it could be at all included in the interior -history of Christianity, instead of being treated as a direct -apostasy. And it is in reality a very serious question, whether, -without unfaithfulness to its essential character, the Christian -religion can domesticate within it this new action of thought, or must -from the first visit it with unqualified excommunication. On the one -hand, nothing can be more absurd than to suppose that a faith of -Hebrew origin, a faith whose very hypothesis is sin, and whose -aspiration is moral perfectness, can ever be reconciled with a -thorough-going pantheism. On the other hand, nothing can be more -gratuitous than to assume that the feeling which, on getting the whole -mind to itself, generates a pantheistic scheme, has _no_ legitimate -exercise, and gains its indulgence altogether at the expense of -Christian truth. If we mistake not, the pith of the matter lies in a -small compass. _Let Christian Theism keep Morals, and Pantheism may -have Nature._ This rule is no mere compromise or coalition of -incongruous elements, but is founded, we are convinced, on -distinctions real and eternal. So long as a holy will is left to God, -and a power committed to man, free to sustain relations of trust and -responsibility, room remains for all the conditions of Christianity, -and the field beyond may be open to the range of mystic perception, -and railed off for the sacrament of beauty. But whether this or any -other be the just partition of territory between the two claimants, -partition there must be, for the real truth of things must correspond, -not to the hypothesis of any single human faculty, but to harmonized -postulates of all. It is not surprising that, on its first re-birth, -the gospel of nature should deny the gospel of duty, or so take it up -into its own fine essence as to volatilize all its substance away. -This is but the natural revenge taken for past neglect, and the -needful challenge to future attention. Each one of the three -developments has in its turn run out beyond the limits of the -Christian faith, and yet, hitherto, each has established a place -within it. The Hegelian, or Emersonian, type of the third period is -but the corresponding phenomenon to the Antinomianism of the first, -and the Deism of the second. And as these have passed away, after -surrendering into the custody of Christendom the principles that gave -them strength, so will the Pantheism of to-day, when it has provided -for the safe-keeping of its charge, and seen the Church complete its -triad of Faith, Holiness, and Beauty. - -This question, however, will be asked: If the Reformation only -repeats, with some transposition, the cycle of the primitive -development, how are we the better for having thus to do our work -again? Are we to end where the sixteenth century began, and to -reproduce the Catholicism which was then resolved into its elements? -And does some fatal necessity doom us to this wearisome periodicity? -Not in the least. However little the seeds may be able to transgress -the limits of species, and may remain indistinguishable from -millennium to millennium, the conditions of growth are so different as -practically to cancel the identity in the result. Taken even one by -one, the modern forms of doctrine are far nobler than their early -prototypes. The narrow Ebionitism of the original Church is not -comparable, as an expression of the conscience, with the moral -philosophy of Butler; and the Greek element of thought, flowing by -Berlin, has entered the Church in deeper channels than when -infiltrating through the theosophy of Alexandria. It is only in -relation to the passionate element that the doubt can be raised, -whether we have gained in truth and grandeur by passing the religion -of Augustine through the minds of the modern reformers; and whether -the Jansenists within the Church do not exhibit a higher phase of -character than the Huguenots without it. But at any rate, the modern -development, taken as a whole, is secure of an inner unity and -completeness which before has been unattained. It is an obvious, yet -little noticed, consequence of the invention of printing, that no one -mood of feeling or school of thought can tyrannize over a generation -of mankind, and sweep all before it, as of old; and then again, with -change in the intellectual season, rot utterly away, and give place to -a successor no less absolute. Generations and ages now live in -presence of each other; the impulse of the present is restrained by -the counsels of the past, and, in fighting for the throne of the human -mind, finds it not only strong in living prepossession, but guarded by -shadowy sentinels, encircled by a band of immortals. Hence the history -of ideas can never be again so wayward and fitful as it was in the -first centuries of our era; losing all interest at one period in the -questions which had maddened the preceding; for a time covered all -over with the pale haze of Byzantine metaphysics, and then suffused -with red heats of African enthusiasm. New truth can no longer forget -the old, and thrive wholly at its expense, or even make a compact with -it to take turn and turn about, but must find an organic relation with -it, so as to be its enlargement rather than its rival. The modern -moralist already understands Augustine better than did the old -Pelagians; "Evangelical" teachers begin to insist on Christian ethics; -and the increasing disposition, even in heterodox persons, to dwell on -the Incarnation as the central point of faith, shows how credible and -welcome becomes the notion of the union of human with divine, and of -the moral manifestation of God in the life and soul of man. The time, -we trust, is gone, for the merely linear advancement of the European -mind, with all its action and reaction propagated downwards, and -wasting centuries on phenomena that might co-exist. Henceforth it may -open out in all dimensions at once, and fill, as its own for ever, the -whole space of true thought into which its past increments have borne -it. Sects, no doubt, and schools, will continue to arise on the -outskirts of the intellectual realm, possessed by partial -inspirations; but the world's centre of gravity will be more and more -occupied by minds that can at once balance and retain these marginal -excesses, that can round off the sphere by inner force of reason, and, -dispensing with the outer mould of sacerdotal compression, let the -tides flow free, and the winds blow strong, without alarm for the -eternal harmony. This is the form in which nature will restore, and -God approve, a Catholic consent. - -The idea we have endeavored to give of the genesis of Christian -doctrine, and the law of its vicissitudes, is offered only as -conveniently distributing the subjective sources of faith. It cannot -be applied to the phenomena of particular countries apart from ample -historical knowledge of the concurrent social and political -conditions, without which the most accurate clews to the natural -history of _thought_ can only mislead as the interpreter of concrete -_events_. When, for instance, we look around us at home, and seek for -the English representatives of the several tendencies explained above, -we may, no doubt, find them here and there, but they are so far from -exhausting the facts of our time, that some of the most conspicuous -parties--as the Anglicans--seem provided with no place at all. The -obscurity first begins to clear away when we remember that in England -_Schism went before Reformation_. The aim of Henry VIII. was simply to -detach and nationalize the Church in his dominions; to give it insular -integrity instead of provincial dependence; and could this have been -done without meddling with the system of Catholic doctrine at all, the -scheme of faith would have been preserved entire. While Luther and the -Continental opponents of Rome were faithful to the idea of the unity -of Christendom, and were calling out for a general council to restore -it by a verdict on doubtful points of faith, the English monarch, -undisturbed by doubt or scruple, broke off from Rome, and destroyed -the traditions of centralization by taking the ecclesiastic -jurisdiction into his own hands and stopping its passage of the seas. -In the new movement of the time, England tended to become a petty -papacy, still unreformed; Europe sought a universal church reformed. -Neither aim admitted of realization. To repudiate the supreme pontiff, -and substitute a civil head, involved a fatal breach in the sacerdotal -system, and carried with it inevitable departures from the integrity -of Catholic dogma; so that reformation was found inseparable from -schism. And when no council, acknowledged as universal, was called to -give authoritative settlement, arrangements _ad interim_ became -consolidated, provisional rights grew into prescriptive; with the -spectacle of variety, and the taste of freedom, the idea of unity -faded away, till the co-existence of two churches within one land and -one Christendom passed into a necessity, and reformation proved -impossible without a schism. But, notwithstanding this partial -approximation of the English and the Continental movements, the traces -remain indelible that their point of departure was from opposite ends. -In its origin and earliest traditions, in the basis of its -constitution and worship, the Church of England has nothing whatever -to do with Protestantism; it is but the Westminster Catholic Church -instead of the Roman Catholic Church. Authoritative doctrine, -sacramental grace, sacerdotal mediation, are all retained; and -throughout the whole of Henry's reign, while the new laws were working -themselves into habits, the seven sacraments, the communion in one -kind, the Ave Maria, the invocation of saints, with the doctrines of -transubstantiation and purgatory, remained within the circle of -recognized orthodoxy. The impelling and regulative idea of the whole -change was that of a nationalization of Catholicism. This original -ascendency of the national over the theological feeling was never -lost; and though channels were more and more opened, through the -sympathies of exiles and the intercourse of scholars, for the infusion -of Continental notions, yet the form given to the Church rendered it -not very susceptible to the new learning; whose admission, so far as -it took place, was rather induced by political conception than made in -the interests of universal truth. The present Anglicans represent the -first type of the English _schism_; and the High Church in general -embodies the distinguishing _national_ sentiment of the Reformation in -this country, as compared with the _cosmopolitan_ character of the -Continental religious change. Doctrine is universal, administration -and jurisdiction are local. Where the former becomes the bond of -sympathy, as among the Evangelic Protestants, it unites men together -by ties that are irrespective of the limits of country, and -subordinates special patriotisms to the interests of a more -comprehensive fraternity. Where the latter become the objects of -zeal, a flavor of the soil mingles itself with the sentiments of -honor, and a peculiar loyalty concentrates itself on the inner circles -of duty, often with the narrowest capacity of diffusion beyond. Hence -the intensely _English_ feeling which has always prevailed among the -parochial--especially the rural--clergy of the Establishment, and the -people who form their congregations. They constitute the very core of -our insular society, and the retaining centre of our historical -characteristics. Their admirations, their prejudices, their virtues, -their ambitions, are all national. Their interest in dogma is not -intellectually active, or provocative of any proselyting zeal, and is -subservient to the practical aim of giving territorial action to the -religious institutions under their charge. Their dealings are less -with the individual's solitary soul, than with the several social -classes in their mutual relations; and to mediate between the gentry -and the poor, to keep in order the school, the workhouse, and the -village charities,--not forgetting the obligation to ward off -Methodists and voluntaries,[2]--constitute the approved circle of -clerical duties. Their very antipathies, unlike those of Protestant -zealots, are less theological than political; they hate Roman -Catholics chiefly as a sort of _foreigners_, who have no proper -business here, and Dissenters as a sort of _rebels_, who create -disturbance with their discontents; and were old England well rid of -them both, the heart of her citizenship, they believe, would be -sounder. They stand, indeed, in a curious position, pledged to hold a -proud Anglican isolation between two cosmopolitan interests,--the -Popish theocracy and the Evangelical dogma,--refusing obedience to -Rome, yet declining the alliance of foreign Protestants. Their enmity -to the Papal system is quite a different sentiment from that which -animates Exeter Hall; they do not deny the absolute legitimacy of the -elder corporation in general, but only its relative legitimacy _here_; -and Scottish ravings against it as "Babylon" and "Antichrist" offend -them more than the confessional and the mass. Twice in their -history--under the Stuarts and in our own day--have they seemed to -forget their destiny, and make overtures to the Vatican; in both -instances it was when Puritanism had threatened to take possession of -the Church, and reduce it to a federal member of an Evangelical -alliance; and if its separate integrity were in peril, they had rather -fling it back into the Apostolic monarchy, than enroll it in the -Genevan league. But the first real sight of danger from the Papal side -has dissipated this reactionary inclination, and rekindled the -instinct of local independence. Thus, in our Church, ideal interests -and purely religious conceptions have held the second place to a -predominating nationalism. The Church has embodied and handed down the -leading sentiment of the Tudor times; and though not guiltless of -share in many a Stuart treachery, and often cruel to the stiff-necked -recusant, has, on the whole, been true to the English feeling, that -the Pope was too great a priest, and Calvin too long a preacher. - -The reason then is evident why the Church of England cannot be -referred to any of the heads of classification we have given; neither -coinciding with Romanism, nor exemplifying distinctively any of the -tendencies springing successively out of the disintegration of -Catholic dogma. It arose out of an ecclesiastical revolt; other -communions, out of a theological aspiration. Its original conception -involved no serious modification of belief, no invention or recovery -of strange usages, but a mere separation of the island branch from the -Roman stem, that it might strike root and be as a native tree of life. -The first alterations in doctrine were slight, and merely incidental -to this primary end: and the whole amount of change, instead of being -determined by the intellectual dictatorship of a Luther or a Calvin, -was the illogical result of social forces, seeking the equilibrium of -practical compromise. The phenomenon therefore which we observed in -the elder Church is repeated in this younger offshoot: the several -elements of faith co-exist (though in greatly spoiled proportions) -without unity or natural coherence; and the English Church, as the -depository of a creed, occupies no place in the history of the human -mind: its individual great men must be put here or there in the -records of thought, without regard to the accident of their -ecclesiastical position. The one real idea which has permanently -inspired its clergy and supporters is that of _nationalism in -religion_. To the time of the Restoration they _attempted_, since then -they have _pretended_, to represent the nation in its faith and -worship. Once, their aim appeared to be a noble possibility, -struggling still and unrealized, but unrefuted. Now, thousands of -Non-conformist chapels proclaim its meaning gone, and its language an -affectation and an insolence. The English Church has become an outer -reality without an inner idea. - -In contrast with the _insular_ feeling predominant in the English -schism, we have placed the _cosmopolitan_ zeal of the foreign -Puritanism. With this, however, was combined the very opposite pole -of sentiment,--a certain _egoism_ and loneliness in religion, from -which have flowed some of the most important characteristics of -Protestantism. Having flung away, as miserable quackeries, the -hierarchical prescriptions for souls oppressed with sin, Luther fell -back upon an act of subjective faith in place of the Church's -objective works. For the corporation he substituted the individual: -whom he put in immediate, instead of mediate, relation with Christ and -God. The Catholic's unbloody sacrifice had no efficacy, no existence, -without the priest; the Lutheran's bloody sacrifice was a realized -historical fact, to be appropriated separately by every believer's -personal trust. It was not, therefore, the Church which, in its -corporate capacity, occupied the prior place, and held the deposit of -divine grace for distribution to its members; but it was the private -person that constituted the sacred unit, and a plurality of believers -supplied the factors of the Church. The grace which before could not -reach the individual except by transit through accredited officials, -now became directly accessible to each soul: and only after it had -been received by a sufficient number to form a society, did the -conditions of spiritual office and organization exist. This essential -dependence of the whole upon the parts, instead of the parts upon the -whole, is the most radical and powerful peculiarity of Protestantism. -A system which raises the individual to the primary place of religious -importance, places him nearest to the supernatural energy of God, and -makes him the living stone without which temple and altar cannot be -built, naturally draws to it minds of marked vigor, and trains men in -self-subsisting habits. By giving scope to the forces of private -character, it sets in action the real springs of healthy progress, and -happily with such intensity as to defy the checks it often seeks to -impose in later moods of repentant alarm. This emancipation of the -personal life from theocratic control, at first achieved in connection -with the doctrine of justification, was sure to present itself in -other forms. In its _spiritual_ application Protestant egoism assumes -the shape of reliance on _inner faith_; in its _political_, of -_voluntaryism_; in its _intellectual_, of free inquiry and _private -judgment_. These several directions may be taken separately or -together, but where, as in the Church of England, _not one_ of them is -unambiguously marked, the very principle of reformed Christianity is -unsecured, and Protestantism is present, not by charter, but by social -accident. Puritanism everywhere--conforming or nonconforming, English -or Continental--exhibits the first direction; "Evangelical" Dissenters -add the second; while Unitarians occupy the third,--not perhaps -completely, and not altogether exclusively, but characteristically -nevertheless. For it is impossible to unite the orthodox with the -intellectual egoism. So long as the _inner faith_, which is the -presumed condition of justification, includes a controverted doctrine, -like the scheme of Atonement, the need of faith imposes a limit on the -right of judgment: and you are only free to think till you show -symptoms of thinking wrong. But when the sacrificial Christianity has -passed into the ethical, and no other condition of harmony with God is -laid down than purity of affection and fidelity of will, then honest -thought can peril no salvation, and the devotion of the intellect to -truth and the heart to grace is a divided allegiance no more. - -It was for some time doubtful how far this Protestant egoism was -likely to go. Luther was clear and positive that it was faith that -justified; and fetching this doctrine out of a deep personal -experience, he paid little respect to any one who contradicted it, and -regulated by it his first choice of religious authorities. Led by this -clew, he arrived at results strangely at variance with modern canons. -He neither accepted as a standard the whole Bible, nor at first -rejected the whole tradition of the Church; loosely attempting to -reserve the Augustinian authorities, and to repudiate the Dominican. -When he had renounced altogether the appeal to councils and patristic -lore, it was in favor, not of the external Scriptures, unconditionally -taken as the rule of faith, but of the private spirit of the Christian -reader, who was himself "made king and priest," and could not only -find the meaning, but pronounce upon the relative worth, of the -canonical books. Accordingly, the Reformer made very free with -portions of the Old Testament, and with the more Judaic elements of -the New,--the Epistle to the Hebrews, that of James, and the -Apocalypse; and avowedly did this because he disliked the flavor of -their doctrine, and felt its variance from the Pauline gospel. He thus -tampered with his court before he brought forward his cause, and -incapacitated the judges whose verdict he feared. In short, the -religious life of his own soul was too intense and powerful to be -prevailed over by any written word: he appropriated what was -congenial, and threw away the rest. Uneasy relations were thus -established between the subjective rule of faith found in the -believer's own mind, and the objective standard of a documentary -revelation: they were soon constituted, and have ever since remained -rival authorities, commanding the allegiance of different orders of -minds. The vast majority of Protestants, of less profound and -tumultuous inner life than Luther, and less knowing how to see their -way through it, subsided into exclusive recognition of the sacred -writings; denying alike the regulative authority either of church -councils or of the private soul. In every branch and derivative of the -Genevan Reformation, throughout the whole range of both the Puritan -and the Arminian Churches, a rigorous Scripturalism prevails; and the -Bible is used as a code or legislative text-book, which yields, on -mere interpretation, verdicts without appeal on every subject, whether -doctrine or duty, of which it speaks. But Luther's spiritual -enthusiasm kindled a fire that he scarce could quench; and while he -himself, flung into perpetual conflicts with opponents, was obliged -more and more to refer to evidence external to his personality, others -had learned from him to look upon their own souls as the theatre of -conscious strife between heaven and hell, and to recognize the voice -of inspiration there. Carlstadt was the first to catch the flame of -his teacher's burning experience, and, touched by prophetic -consciousness, to set the Spirit above the Word. Luther, so often -recalled from the tendencies of his own turbulent teaching by seeing -their mischiefs realized in other men, instantly turned on Carlstadt -with his overwhelming scorn: "The spirit of our new prophet flies very -high indeed: 't is an audacious spirit, that would eat up the Holy -Ghost, feathers and all. 'The Bible?'--sneer these fellows,--'Bibel, -Bubel, Babel!' And not only do they reject the Bible thus -contemptuously, but they say they would reject God too, if he were not -to visit them as he did his prophets." Carlstadt had got hold of a -doctrine that was too much for his ill-balanced mind, and Luther -easily destroyed his repute. But a principle had been started which -has never been dormant since; the very principle which afterwards -constituted the Society of Friends, and finds its best exposition in -the writings of their admirable apologist, Barclay; and which in our -times reappears in more philosophic guise, and fights its old battles -again as the doctrine of religious intuition. No period of awakened -faith and sentiment has been without some increasing tincture of this -persuasion; and under modified forms, with more or less admixture of -the ordinary Puritan elements, it has played a great part among the -Quietists in France, the Moravians in Germany, and the Methodists in -England. In all these, far as they are from being committed to the -notion of an "inner light," spiritualism has predominated over -Scripturalism, and permanent life in the Spirit has engaged the -affections more than the transition into the adoption of faith. - -In this endeavor to lay out the ground-plan of modern Christian -development, and trace upon it the chief lines both of psychological and -of historical distinction, our design is to prepare the way for a series -of sketches exhibiting the sects and types of religion in England. It is -scarcely possible to notice the phenomena present here and to-day -without referring to their antecedents in a prior age, their -counterparts in other lands, and their permanent principles in human -nature; and if our chart be tolerably correct, our future course will be -rendered less indeterminate by the relations and points of comparison -which have been established. The age, and even the hour, is teeming with -new interests and pregnant auguries in relation to the highest element -of human well-being. From a desire to approach these in a temper of just -and reverential appreciation, we have abstained from recording the first -impression of them, and sought rather, by a preliminary discipline, to -detect some criteria by which prejudices may be checked, tendencies be -estimated, and criticism acquire a clew. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] The title which Auguste Comte gives himself in his "Catechisme -Positiviste."--Preface, p. xl. - -[2] The zest with which this ecclesiastical garrison-duty is sometimes -performed, hardly comports with the traditional dignity of the Anglican -gentleman and scholar. We remember an incident which occurred in a -village situated among the hills of one of our northern dioceses. On a -fine summer evening we had gone, at the close of the afternoon service, -for a stroll through the fields overlooking the valley. When we had -walked half a mile or so, an extraordinary din arose from the direction -of the village, sounding like nothing human or instrumental, larynx, -catgut, or brass, though occasionally mingled with an undeniable note -from some shouting Stentor. It was evident, through the trees, that a -crowd was collected on the village green; and not less so, that a farmer -and his wife, who were looking on from a stile hard by, understood the -meaning of the scene below. On asking what all the hubbub was about, we -were told by the good woman: "It's all of our parson, that's banging out -the Methody wi' the tae-board." Being curious in ecclesiastical -researches, we hastened down the hill, in spite of the repulsion of -increasing noise. On one side of the green was a deal table, from which -a field-preacher was holding forth with passionate but fruitless energy; -for on the other side, and at the back of the crowd, was the parochial -man of God, who had issued from his parsonage, armed with its largest -tea-tray and the hall-door key, and was battering off the Japan in the -service of orthodoxy. No military music could more effectually -neutralize the shrieks of battle. The more the evangelist bellowed, the -faster went the parish gong. It was impossible to confute such a "drum -ecclesiastic." The man was not easily put down; but the triumph was -complete; and the "Methody's" brass was fairly beaten out of the field -by the Churchman's tin. - - - - -CHRISTIANITY WITHOUT PRIEST AND WITHOUT RITUAL. - - "To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, - but chosen of God, and precious; ye also, as lively stones, are - built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual - sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."--1 Peter ii. 4, 5. - - -The formation of human society, and the institution of priesthood, -must be referred to the same causes and the same date. The earliest -communities of the world appear to have had their origin and their -cement, not in any gregarious instinct, nor in mere social affections, -much less in any prudential regard to the advantages of co-operation, -but in a binding religious sentiment, submitting to the same guidance, -and expressing itself in the same worship. As no tie can be more -strong, so is none more primitive, than this agreement respecting what -is holy and divine. In simple and patriarchal ages, indeed, when the -feelings of veneration had not been set aside by analysis into a -little corner of the character, but spread themselves over the whole -of life, and mixed it up with daily wonder, this bond comprised all -the forces that can suppress the selfish and disorganizing passions, -and compact a multitude of men together. It was not, as at present, to -have simply the same _opinions_ (things of quite modern growth, the -brood of scepticism); but to have the same fathers, the same -tradition, the same speech, the same land, the same foes, the same -priest, the same God. Nothing did man fear, or trust, or love, or -desire, that did not belong, by some affinity, to his faith. Nor had -he any book to keep the precious deposit for him; and if he had, he -would never have thought of so frail a vehicle for so great a -treasure. It was more natural to put it into structures hollowed in -the fast mountain, or built of transplanted rocks which only a giant -age could stir; and to tenant these with mighty hierarchies, who -should guard their sanctity, and, by an undying memory, make their -mysteries eternal. Hence, the first humanizer of men was their -worship; the first leaders of nations, the sacerdotal caste; the first -triumph of art, the colossal temple; the first effort to preserve an -idea produced a record of something sacred; and the first civilization -was, as the last will be, the birth of religion. - -The primitive aim of worship undoubtedly was, to act upon the -sentiments of God; at first, by such natural and intelligible means as -produce favorable impressions on the mind of a fellow-man,--by -presents and persuasion, and whatever is expressive of grateful and -reverential affections. Abel, the first shepherd, offered the produce -of his flock; Cain, the first farmer, the fruits of his land; and -while devotion was so simple in its modes, every one would be his own -pontiff, and have his own altar. But soon, the parent would inevitably -officiate for his family; the patriarch, for his tribe. With the -natural forms dictated by present feelings, traditional methods would -mingle their contributions from the past; postures and times, gestures -and localities, once indifferent, would become consecrated by -venerable habit; and so long as their origin was unforgotten, they -would add to the significance, while they lessened the simplicity, of -worship. Custom, however, being the growth of time, tends to a -tyrannous and bewildering complexity: forms, originally natural, then -symbolical, end in being arbitrary; suggestive of nothing, except to -the initiated; yet, if connected with religion, so sanctified by the -association, that it appears sacrilege to desist from their -employment; and when their meaning is lost, they assume their place, -not among empty gesticulations, but among the mystical signs by which -earth communes with heaven. The vivid picture-writing of the early -worship, filled with living attitudes, and sketched in the freshest -colors of emotion, explained itself to every eye, and was open to -every hand. To this succeeded a piety, which expressed itself in -symbolical figures, veiling it utterly from strangers, but -intelligible and impressive still to the soul of national tradition. -This, however, passed again into a language of arbitrary characters, -in which the herd of men saw sacredness without meaning; and the use -of which must be consigned to a class separated for its study. Hence -the origin of the priest and his profession; the conservator of a -worship no longer natural, but legendary and mystical; skilful enactor -of rites that spake with silent gesticulation to the heavens; -interpreter of the wants of men into the divine language of the gods. -Not till the powers above had ceased to hold familiar converse with -the earth, and in their distance had become deaf and dumb to the -common tongue of men, did the mediating priest arise;--needed then to -conduct the finger-speech of ceremony, whereby the desire of the -creature took shape before the eye of the Creator. - -Observe, then, the true idea of PRIEST and RITUAL. The Priest is the -representative of men before God; commissioned on behalf of human -nature to intercede with the divine. He bears a message _upwards_, -from earth to heaven; his people being below, his influence above. He -takes the fears of the weak, and the cries of the perishing, and sets -them with availing supplication before Him that is able to help. He -takes the sins and remorse of the guilty, and leaves them with -expiating tribute at the feet of the averted Deity. He guards the -avenues that lead from the mortal to the immortal, and without his -interposition the creature is cut off from his Creator. Without his -mediation no transaction between them can take place, and the spirit -of a man must live as an outlaw from the world invisible and holy. -There are means of propitiation which he alone has authority to -employ; powers of persuasion conceded to no other; a mystic access to -the springs of divine benignity, by outward rites which his -manipulation must consecrate, or forms of speech which his lips must -recommend. These ceremonies are the implements of his office and the -sources of his power; the magic by which he is thought to gain -admission to the will above, and really wins rule over human counsels -below. As they are supposed to change the relation of God to man, not -by visible or natural operation, not (for example) by suggestion of -new thoughts, and excitement of new dispositions in the worshipper, -but by secret and mysterious agency, they are simply _spells_ of a -dignified order. Were we then to speak with severe exactitude, we -should say, a Ritual is a system of consecrated charms; and the -Priest, the great magician who dispenses them. - -So long as any idea is retained of mystically efficacious rites, -consigned solely and authoritatively to certain hands, this definition -cannot be escaped. The ceremonies may have rational instruction and -natural worship appended to them; and these additional elements may -give them a title to true respect. The order of men appointed to -administer them may have other offices and nobler duties to perform, -rendering them, if faithful, worthy of a just and reverential -attachment. But _in so far_ as, by an exclusive and unnatural -efficacy, they bring about a changed relation between God and man, the -Ritual is an incantation, and the Priest is an enchanter. - -To this sacerdotal devotion there necessarily attach certain -characteristic sentiments, both moral and religious, which give it a -distinctive influence on human character, and adapt it to particular -stages of civilization. It clearly severs the worshippers by one remove -from God. He is a Being, external to them, distant from them, personally -unapproachable by them; their thought must _travel_ to reach the -Almighty; they must look afar for the Most Holy; they dwell themselves -within the finite, and must ask a foreign introduction to the Infinite. -He is not with them as a private guide, but in the remoter watch-towers -of creation, as the public inspector of their life; not present for -perpetual communion, but to be visited in absence by stated messages of -form and prayer. And that God dwells in this cold and royal separation -induces the feeling, that man is too mean to touch him; that a -consecrated intervention is required, in order to part Deity from the -defiling contact of humanity. Why else am I restricted from unlimited -personal access to my Creator, and driven to another in my transactions -with him? And so, in this system, our nature appears in contrast, not in -alliance, with the divine, and those views of it are favored which make -the opposition strong; its puny dimensions, its swift decadence, its -poor self-flatteries, its degenerate virtues, its giant guilt, become -familiar to the thought and lips; and life, cut off from sympathy with -the godlike, falls towards the level of melancholy, or the sink of -epicurism, or the abjectness of vicarious reliance on the priest. -Worship, too, must have for its chief aim, to throw off the load of ill; -to rid the mind of sin and shame, and the lot of hardship and sorrow; -for principally to these disburdening offices do priests and rituals -profess themselves adapted;--and who, indeed, could pour forth the -privacy of love, and peace, and trust, through the cumbrousness of -ceremonies, and the pompousness of a sacred officer? The piety of such a -religion is thus a refuge for the weakness, not an outpouring of the -strength, of the soul: it takes away the incubus of darkness, without -shedding the light of heaven; lifts off the nightmare horrors of earth -and hell, without opening the vision of angels and of God. Nay, for the -spiritual bonds which connect men with the Father above, it substitutes -material ties, a genealogy of sacred fires, a succession of hallowed -buildings, or of priests having consecration by pedigree or by manual -transmission; so that qualities belonging to the soul alone are likened -to forces mechanical or chemical; sanctity becomes a physical property; -divine acceptance comes by bodily catenation; regeneration is degraded -into a species of electric shock, which one only method of experiment, -and the links of but one conductor, can convey. And, in fine, a priestly -system ever abjures all aim at any higher perfection; boasts of being -immutable and unimprovable; encourages no ambition, breathes no desire. -It holds the appointed methods of influencing Heaven, on which none may -presume to innovate; and its functions are ever the same, to employ and -preserve the ancient forms and legendary spells committed to its trust. -Hence all its veneration is antiquarian, not sympathetic or prospective; -it turns its back upon the living, and looks straight into departed -ages, bowing the head and bending the knee; as if all objects of love -and devotion were _there_, not here; in history, not in life; as if its -God were dead, or otherwise imprisoned in the Past, and had bequeathed -to its keeping such relics as might yield a perpetual benediction. Thus -does the administration of religion, in proportion as it possesses a -sacerdotal character, involve a distant Deity, a mean humanity, a -servile worship, a physical sanctity, and a retrospective reverence. - -Let no one, however, imagine that there is no other idea or -administration of religion than this; that the priest is the only -person among men to whom it is given to stand between heaven and -earth. Even the Hebrew Scriptures introduce us to another class of -quite different order; to whom, indeed, those Scriptures owe their own -truth and power, and perpetuity of beauty: I mean the PROPHETS; whom -we shall very imperfectly understand, if we suppose them mere -historians, for whom God had turned time round the other way, so that -they spoke of things future as if past, and grew so dizzy in their use -of tenses, as greatly to incommode learned grammarians; or if we treat -their writings as scrap-books of Providence, with miscellaneous -contributions from various parts of duration, sketches taken -indifferently from any point of view within eternity, and put together -at random and without mark, on adjacent pages, for theological -memories to identify; first, a picture of an Assyrian battle, next, a -holy family; now, of the captives sitting by Euphrates, then, of Paul -preaching to the Gentiles; here, a flight of devouring locusts, and -there, the escape of the Christians from the destruction of Jerusalem; -a portrait of Hezekiah, and a view of Calvary; a march through the -desert, and John the Baptist by the Jordan; the day of Pentecost, and -the French Revolution; Nebuchadnezzar and Mahomet; Caligula and the -Pope,--following each other with picturesque neglect of every relation -of time and place. No, the Prophet and his work always indeed belong -to the future; but far otherwise than thus. Meanwhile, let us notice -how, in Israel, as elsewhere, he takes his natural station above the -priest. It was Moses the prophet who even _made_ Aaron the priest. And -who cares now for the sacerdotal books of the Old Testament, compared -with the rest? Who, having the strains of David, would pore over -Leviticus, or would weary himself with Chronicles, when he might catch -the inspiration of Isaiah? It was no priest that wrote, "Thou desirest -not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in -burnt-offering: the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken -and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." It was no -pontifical spirit that exclaimed, "Bring no more vain oblations; -incense is an abomination to me; the new moons and sabbaths, the -calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the -solemn meeting: your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul -hateth; they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear them." "Wash -you, make you clean." Whatever in these venerable Scriptures awes us -by its grandeur and pierces us by its truth, comes of the prophets, -not the priests; and from that part of their writings, too, in which -they are not concerned with historical prediction, but with some -utterance deeper and greater. I do not deny them this gift of -occasional intellectual foresight of events. And doubtless it was an -honor to be permitted to speak thus to a portion of the future, and of -local occurrences unrevealed to seers less privileged. But it is a -glory far higher to speak that which belongs to all time, and finds -its interpretation in every place; to penetrate to the everlasting -realities of things; to disclose, not when this or that man will -appear, but how and wherefore all men appear and quickly disappear; to -make it felt, not in what nook of duration such an incident will -happen, but from what all-embracing eternity the images of history -emerge and are swallowed up. In this highest faculty the Hebrew seers -belong to a class scattered over every nation and every period; which -Providence keeps ever extant for human good, and especially to furnish -an administration of religion quite anti-sacerdotal. This class we -must proceed to characterize. - -The Prophet is the representative of God before men, commissioned from -the Divine nature to sanctify the human. He bears a message -_downwards_, from heaven to earth; his inspirer being above, his -influence below. He takes of the holiness of God, enters with it into -the souls of men, and heals therewith the wounds, and purifies the -taint, of sin. He is charged with the peace of God, and gives from it -rest to the weariness and solace to the griefs of men. Instead of -carrying the foulness of life to be cleansed in heaven, he brings the -purity of heaven to make life divine. Instead of interposing himself -and his mediation between humanity and Deity, he destroys the whole -distance between them; and only fulfils his mission, when he brings -the finite mind and the infinite into immediate and thrilling contact, -and leaves the creature consciously alone with the Creator. He is one -to whom the primitive and everlasting relations between God and man -have revealed themselves, stripped of every disguise, and bared of all -that is conventional; who is possessed by their simplicity, mastered -by their solemnity; who has found the secret of meeting the Holy -Spirit within, rather than without; and knows, but cannot tell, how, -in the strife of genuine duty, or in moments of true meditation, the -Divine immensity and love have touched and filled his naked soul; and -taught him by what fathomless Godhead he is folded round, and on what -adamantine manhood he must take his stand. So far from separating -others from the heavenly communion vouchsafed to himself, he -necessarily believes that all may have the same godlike consciousness; -burns to impart it to them; and by the vivid light of his own faith -speedily creates it in those who feel his influence, drawing out and -freshening the faded colors of the Divine image in their souls, till -they too become visibly the seers and the sons of God. His -instruments, like the objects of his mission, are human; not -mysteries, and mummeries, and such arbitrary things, by which others -may pretend to be talking with the skies; but the natural language -which interprets itself at once to every genuine man, and goes direct -to the living point of every heart. An earnest speech, a brave and -holy life, truth of sympathy, severity of conscience, freshness and -loftiness of faith,--these natural sanctities are his implements of -power; and if heaven be pleased to add any other gifts, still are they -weapons all,--not the mere tinsel of tradition and custom,--but forged -in the inner workshop of our nature, where the fire glows beneath the -breath of God, framing things of ethereal temper. Thus armed, he lays -undoubting siege to the world's conscience; tears down every outwork -of pretence; forces its strong-holds of delusion; humbles the vanities -at its centre, and proclaims it the citadel of God. The true prophet -of every age is no believer in the temple, but in the temple's Deity; -trusts, not rites and institutions, but the heart and soul that fill -or ought to fill them; if they speak the truth, no one so reveres -them; if a lie, they meet with no contempt like his. He sees no -indestructible sanctuary but the mind itself, wherein the Divine -Spirit ever loves to dwell; and whence it will be sure to go forth and -build such outward temple as may suit the season of Providence. He is -conscious that there is no devotion like that which comes -spontaneously from the secret places of our humanity, no orisons so -true as those which rise from the common platform of our life. He -desires only to throw himself in faith on the natural piety of the -heart. Give him but that, and he will find for man an everlasting -worship, and raise for God a cathedral worthy of his infinitude. - -It is evident that one thoroughly possessed with this spirit could never -be, and could never make, a priest; nor frame a ritual for priests -already made. He is destitute of the ideas out of which alone these -things can be created. His mission is in the opposite direction: he -interprets and reveals God to men, instead of interceding for men with -God. In this office sacerdotal rites have no function and no place. I do -not say that he must necessarily disapprove and abjure them, or deny -that he may directly sanction them. If he does, however, it is not in -his capacity of prophet, but in conformity with feelings which his -proper office has left untouched. His tendency will be against -ceremonialism; and on his age and position will depend the extent to -which this tendency takes effect. Usually he will construct nothing -ritual, will destroy much, and leave behind great and growing ideas, -destructive of much more. But ere we quit our general conception of a -prophet, let us notice some characteristic sentiments, moral and -religious, which naturally connect themselves with his faith; comparing -them with those which belong to the sacerdotal influence. - -In this faith, God is separated by nothing from his worshippers. He is -not simply in contact with them, but truly in the interior of their -nature; so that they may not only meet him in the outward providences -of life, but bear his spirit with them, when they go to toil and -conflict, and find it still, when they sit alone to think and pray. He -is not the far observer, but the very present help, of the faithful -will. No structure made with hands, nay, not even his own architecture -of the heaven of heavens, contains and confines his presence: were -there any dark recess whence these were hid, the blessed access would -be without hinderance still; and the soul would discern him near as -its own identity. No mean and ignoble conception can be entertained of -a mind which is thus the residence of Deity;--the shrine of the -Infinite must have somewhat that is infinite itself. Thus, in this -system, does our nature appear in alliance with the Divine, not in -contrast with it; inspired with a portion of its holiness, and free to -help forward the best issues of its providence. Human life, blessed by -this spirit, becomes a miniature of the work of the great Ruler: its -responsibilities, its difficulties, its temptations, become dignified -as the glorious theatre whereon we strive, by and with the good Spirit -of God, for the mastery over evil. Worship, issuing from a nature and -existence thus consecrated, is not the casting off of guilt and -terror, but the glad unburdening of love, and trust, and aspiration, -the simple speaking forth, as duty is the acting forth, of the divine -within us; not the prostration of the slave, but the embrace of the -child; not the plaint of the abject, but the anthem of the free. Is it -not private, individual? And may it not by silence say what it will, -and intimate the precise thing, and that only, which is at -heart?--whence there grows insensibly that firm root of excellence, -truth with one's own self. The priestly fancy of an hereditary or -lineal sacredness can have no place here. The soul and God stand -directly related, mind with mind, spirit with spirit: from our moral -fidelity to this relation, from the jealousy with which we guard it -from insult or neglect, does the only sanctity arise; and herein there -is none to help us, or give a vicarious consecration. And, finally, -the spirit of God's true prophet is earnestly prospective; more filled -with the conception of what the Creator _will_ make his world, than of -what he _has_ already made it: detecting great capacities, it glows -with great hopes; knowing that God lives, and will live, it turns from -the past, venerable as that may be, and reverences rather the promise -of the present, and the glories of the future. It esteems nothing -unimprovable, is replete with vast desires; and amid the shadows and -across the wilds of existence chases, not vainly, a bright image of -perfection. The golden age, which priests with their tradition put -into the past, the prophet, with his faith and truth, transfers into -the future; and while the former pines and muses, the latter toils and -prays. Thus does the administration of religion, in proportion as it -partakes of the prophetic or anti-sacerdotal character, involve the -ideas of an interior Deity, a noble humanity, a loving worship, an -individual holiness, and a prospective veneration. - -We have found, then, two opposite views of religion: that of the -Priest with his Ritual, and that of the Prophet with his Faith. I -propose to show that the Church of England, in its doctrine of -sacraments, coincides with the former of these, and sanctions all its -objectionable sentiments; and that Christianity, in every relation, -even with respect to its reputed rites, coincides with the latter. - -The general conformity of the Church of England with the ritual -conception of religion will not be denied by her own members. Their -denial will be limited to one point: they will protest that her formulas -of doctrine do not ascribe a _charmed efficacy_, or any operation upon -God, to the two sacraments. To avoid verbal disputes, let us consider -what we are to understand by a spell or charm. The name, I apprehend, -denotes any material object or outward act, the possession or use of -which is thought to confer safety or blessing, not by natural operation, -but by occult virtues inherent in it, or mystical effects appended to -it. A mere commemorative sign, therefore, is not a charm, nor need there -be any superstition in its employment: it simply stands for certain -ideas and memories in our minds; re-excites and freshens them, not -otherwise than speech audibly records them, except that it summons them -before us by sight and touch, instead of sound. The effect, whatever it -may be, is purely natural, by sequence of thought on thought, till the -complexion of the mind is changed, and haply suffused with a noble glow. -But in truth it is not fit to speak of commemorations, as things having -efficacy at all; as desirable observances, under whose action we should -put ourselves, in order to get up certain good dispositions in the -heart. As soon as we see them acquiesced in, with this dutiful -submission to a kind of spiritual operation, we may be sure they are -already empty and dead. An _expedient_ commemoration, deliberately -maintained on utilitarian principles, for the sake of warming cold -affections by artificial heat, is one of the foolish conceptions of this -mechanical and sceptical age. It is quite true, that such influence is -found to belong to rites of remembrance; but only so long as it is not -privately looked into, or greedily contemplated by the staring eye of -prudence, but simply and unconsciously received. No; commemorations must -be the spontaneous fruit and outburst of a love already kindled in the -soul, not the factitious contrivance for forcing it into existence. They -are not the lighted match applied to the fuel on an altar cold; but the -shapes in which the living flame aspires, or the fretted lights thrown -by that central love on the dark temple-walls of this material life. - -It is not pretended that the sacraments are mere commemorative rites. -And nothing, I submit, remains, but that they should be pronounced -charms. It is of little purpose to urge, in denial of this, that the -Church insists upon the necessity of faith on the part of the -recipient, without which no benefit, but rather peril, will accrue. -This only limits the use of the charm to a certain class, and -establishes a prerequisite to its proper efficacy. It simply conjoins -the outward form with a certain state of mind, and gives to each of -these a participation in the effect. If the faith be insufficient -without the ceremony, then _some_ efficacy is due to the rite; and -this, being neither the natural operation of the material elements, -nor a simple suggestion of ideas and feelings to the mind, but -mystical and preternatural, is no other than a charmed efficacy. - -Nor will the statement, that the effect is not upon God, but upon man, -bear examination. It is very true, that the _ultimate_ benefit of these -rites is a result reputed to fall upon the worshipper;--regeneration, in -the case of baptism; participation in the atonement, in the case of the -Lord's Supper. But by what steps do these blessings descend? Not by -those of visible or perceived causation; but through an express and -extraordinary volition of God, induced by the ceremonial form, or taking -occasion from it. The sacerdotal economy, therefore, is so arranged, -that, whenever the priest dispenses the water at the font, the Holy -Spirit follows, as in instantaneous compliance with a suggestion; and -whenever he spreads his hands over the elements at the communion, God -immediately establishes a preternatural relation, not subsisting the -moment before, between the substances on the table and the souls of the -faithful communicants: so that every partaker receives, either directly -or through supernatural increase of faith, some new share in the merits -of the cross. Whatever subtleties of language then may be employed, it -is evidently conceived that the first consequence of these forms takes -place in heaven; and that on this depends whatever benediction they may -bring: nor can a plain understanding frame any other idea of them than -this; first, they act upwards, and suggest something to the mind of God, -who then sends down an influence on the mind of the believer. From this -conception no figures of speech, no ingenious analogies, can deliver us. -Do you call the sacraments "pledges of grace"? A pledge means a promise; -and how a voluntary act of ours, or the priest's, can be a promise made -to us by the Divine Being, it is not easy to understand. Do you call -them "seals of God's covenant,"--the instrument by which he engages to -make over its blessings to the Christian, like the signature and -completion of a deed conveying an estate? It still perplexes us to think -of a service of our own as an assurance received by us from Heaven. And -one would imagine that the Divine promise, once given, were enough, -without this incessant binding by periodical legalities. If it be said, -"The renewal of the obligation is needful for us, and not for him"; then -call the rites at once and simply, our service of self-dedication, the -solemn memorial of our vows. And in spite of all metaphors, the question -recurs, Does the covenant stand without these seals, or are they -essential _to give possession_ of the privileges conveyed? Are they, by -means preternatural, procurers of salvation? Have they a mystical action -towards this end? If so, we return to the same point; they have a -charmed efficacy on the human soul. - -In order to establish this, nothing more is requisite than a brief -reference to the language of the Articles and Liturgical services of the -Church respecting Baptism and the Communion. - -Baptism is regarded, throughout the Book of Common Prayer, as the -instrument of regeneration: not simply as its sign, of which the -actual descent of the Holy Spirit is independent; but as itself and -essentially the means or indispensable occasion of the washing away of -sin. That this is regarded as a mystical and magical, not a natural -and spiritual effect, is evident from the alleged fact of its -occurrence in infants, to whom the rite can suggest nothing, and on -whom, in the course of nature, it can leave no impression. Yet it is -declared of the infant, after the use of the water, "Seeing now, -dearly beloved brethren, that _this child is regenerate_," &c.: at the -commencement of the service its aim is said to be that God may "grant -to this child that thing which by nature he cannot have,"--"would wash -him and sanctify him with the Holy Ghost," that he may be "delivered -from God's wrath." Nothing, indeed, is so striking in this office of -the national Church, as its audacious trifling with solemn names, -denoting qualities of the soul and will; the ascription of spiritual -and moral attributes, not only to the child in whom they can yet have -no development, but even to material substances; the frivolity with -which engagements with God are made by deputy, and without the consent -or even existence of the engaging will. Water is said to possess -_sanctity_, for "the mystical washing away of sin." Infants, destitute -of any idea of duty or obligation to be resisted or obeyed, are said -to obtain "_remission of their sins_";--to "renounce the Devil and all -his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world"; "steadfastly to -believe" in the Apostles' Creed, and to be desirous of "baptism into -this faith." Belief, desire, resolve, are acts of some one's mind: the -language of this service attributes them to the personality of the -infant (_I_ renounce, _I_ believe, _I_ desire); yet there they cannot -possibly exist. If they are to be understood as affirmed by the -godfathers and godmothers of themselves, the case is not improved: for -how can one person's state of faith and conscience be made the -condition of the regeneration of another? What intelligible meaning -can be attached to these phrases of sanctity applied to an age not -responsible? In what sense, and by what indication, are these children -_holier_ than others? And with what reason, if all this be -Christianity, can we blame the Pope for sprinkling holy water on the -horses? The service appears little better than a profane sacerdotal -jugglery, by which material things are impregnated with divine -virtues, moral and spiritual qualities of the mind are sported with, -the holy spirit of God is turned into a physical mystery, and the -solemnity of personal responsibility is insulted. - -That a superstitious value is attributed to the details of the -baptismal form, in the Church of England, appears from certain parts -of the service for the private ministration of the rite. If a child -has been baptized by any other lawful minister than the minister of -the parish, strict inquiries are to be instituted by the latter -respecting the correctness with which the ceremony has been performed; -and should the prescribed rules have been neglected, the baptism is -invalid, and must be repeated. Yet great solicitude is manifested, -lest danger should be incurred by an unnecessary repetition of the -sacrament: to guard against which, the minister is to give the -following conditional invitation to the Holy Spirit; saying, in his -address to the child, "_If_ thou art not already baptized, I baptize -thee," &c. It is worthy of remark, that the Church mentions as one of -the _essentials_ of the service, the omission of which necessitates -its repetition, the use of the formula, "In the name of the Father, -and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." By this rule, every one of the -apostolic baptisms recorded in Scripture must be pronounced invalid; -and the Church of England, were it possible, would perform them again: -for in no instance does it appear that the Apostles employed either -this or even any equivalent form of words. - -That this sacrament is regarded as an indispensable channel of grace, -and positively necessary to salvation, is clear from the provision of -a short and private form, to be used in cases of extreme danger. The -prayers, and faith, and obedience, and patient love, of parents and -friends,--the dedication and heart-felt surrender of their child to -God, the profound application of their anxieties and grief to their -conscience and inward life,--all this, we are told, will be of no -avail, without the water and the priest. Archbishop Laud says: "That -baptism is necessary to the salvation of infants (in the ordinary way -of the Church, without binding God to the use and means of that -sacrament, to which he hath bound us), is expressed in St. John iii., -'Except a man be born of water,' &c. So, no baptism, no entrance; nor -can infants creep in, any other ordinary way."[3] Bishop Bramhall -says: "Wilful neglect of baptism we acknowledge to be a damnable sin; -and, without repentance and God's extraordinary mercy, to exclude a -man from all hope of salvation. But yet, if such a person, before his -death, shall repent and deplore his neglect of the means of grace, -from his heart, and desire with all his soul to be baptized, but is -debarred from it invincibly, we do not, we dare not, pass sentence of -condemnation upon him; not yet the Roman Catholics themselves. The -question then is, whether the want of baptism, upon invincible -necessity, do evermore infallibly exclude from heaven."[4] Singular -struggle here, between the merciless ritual of the priest, and the -relenting spirit of the man! - -The office of Communion contains even stronger marks of the same -sacerdotal superstitions; and, notwithstanding the Protestant horror -entertained of the mass, approaches it so nearly, that no ingenuity -can exhibit them in contrast. Near doctrines, however, like near -neighbors, are known to quarrel most. - -The idea of a physical sanctity, residing in solid and liquid -substances, is encouraged by this service. The priest _consecrates_ -the elements, by laying his hand upon all the bread, and upon every -flagon containing the wine about to be dispensed. If an additional -quantity is required, this too must be consecrated before its -distribution. And the sacredness thus imparted is represented as -surviving the celebration of the Supper, and residing in the -substances as a permanent quality: for in the disposal of the bread -and wine that may remain at the close of the sacramental feast, a -distinction is made between the consecrated and the unconsecrated -portion of the elements; the former is not permitted to quit the -altar, but is to be reverently consumed by the priest and the -communicants; the latter is given to the curate. What the particular -change may be, which the prayer and manipulation of the minister are -thought to induce, it is by no means easy to determine; nor would the -discovery, perhaps, reward our pains. It is certainly conceived, that -they cease to be any longer mere bread and wine, and that with them -thenceforth co-exist, really and substantially, the body and blood of -Christ. Respecting this _Real Presence_ with the elements, there is no -dispute between the Romish and the English Church; both unequivocally -maintain it: and the only question is, respecting the _Real Absence_ -of the original and culinary bread and wine; the Roman Catholic -believing that these substantially vanish, and are replaced by the -body and blood of Christ; the English Protestant conceiving that they -remain, but are united with the latter. The Lutheran, no less than the -British Reformed Church, has clung tenaciously to the doctrine of the -real presence in the Eucharist, Luther himself declares: "I would -rather retain, with the Romanists, _only_ the body and blood, than -adopt, with the Swiss, the bread and wine, _without_ the real body and -blood of Christ." The catechism of our Church affirms that "the body -and blood of Christ are _verily and indeed_ taken and received by the -faithful in the Lord's Supper." And this was not intended to be -figuratively understood, of the spiritual use and appropriation to -which the faith and piety of the receiver would mentally convert the -elements: for although here the body of Christ is only said to be -"_taken_" (making it the _act of the communicant_), yet one of the -Articles speaks of it as "_given_" (making it the _act of the -officiating priest_), and implying the real presence _before -participation_. However anxious, indeed, the clergy of the -"Evangelical" school may be to disguise the fact, it cannot be -doubted that their Church has always maintained a supernatural change -in the elements themselves, as well as in the mind of the receiver. -Cosin, Bishop of Durham, says, "We own the union between the body and -blood of Christ, and the elements, whose use and office we hold to be -changed from what it was before"; "we confess the necessity of a -supernatural and heavenly change, and that the signs cannot become -sacraments but by the infinite power of God."[5] - -In consistency with this preparatory change, a charmed efficacy is -attributed to the subsequent participation in the elements. Even the -_body_ of the communicant is said to be under their influence: "Grant -us to eat the flesh of thy dear Son, and drink his blood, that our -sinful _bodies_ may be made clean through his body, and our _souls_ -washed through his most precious blood"; and the unworthy recipients -are said "to provoke God to plague them with divers diseases and -sundry kinds of death." Lest the worshipper, by presenting himself in -an unqualified state, should "do nothing else than increase his -damnation," the unquiet conscience is directed to resort to the -priest, and receive the benefit of absolution before communicating. -Can we deny to the Oxford divines the merit (whatever it may be) of -consistency with the theology of their Church, when they applaud and -recommend, as they do, the administration of the Eucharist to infants, -and to persons dying and insensible? Indeed, it is difficult to -discover why infant Communion should be thought more irrational than -infant Baptism. If, as I have endeavored to show, the primary action -of these ceremonies is conceived to be on God, not on the mind of -their object, why should not the Divine blessing be induced upon the -young and the unconscious, as well as on the mature and capable soul? -And were any further evidence required than I have hitherto adduced, -to show _on whom_ the Communion is conceived to operate in the first -instance, it would surely be afforded by this clause in the Service: -by not partaking, "_Consider how great an injury ye do unto God._" - -The only thing wanted to complete this sacerdotal system, is to obtain -for a certain class of men the corporate possession, and exclusive -administration, of these essential and holy mysteries. This our Church -accomplishes by its doctrine of Apostolical Succession; claiming for -its ministers a lineal official descent from the Apostles, which -invests them, and them alone within this realm, with divine authority -to pronounce absolution or excommunication, and to administer the -Sacraments. They are thus the sole guardians of the channels of the -Divine Spirit and its grace, and interpose themselves between a nation -and its God. "Receive the Holy Ghost," says the Service for Ordination -of Priests, "for the office and work of a priest in the Church of God, -now committed unto thee by the imposition of hands. Whose sins thou -dost forgive, they are forgiven; and whose sins thou dost retain, they -are retained." "They only," says the present Bishop of Exeter, "can -claim to rule over the Lord's household, whom he has himself placed -over it; they only are able to minister the means of grace,--above -all, to present the great commemorative _sacrifice_,--whom Christ has -appointed, and whom he has in all generations appointed in unbroken -succession from those, and through those, whom he first ordained. -'Ambassadors from Christ' must, by the very force of the term, receive -credentials from Christ: 'stewards of the mysteries of God' must be -intrusted with those mysteries by him. Remind your people, that in the -Church only is the promise of forgiveness of sins; and though, to all -who truly repent, and sincerely believe, Christ mercifully grants -forgiveness, yet he has, in an especial manner, empowered his -ministers to declare and pronounce to his people the absolution and -remission of their sins: 'Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted -unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained.' This -was the awful authority given to his first ministers, and in them, and -through them, to all their successors. This is the awful authority we -have received, and that we must never be ashamed nor afraid to tell -the people that we have received. - -"Having shown to the people your commission, show to them how our own -Church has framed its services in accordance with that commission. -Show this to them not only in the Ordinal, but also in the Collects, -in the Communion Service, in the Office of the Visitation of the Sick; -show it, especially, in that which continually presents itself to -their notice, but is commonly little regarded by them; show it in the -very commencement of Morning and Evening Prayer, and make them -understand the full blessedness of that service, in which the Church -thus calls on them to join. Let them see that there the minister -authoritatively pronounces God's pardon and absolution to all them -that truly repent, and unfeignedly believe Christ's holy Gospel; that -he does this, even as the Apostles did, with the authority and by the -appointment of our Lord himself, who, in commissioning his Apostles, -gave this to be the never-failing assurance of his co-operation in -their ministry: 'Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the -world'; a promise which, of its very nature, was not to be fulfilled -to the persons of those whom he addressed, but to their office, to -their successors therefore in that office, 'even unto the end of the -world.' Lastly, remind and warn them of the awful sanction with which -our Lord accompanied his mission, even of the second order of the -ministers whom he appointed: 'He that heareth you, heareth me; and he -that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth -him that sent me.'" That this high dignity may be clearly understood -to belong in this country only to the Church of England, the Bishop -proposes the question, "What, then, becomes of those who are not, or -continue not, members of that (visible) Church?" and replies to it by -saying, that though he "judges not them that are without," yet "he who -wilfully and in despite of due warning, or through recklessness and -worldly-mindedness, sets at naught its ordinances, and despises its -ministers, has no right to promise to himself any share in the grace -which they are appointed to convey."[6] "Why," says one of the Oxford -divines, who here undeniably speaks the genuine doctrine of his -Church,--"Why should we talk so much of an _Establishment_, and so -little of an APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION? Why should we not seriously -endeavor to impress our people with this plain truth, that, by -separating themselves from our communion, they separate themselves not -only from a decent, orderly, useful society, but from THE ONLY CHURCH -IN THIS REALM WHICH HAS A RIGHT TO BE QUITE SURE THAT SHE HAS THE -LORD'S BODY TO GIVE TO HIS PEOPLE?"[7] - -Of course this divine authority has been received through the Church -of Rome, so abominable in the eyes of all Evangelical clergymen; and -through many an unworthy link in the broken chain. The Holy Spirit, it -is acknowledged, has _passed through_ many, on whom, apparently, it -was not pleased to rest; and the right to forgive sins been conferred -by those who seemed themselves to need forgiveness. A writer in the -Oxford Tracts observes: "Nor even though we may admit that many of -those who formed the connecting links of this holy chain were -themselves unworthy of the high charge reposed in them, can this -furnish us with any solid ground for doubting or denying their power -to exercise that legitimate authority with which they were duly -invested, of transmitting the sacred gift to worthier followers."[8] - -In its doctrine of Sacraments, then, and in that of ecclesiastical -authority and succession, the Church of England is thoroughly imbued -with the sacerdotal character. It doubtless contains far better elements -and nobler conceptions than those which it has been my duty to exhibit -now; and solemnly insists on faith of heart, and truth of conscience, -and Christian devotedness of life, as well as on the observance of its -ritual; with the external it unites the internal condition of -sanctification. But insisting on the theory of a mystic efficacy in the -Christian rites, it necessarily fails to reconcile these with each -other: and hence the opposite parties within its pale; the one -magnifying faith and personal spirituality, the other exalting the -sacraments and ecclesiastical communion. They represent respectively the -two constituent and clashing powers, which met at the formation of the -English Church, and of which it effected the mere compromise, not the -reconciliation; I mean, the priestliness of Rome, and the prophetic -spirit of the Reformers. Never, since apostolic days, did Heaven bless -us with truer prophet than Martin Luther. It was his mission (no modern -man had ever greater) to substitute the idea of _personal faith_ for -that of _sacerdotal reliance_. And gloriously, with bravery and truth of -soul amid a thousand hinderances, did he achieve it. But though, ever -since, the priests have been down, and faith has been up, yet did the -hierarchy unavoidably remain, and insisted that _something_ should be -made of it, and at least some colorable terms proposed. Hence, every -reformed church exhibits a coalition between the new and the old ideas: -and combined views of religion, which must ultimately prove incompatible -with each other; the formal with the spiritual; the idea of worship as a -means of propitiating God, with the conception of it as an expression of -love in man; the notion of Church authority with that of individual -freedom; the admission of a license to think, with a prohibition of -thinking wrong. In our national Church the old spirit was ascendant over -the new, though long forced into quiescence by the temper of modern -times. Now it is attempting to reassert its power, not without strenuous -resistance. Indeed, the present age seems destined to end the compromise -between the two principles, from the union of which Protestantism -assumed its established forms. The truce seems everywhere breaking up: a -general disintegration of churches is visible; tradition is ransacking -the past for claims and dignities, and canvassing present timidity for -fresh authority, to withstand the wild forces born at the Reformation, -and hurrying us fast into an unknown future. - -Let us now turn to the primitive Christianity; which, I submit, is -throughout wholly anti-sacerdotal. - -Surely it must be admitted that the general spirit of our Lord's -personal life and ministry was that of the Prophet, not of the Priest; -tending directly to the disparagement of whatever priesthood existed -in his country, without visibly preparing the substitution of anything -at all analogous to it. The sacerdotal order felt it so; and, with the -infallible instinct of self-preservation, they watched, they hated, -they seized, they murdered him. The priest in every age has a natural -antipathy to the prophet, dreads him as kings dread revolution, and is -the first to detect his existence. The solemn moment and the gracious -words of Christ's first preaching in Nazareth, struck with fate the -temple in Jerusalem. To the old men of the village, to the neighbors -who knew his childhood, and companions who had shared its rambles and -its sports, he said, with the quiet flush of inspiration: "The Spirit -of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the -Gospel to the poor: he hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to -preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the -blind; to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the -acceptable year of the Lord." The Spirit of the Lord in Galilee! -speaking with the peasantry, dwelling in villages, and wandering loose -and where it listeth among the hills! This would never do, thought the -white-robed Levites of the Holy City; it would be as a train of -wildfire in the temple. And were they not right? When it was revealed -that sanctity is no thing of place and time, that a way is open from -earth to heaven, from every field or mountain trod by human feet, and -through every roof that shelters a human head; that, amid the crowd -and crush of life, each soul is in personal solitude with God, and by -speech or silence (be they but true and loving) may tell its cares and -find its peace; that a divine allegiance might _cost nothing_, but the -strife of a dutiful will and the patience of a filial heart,--how -could any priesthood hope to stand? See how Jesus himself, when the -temple was close at hand, and the sunshine dressed it in its splendor, -yet withdrew his prayers to the midnight of Mount Olivet. He entered -those courts to teach, rather than to worship; and when there, he is -felt to take no consecration, but to give it; to bring with him the -living spirit of God, and spread it throughout all the place. When -evening closes his teachings, and he returns late over the Mount to -Bethany, did he not feel that there was more of God in the -night-breeze on his brow, and the heaven above him, and the sad love -within him, than in the place called "Holy" which he had left? And -when he had knocked at the gate of Lazarus the risen and become his -guest,--when, after the labors of the day, he unburdened his spirit to -the affections of that family, and spake of things divine to the -sisters listening at his feet,--did they not feel, as they retired at -length, that the whole house was full of God, and that there is no -sanctuary like the shrine, not made with hands, within us all? In -childhood, he had once preferred the temple and its teachings to his -parents' home: now, to his deeper experience, the temple has lost its -truth; while the cottage and the walks of Nazareth, the daily voices -and constant duties of this life, seem covered with the purest -consecration. True, he vindicated the sanctity of the temple, when he -heard within its enclosure the hum of traffic and the chink of gain, -and would not have the house of prayer turned into a place of -merchandise: because in this there was imposture and a lie, and Mammon -and the Lord must ever dwell apart. In nothing must there be mockery -and falsehood; and while the temple stands, it must be a temple true. - -Our Lord's whole ministry, then, (to which we may add that of his -Apostles,) was conceived in a spirit quite opposite to that of -priesthood. A missionary life, without fixed locality, without form, -without rites; with teaching free, occasional, and various, with -sympathies ever with the people, and a strain of speech never marked -by invective, except against the ruling sacerdotal influence;--all -these characters proclaim him, purely and emphatically, the Prophet -of the Lord. It deserves notice that, unless as the name of his -enemies, the _word_ "PRIEST" ([Greek: hiereus]) never occurs in either -the historical or epistolary writings of the New Testament, except in -the Epistle to the Hebrews. And _there_ its application is not a -little remarkable. It is applied to Christ alone; it is declared to -belong to him only after his ascension; it is said that, while on -earth, he neither was, nor could be, a priest; and if it is admitted -that he holds the office in heaven, this is only to satisfy the demand -of the Hebrew Christians for some sacerdotal ideas in their religion, -and to reconcile them to having no priest on earth. The writer -acknowledges one great pontiff in the world above, that the whole race -may be superseded in the world below; and banishes priesthood into -invisibility, that men may never see its shadow more. All the terms of -office which are given to the first preachers of the Gospel and -superintendents of churches,--as Deacon, Elder or Presbyter, Overseer -or Bishop,--are _lay terms_, belonging previously, not to -ecclesiastical, but to civil life; an indication, surely, that no -analogy was thought to exist between the Apostolic and the Sacerdotal -relations.[9] I shall, no doubt, be reminded of the words, in which -our Lord is supposed to have given their commission to his first -representatives: "Whatsoever ye bind on earth shall be bound in -heaven; and whatsoever ye loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven"; -and shall be asked whether this does not convey to them and their -successors an official authority to forgive sins, and dispense the -decrees of the unseen world. I reply briefly:-- - -1st. That the power here granted does not relate to the dispensations -of the future life, but solely to what would be termed, in modern -language, the allotment of _church-membership_. The previous verse -proves this, furnishing as it does a particular case of the general -authority here assigned. It directs the Apostles under what -circumstances they are to remove an offender from a Christian society, -and treat him as an unconverted man, as a heathen man and a publican. -Having given them their rule, he freely trusts the application of it -to them: and being about to retire erelong from personal intervention -in the affairs of his kingdom, he assures them that their decisions -shall be his, and that he may be considered as adopting in heaven -their determinations upon earth. He simply "consigns to his Apostles -discretionary power to direct the affairs of his Church, and -superintend the diffusion of the glad tidings: they may bind and -loose, that is, open and shut the door of admission to their -community, as their judgment may determine; employing or rejecting -applicants for the missionary office; dissociating from their -assemblies obstinate delinquents; receiving with openness, or -dismissing with suspicion, each candidate for instruction, according -to their estimate of his qualifications and motives." - -2dly. It is to be observed, that there is no appearance of any one -being in the contemplation of our Lord, beyond the persons immediately -addressed. Not a word is said of any official successor or any distant -age. No indication is afforded, that any idea of futurity was present -to the mind of Jesus: and a title of perpetual office, an instrument -creating and endowing an endless priesthood, ought, it will be -admitted, to be somewhat more explicit than this. But where the power -has been successfully claimed, the title is seldom difficult to prove. - -The alleged RITUAL of Christianity, consisting of the sacraments of -Baptism and the Communion, will be found no less destitute of sanction -from the Scriptures. The former we shall see reason to regard as -simply an initiatory form, applicable only to Christian converts, and -limited therefore to adults; the latter as purely a commemoration: -neither therefore having any sacramental or mystical efficacy. - -For baptism it is impossible to establish any supernatural origin. It is -admitted to have existed before the Christian era; and to have been -employed by the Jews on the admission of proselytes to their religion. -It is certain that it is not an enjoined rite in the Mosaic -dispensation; and, though prevalent before the period of the New -Testament, is nowhere enforced or recognized in the writings of the Old. -It arose therefore in the interval between the only two systems which -Christians acknowledged to be supernatural; and must be considered as of -natural and human origin, invested, thus far, with no higher authority -than its own appropriateness may confer. There seem to have been two -modes of construing the symbol: the one founded on the cleansing effect -of the water on the person of the baptized himself; the other, on the -appearance of his immersion (which was complete) to the eye of a -spectator. The former was an image of the heathen convert's purification -from a foul idolatry, and his transition to a stainless condition under -a divine and justifying law. The latter represented him, when he -vanished in the stream, as interred to this world, sunk utterly from its -sight; and when he reappeared, as emerging or born again to a better -state; the "old man" was "buried in baptism," and when he "rose again," -he had altogether "become new."[10] The ceremony then was appropriately -used in any case of transition from a depressed and corrupt state of -existence to a hopeful and blessed one; from a false or imperfect -religion to one true and heavenly. - -But it will be said, whatever the origin of baptism, it was employed and -sanctioned by our Lord, who commissioned his Apostles to go and baptize -all nations. True; but is there no difference between the adoption of a -practice already extant,--of a practice which was as much the mere -institutional dress of the Apostles' nation, as the sandals whose dust -they were to shake off against the faithless were the customary clothing -of the Apostles' feet,--and the authoritative appointment of a -sacrament? They were going forth to make converts: and why should they -not have recourse to the form familiarly associated with the act? -Familiar association recommended its adoption in that age and clime; and -the absence of such association elsewhere and in other times may be -thought to justify its disuse. At all events, a ceremony thus taken up -must be presumed to retain its acquired sense and its established extent -of application: and if so, baptism must be strictly limited to the -admission of proselytes from other faiths. This accords with the known -practice of the Apostles, who cannot be shown to have baptized any but -those whom they had personally, or by their missionaries, persuaded to -become Christians. Not a single case of the use of the rite with -children can be adduced from Scripture; and the only argument by which -such employment of it is ever justified is this: that a _household_ is -said to have been baptized, and _all nations_ were to receive the offer -of it; and that the household _may_, the nations _must_, have contained -children. It is evident that such reasoning could never have been -propounded, unless the practice had existed first, and the defence had -been found afterwards. - -With the system of infant baptism vanish almost all the ideas which the -prevalent theology has put into the rite; and it becomes as intelligible -and expressive to one who believes in the good capacities of human -nature, as to those who esteem it originally depraved. "How unmeaning," -say our Orthodox opponents, "is this ceremony in Unitarian hands, -denying, as they do, the doctrines which it represents! Of what -regeneration can they possibly suppose it the symbol, if not of the -washing away of that _hereditary sin_ which they refuse to acknowledge? -for when the infant is brought to the font, he can as yet have no other -guilt than this." I reply, the objection has no force except against the -use of _infant_ baptism in our churches,--which I am not anxious to -defend; but of course those Unitarians who employ it conceive it to be -the token, not of any sentiments which they reject, but of truths and -feelings which they hold dear. For myself, I believe, with our -opponents, that the _doctrine_ of original sin and the _practice_ of -infant baptism _do_ belong to each other, and must stand or fall -together; and therefore deem it a fact very significant of the Apostles' -theology, that no infant can be shown ever to have been "brought to the -font" by these first true missionaries of Christianity. And as to the -_new birth_ which baptism (i. e. recent and genuine discipleship to -Jesus) may give to the _maturely convinced_ Christian, he must have a -great deal to learn, not only of the Hebrew conceptions and language in -relation to the Messiah, but of the spirituality of the Gospel, and of -the fresh creations of character which it calls up, who can be much -puzzled about its meaning. - -In Christian baptism, then, we have no sacrament with mystic power; -but an initiatory form, possibly of consuetudinary obligation only; -but if enjoined, applicable exclusively to proselytes, and misemployed -in the case of infants; a sign of conversion, not a means of -salvation; confided to no sacerdotal order, but open to every man -fitted to give it an appropriate use. - -I turn to the Lord's Supper; with design to show what it is not, and -what it is. It is not a mystery, or a sacrament, any more than it is -an expiatory sacrifice. To persuade us that it has a ritual character, -we are first assured that it is clearly the successor in the Gospel to -the Passover under the Law. Well, even if it were so, it would still -be simply commemorative, and without any other efficacy than a -festival, filled with great remembrances, and inspired with religious -joy. Such was the Paschal Feast in Jerusalem; the annual gathering of -families and kindred, a sacred carnival under the spring sky and in -sight of unreaped fields, when the memory was recalled of national -deliverance, and the tale was told of traditional glories, and the -thoughts brought back of bondage reversed, of the desert pilgrimage -ended, of the promised land possessed. The Jewish festival was no more -than this; unless, with Archbishop Magee and others, we erroneously -conceive it to be a proper sacrifice. So that those who would -interpret the Lord's Supper by the Passover have their choice between -two views: that it is a simple commemoration; or that it is an -expiatory sacrifice: in the former case they quit the Church of -England; in the latter, they fall into the Church of Rome. - -But, in truth, there is no propriety in applying the name "Christian -Passover" to the Communion. The notion rests entirely on this -circumstance: that the first three Evangelists describe the last -Supper as the Paschal Supper. But the _institutional_ part of that -meal was over before the cup was distributed, and the repetition of -the act enjoined. Nor is there the slightest trace, either in the -subsequent Scriptures, or in the earliest history of the Church, that -the Communion was thought to bear relation to the Passover. The time, -the frequency, the mode, of the two were altogether different. Indeed, -when we observe that not one of these particulars is prescribed and -determined by our Lord at all, when we notice the slight and transient -manner in which he drops his wish that they would "do this in -remembrance of" him, when we compare these features of the account -with the elaborate precision of Moses respecting hours, and materials, -and dates, and places, and modes in the establishment of the Hebrew -festivals, it is scarcely possible to avoid the impression, that we -are reading narrative, not law; an utterance of personal affection, -rather than the legislative enactment of an everlasting institution. -However this may be, no importance can be attached to the reported -coincidence in the time of that meal with the day of Passover; for the -Apostle John, who gives by far the fullest account of what happened at -that table (yet never mentions the institution of the Supper), states -that this was not the paschal meal at all, which did not occur, he -says, till the following day of crucifixion. - -"But," it will be said, "the Gospels are not the only parts of Scripture -whence the nature of the Eucharist may be learned. Language is employed -by St. Paul in reference to it, which cannot be understood of a mere -memorial, and implies that awful consequences hung on the worthy or -unworthy participation in the rite. Does he not even say, that a man may -'eat and drink damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body'?" - -The passage whence these words are cited certainly throws great light on -the institution of which we treat; but there must be a total disregard -to the whole context and the general course of the Apostle's reasoning -before it can be made to yield any argument for the mystical character -of the rite. It would appear that the Corinthian church was in the habit -of celebrating the Lord's Supper in a way which, even if it had never -been disgraced by any indecorum, must have struck a modern Christian -with wonder at its singularity. The members met together in one room or -church, each bringing his own supper, of such quantity and quality as -his opulence or poverty might allow. To this the Apostle does not -object, but apparently considers it a part of the established -arrangement. But these Christians were divided into factions, and had -not learned the true uniting spirit of their faith; nor do they seem to -have acquired that sobriety of habit and sanctity of mind which their -profession ought to have induced. When they entered the place of -meeting, they broke up into groups and parties, class apart from class, -and rich deserting poor: each set began its separate meal, some -indulging in luxury and excess, others with scarce the means of keeping -the commemoration at all; and, infamous to tell, the blessed Supper of -the Lord was sunk into a tavern meal. So gross and habitual had the -abuse become, that the excesses had affected the health and life of -these guilty and unworthy partakers. They had made no distinction -between the Communion and an ordinary repast, had lost all perception of -the memorial significance of their meeting, had not discriminated or -"discerned the Lord's body"; and so they had eaten and drunk judgment -(improperly rendered "_damnation_" in the English Version) to -themselves; and many were weak and sickly among them, and many even -slept. Well would it be, if they would look on this as a chastening of -the Lord; in which case they might take warning, and escape being cast -out of the Church, and driven to take their chance with the unbelieving -and heathen world. "When we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, -that we should not be condemned with the world." - -In order to remedy all this corruption, St. Paul reminds them, that to -eat and drink under the same roof, in the church, does not constitute -proper Communion; that, to this end, they must not break up into -sections, and retain their property in the food, but all participate -seriously together. He directs that an absolute separation shall be -made between the occasions for satisfying hunger and thirst, and those -for observing this commemorative rite, discriminating carefully the -memorial of the Lord's body from everything else. He refers them all -to the original model of the institution, the parting meal of Christ -before his betrayal; and by this example, as a criterion, he would -have every man examine himself, and after that pattern eat of the -bread and drink of the cup. Hence it appears,-- - -That the unworthy partaker was the riotous Corinthian, who made no -distinction between the sacred Communion and a vulgar meal: - -That the judgment or damnation which such brought on themselves, was -sickliness, weakness, and premature but natural death: - -That the self-examination which the Apostle recommends to the -communicant is a comparison of his mode of keeping the rite with the -original model of the last Supper: - -That in the Corinthian church there was no Priest, or officiating -dispenser of the elements; and that St. Paul did not contemplate or -recommend the appointment of any such person. - -The Lord's Supper, then, I conclude, was and is a simple -commemoration. Am I asked: "_Of what_? Why, according to Unitarian -views, the death on the cross merits the memorial more than the -remaining features of our Lord's history,--more even than the death of -many a noble martyr, who has sealed his testimony to truth by like -self-sacrifice"? The answer will be found at length in the Lecture on -the Atonement, where the Scriptural conceptions of Christ's death are -expounded in detail. Meanwhile, it is sufficient to recall an idea, -which has more than once been thrown out during this course; that, if -Jesus had taken up his Messianic power without death, he would have -remained a Hebrew, and been limited to the people amid whom he was -born. He quitted his mortal personality, he left this fleshly -tabernacle of existence, and became immortal, that his nationality -might be destroyed, and all men drawn in as subjects of his reign. It -was the cross that opened to the nations the blessed ways of life, and -put us all in relations, not of law, but of love, to him and God. -Hence the memorial of his death celebrates the universality and -spirituality of the Gospel; declares the brotherhood of men, the -fatherhood of providence, the personal affinity of every soul with -God. That is no empty rite which overflows with these conceptions. - -Christianity, then, I maintain, is without Priest and without Ritual. -It altogether coalesces with the prophetic idea of religion, and -repudiates the sacerdotal. Christ himself was transcendently THE -PROPHET. He brought down God to this our life, and left his spirit -amid its scenes. The Apostles were prophets; they carried that spirit -abroad, revealing everywhere to men the sanctity of their nature, and -the proximity of their heaven. Nor am I even unwilling to admit an -apostolic succession, never yet extinct, and never more to be -extinguished. But then it is by no means a rectilinear regiment of -incessant priests; but a broken, scattered, yet glorious race of -prophets; the genealogy of great and Christian souls, through whom the -primitive conceptions of Jesus have propagated themselves from age to -age; mind producing mind, courage giving birth to courage, truth -developing truth, and love ever nurturing love, so long as one good -and noble spirit shall act upon another. Luther surely was the child -of Paul; and what a noble offspring has risen to manhood from Luther's -soul, whom to enumerate were to tell the best triumphs of the modern -world. These are Christ's true ambassadors; and never did he mean any -follower of his to be called a priest. He has his genuine messenger, -wherever, in the Church or in the world, there toils any one of the -real prophets of our race; any one who can create the good and great -in other souls, whether by truth of word or deed, by the inspiration -of genuine speech, or the better power of a life merciful and holy. - - * * * * * - -And here, my friends, with my subject might my Lecture close, were it -not that we are assembled now to terminate this controversy; and that -a few remarks in reference to its whole course and spirit seem to be -required. - -That the recent aggression upon the principles of Unitarian -Christianity was prompted by no unworthy motive, individual or -political, but by a zeal, Christian so far as its spirit is -disinterested, and unchristian only so far as it is exclusive, has -never been doubted or denied by my brother ministers or myself. That -much personal consideration and courtesy have been evinced towards us -during the controversy, it is so grateful to us to acknowledge, that -we must only regret the theological obstructions in the way of that -mutual knowledge which softens the prejudices and corrects the errors -of the closet. From such errors, the lot of our fallible nature, we -are deeply aware that we cannot be exempt, and profoundly wish that, -by others' aid or by our own, we could discover them. Meanwhile, we do -not feel that our opponents have been successful in the offer which -they have made, of help towards this end. They are too little -acquainted with our history and character, and have far too great a -horror of us, to succeed in a design demanding rather the benevolence -of sympathy and trust than that of antipathy and fear. Hence have -arisen certain complaints and charges against our system and its -tendencies, which, having been reiterated again and again in the -Christ Church Lectures, and scarcely noticed in our own, claim a -concluding observation or two now. - -1. We are said to be infidels in disguise, and our system to be -drifting fast towards utter unbelief. At all events, it is said we -make great advances that way. - -It is by no means unusual to dismiss this charge on a whirlwind of -declamation, designed to send it and the infidel to the greatest -possible distance. My friend who delivered the first Lecture noticed -it in a far different spirit; and in a discussion where truth and -wisdom had any chance, his reply would have prevented any recurrence -to the statement. Let me try to imitate him in the testimony which I -desire to add upon this point. - -Every one, I presume, who disbelieves _anything_, is, with respect to -that thing, _an infidel_. Departure from any prevalent and established -ideas is inevitably an approach to infidelity; the extent of the -departure, not the reasonableness or propriety of it, is the sole -measure of the nearness of that approach; which, however wise and -sober, when estimated by a true and independent criterion, will -appear, to persons strongly possessed by the ascendant notions, -nothing less than alarming, amazing, awful. In short, the average -popular creed of the day is the mental standard, from which the stadia -are measured off towards that invisible, remote, nay, even imaginary -place, lodged somewhere within chaos, called utter unbelief. -Christianity at first was blank infidelity; and disciples, being of -course the atheists of their day, were thought a fit prey for the -wild beasts of the amphitheatre. Every rejection of tradition, again, -is unbelief with respect to it; and to those who hold its authority, -it is the denial of an essential. It is too evident to need proof, -that the average popular belief cannot be assumed, by any considerate -person, as a standard of truth. To make it an objection against any -class of men, that they depart from it, is to prove no error against -them; and no one, who is not willing to call in the passions of the -multitude in suffrage on the controversies of the few, will condescend -to enforce the charge. - -But only observe how, in the present instance, the matter stands. In -the popular religion we discern, mixed up together, two constituent -portions: certain _peculiar_ doctrines which characterize the common -Orthodoxy; and certain _universal_ Christian truths remaining, when -these are subtracted. The infidel throws away both of these; we throw -away the former only; and thus far, no doubt, we partially agree with -him. But _on what grounds_ do we severally justify this rejection? In -answer to this question, compare the views, with respect both to the -_authority_ and to the _interpretation_ of Scripture, held by the -three parties, the Trinitarian, the Unbeliever, the Unitarian. The -Unbeliever does not usually find fault with the Orthodox -_interpretation_ of the Bible, but allows it to pass, as probably the -real meaning of the book, only he altogether denies the divine -character and authority of the whole religion; he therefore _agrees_ -with the Trinitarian respecting interpretation, disagrees with him -respecting _authority_. The Unitarian, again, admits the divine -character of Christianity, but understands it differently from the -Trinitarian; he therefore reverses the former case, _agrees_ with the -Orthodox on the authority, _disagrees_ respecting interpretation. It -follows, that with the Unbeliever he agrees _in neither_, and is -therefore farther from him than his Trinitarian accuser. - -I have given this explanation from regard simply to logical truth. I -have no desire to join in the outcry against even the deliberate -unbeliever in the Gospel, as if he must necessarily be a fiend. -Profoundly loving and trusting Christianity myself, I yet feel indignant -at the persecution which theology, policy, and law inflict on the many -who, with undeniable exercise of conscientiousness and patience of -research, are yet unable to satisfy themselves respecting its evidence. -The very word "_infidel_," implying not simply an intellectual judgment, -but bad moral qualities, conveys an unmerited insult, and ought to be -repudiated by every generous disputant. The more deeply we trust -Christianity, the more should we protest against its being defended by a -body-guard of passions, willing to do for it precisely the services -which they might equally render to the vulgarest imposture. - -2. We were recently accused, amid acknowledgments of our _honesty_, -with want of _anxiety_ about spiritual truth; and the following -justification of the charge was offered: "The word of God has informed -us, that they who seek the truth shall find it; that they who ask for -holy wisdom shall receive it; but it must be a _really anxious -inquiry_,--a heart-felt desire for the blessing. 'If thou seekest her -as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures, then shalt thou -understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God.' Such -promises are express,--they cannot be broken,--God will give the -blessing to the _sincere_, _anxious_ inquirer. But the two qualities -must go together. A man may be sincere in his ignorance and spiritual -torpor; but let the full desire for God's favor, his pardoning mercy, -and his enlightening grace spring up in the heart, and we may rest -assured that the desire will soon be accomplished. Admitting, then, -the sincerity of Unitarians, we doubt their anxiety, for we are well -persuaded from God's promises, that, if they possessed both, they -would be delivered from their miserable system, and be brought to the -knowledge of the truth."[11] - -The praise of our "_sincerity_," conveyed in these bland sentences, we -are anxious to decline: not that we undervalue the quality; but -because we find, on near inspection, that it has all been emptied out -of the word before its presentation, and the term comes to us hollow -and worthless. It affords a specimen of the mode in which alone our -opponents appear able to give any credit to heretics: many phrases of -approbation they freely apply to us; but they take care to draw off -the whole meaning first. We must reject these "Greek presents"; and we -are concerned that any Christian divine can so torture and desecrate -the names of virtue, as to make them instruments of disparagement and -injury. This play with words, which every conscience should hold -sacred, and every lip pronounce with reverence,--this careless and -unmeaning application of them in discourse,--indicates a loose -adhesion to the mind of the ideas denoted by them, which we regard -with unfeigned astonishment and grief. What, let me ask, can be the -"_sincerity_" of an inquirer, who is not "_anxious_" _about the -truth_? How can _he_ be "_sincerely_" persuaded that he sees, who -voluntarily shuts his eyes? Unless this word is to be degraded into a -synonyme for indolence and self-complacency, no professed seeker of -truth must have the praise of sincerity, who does not abandon all -worship of his own state of mind as already perfect, who is not ready -to listen to every calm doubt as to the voice of heaven,--to undertake -with gratitude the labor of reaching new knowledge,--to maintain his -faith and his profession in scrupulous accordance with his perception -of evidence; and, at any moment of awakening, to spring from his most -brilliant dreams into God's own morning light, with a matin hymn upon -his lips for his new birth from darkness and from sleep. The -earnestness implied in this state of mind is perhaps not precisely the -same as that with which our Trinitarian opponents seem to be familiar. -The "anxiety" which they appear to feel for themselves is, to keep -their existing state of belief: the "anxiety" which they feel for us -is, that we should have it. We are to hold ourselves ready for a -change; they are not to be expected to desire it. If a doubt of _our -opinions_ should occur _to us_, we are to foster it carefully, and -follow it out as a beckoning of the Holy Spirit: if a doubt of _their -sentiments_ should occur _to them_, they are to crush it on the spot, -as a reptile-thought sent of Satan to tempt them. "Our aim," says the -concluding Lecturer again, "has been to beget a deep spirit of -inquiry";[12] and so has ours, I would reply: only you and we have -severally prosecuted this aim in different ways. We have personally -listened, and personally inquired, and earnestly recommended all whom -our influence could reach, to do the same: and few indeed will be the -Unitarian libraries containing one of these series of Lectures that -will not exhibit the other by its side. You have entered this -controversy, evidently strange to our literature and history; and any -deficiency in such reading before, has not been compensated by anxiety -to listen now. Your people have been warned against us, and are taught -to regard the study of our publications as blasphemy at second hand; -and were they really so simple as to act upon your avowed wish "to -beget a deep spirit of inquiry," and plunge into the investigation of -Unitarian authors, and judge for themselves of Unitarian worship, they -would speedily hear the word of recall, and discover that they were -practically disappointing the whole object of this controversy. - -Having said thus much respecting the unmeaning use of language in the -Lecturer's disparaging estimate of Unitarian "anxiety," we may -profitably direct a moment's attention to the _reasoning_ which it -involves. It presents us with the standing fallacy of intolerance, -which is sufficiently rebuked by being simply exhibited. Our opponents -reason thus:-- - - God will not permit the really anxious fatally to err: - The Unitarians _do_ fatally err: - Therefore, The Unitarians are not really anxious. - -Now it is clear that we must conceive our opponents to be no less -mistaken than they suppose us to be. They are as far from us, as we -from them; and from either point, taken as a standard, the measure of -error must be the same. Moreover, we cannot but eagerly assent to the -principle of the Lecturer's first premise, that God will never let the -truly anxious fatally miss their way. So that there is nothing, in the -nature of the case, to prevent our turning this same syllogism, with a -change in the names of the parties, against our opponents. Yet we -should shrink, with severe self-reproach, from drawing any such -unfavorable conclusion respecting them, as they deduce of us. -Accordingly, we manage our reasoning thus:-- - - God will not permit the really anxious fatally to err: - The Trinitarians show themselves to be really anxious: - Therefore, The Trinitarians do not fatally err. - -Our opponents are more sure that their judgment is in the right, than -that their neighbors' conscience is in earnest. They sacrifice other -men's characters to their own self-confidence: we would rather distrust -our self-confidence, and rely on the visible signs of a good and careful -mind. We honor other men's hearts, rather than our own heads. How can it -be just, to make the agreement between an opponent's opinion and our own -the criterion of his proper conduct of the inquiry? Every man feels the -injury the moment the rule is turned against himself; and every good man -should be ashamed to direct it against his brother. - -3. Our reverend opponents affect to have labored under a great -disadvantage, from the absence of any recognized standard of Unitarian -belief. "We give you," they say, "our Articles and Creeds, which we -unanimously undertake to defend, and which expose a definite object to -all heretical attacks. In return, you can furnish us with no -authorized exposition of your system, but leave us to gather our -knowledge of it from individual writers, for whose opinions you refuse -to be responsible, and whose reasonings, when refuted by us, you can -conveniently disown." - -Plausible as this complaint may appear, I venture to affirm, that it -is vastly easier to ascertain the common belief of Unitarians, than -that of the members of the Established Church; and for this plain -reason, that with us there really is such a thing as a common faith, -though defined in no confession; in the Anglican Church there is not, -though articles and creeds profess it. The characteristic tenets of -Unitarian Christianity are so simple and unambiguous, that little -scope exists for variety in their interpretation: to the propositions -expressing them all their professors attach _distinct and the same_ -ideas;--so far, at least, as such accordance is possible in relation -to subjects inaccessible both to demonstration and to experience. But -the Trinitarian hypothesis, venturing with presumptuous analysis far -into the Divine psychology, presents us with ideas confessedly -inapprehensible; propounded in language which, if used in its ordinary -sense, is self-contradictory, and if not, is unmeaning, and ready in -its emptiness to be filled by any arbitrary interpretation;--and -actually understood so variously by those who subscribe to them, that -the Calvinist and the Arminian, the Tritheist and the Sabellian, unite -to praise them. Indeed, in the history of the English Church, so -visible is the sweep of the centre of Orthodoxy over the whole space -from the confines of Romanism to the verge of Unitarianism, that our -ecclesiastical chronology is measured by its oscillations. Our -respected opponents know full well, that it is not necessary to search -beyond the clergy of this town, or even beyond the morning and -afternoon preaching in one and the same church, in order to encounter -greater contrasts in theology, than could be found in a whole library -of Unitarian divinity. What mockery, then, to refer us to these -articles as expositions of clerical belief, when the moment we pass -beyond the words, and address ourselves to the sense, every shade of -contrariety appears; and no one definite conception can be adopted of -such a doctrine as that of the Trinity, without some church expositor -or other starting up to rebuke it as a misrepresentation! How poor the -pride of uniformity, which contents itself with lip-service to the -symbol, in the midst of heart-burnings about the reality! - -In order to test the force of the objection to which I am referring, -let us advert, in detail, to the topics which exhibit the Unitarian -and Trinitarian theology in most direct opposition. It will appear -that the advantage of unity lies, in this instance, on the side of -heresy; and that, if multiformity be a prime characteristic of error, -there is a wide difference between orthodoxy and truth. There are four -great subjects comprised in the controversy between the Church and -ourselves: the nature of God; of Christ; of sin; of punishment. On -these several points (which, considered as involving on our part -denials of previous ideas, may be regarded as containing the -_negative_ elements of our belief) all our modern writers, without -material variation or exception, maintain the following doctrines:-- - - UNITARIAN DOCTRINES, _opposed to_ CHURCH DOCTRINES. - - 1. The Personal Unity of God. 1. The Trinity in Unity. - - 2. The Simplicity of Nature in 2. Two Distinct Natures in - Christ. Christ. - - 3. The Personal Origin and 3. The Transferable Nature - Identity of Sin. and Vicarious Removal - of Sin. - - 4. The Finite Duration of Future 4. The Eternity of Hell - Suffering. Torments. - -Now no one at all familiar with polemical literature can deny that the -modes and ambiguities of doctrine comprised in this Trinitarian list -are more numerous than can be detected in the parallel "heresies." I -am willing, indeed, to admit an exception in respect to the last of -the topics, and to allow that the belief in the finite duration of -future punishment has opposed itself, in two forms, to the single -doctrine of everlasting torments. But when the systems are compared at -their other corresponding points, the boast of orthodox uniformity -instantly vanishes. Since the primitive jealousy between the Jewish -and Gentile Christianity, the rivalry between the "Monarchy" and the -"Economy," the believers in the personal unity of God, though often -severed by ages from each other, have held that majestic truth in one -unvaried form. Never was there an idea so often lost and recovered, -yet so absolutely unchanged: a sublime but occasional visitant of the -human mind, assuring us of the perpetual oneness of our own nature, as -well as the Divine. We can point to no unbroken continuity of our -great doctrine: and if we could, we should appeal with no confidence -to the evidence of so dubious a phenomenon; for if a system of ideas -once gains possession of society, and attracts to itself complicated -interests and feelings, many causes may suffice to insure its -indefinite preservation. But we can point to a greater phenomenon: to -the long and repeated extinction of our favorite belief, to its -submersion beneath a dark and restless fanaticism; and its invariable -resurrection, like a necessary intuition of the soul, in times of -purer light, with its features still the same; stamped with -imperishable identity of truth, and, like him to whom it refers, -without variableness or shadow of a turning. Meanwhile, who will -undertake to enumerate and define the succession of Trinities by which -this doctrine has been bewildered and banished? Passing by the -Aristotelian, the Platonic, the Ciceronian, the Cartesian -Trinity,--quitting the stormy disputes and contradictory decisions of -the early councils, shall we find among even the modern fathers of our -National Church any approach to unanimity? Am I to be content with the -doctrine of Bishop Bull, and subordinate the Son to the Father as the -sole fountain of divinity? Or must I rise to the Tritheism of -Waterland and Sherlock? or, accepting the famous decision of the -University of Oxford, descend, with Archbishop Whately, to the modal -Trinity of South and Wallis? Are we to understand the phrase, three -persons, to mean three beings united by "perichoresis," three "mutual -inexistences," three "modes," three "differences," three -"contemplations," or three "somewhats"; or, being told that this is -but a vain prying into a mystery, shall we be satisfied to leave the -phrase without idea at all? It is to the last degree astonishing to -hear from Trinitarian divines the praises of uniformity of belief; -seeing that it is one of the chief labors of ecclesiastical history to -record the incessant effort, vain to the present day, to give some -stability of meaning to the fundamental doctrines of their faith. - -The same remark applies, with little modification, to the opposite views -respecting the person of the Saviour. It is true, that Unitarians, -agreed respecting the singleness of nature in Christ, differ respecting -the natural rank of that nature, whether his soul were human or angelic. -But, for this solitary variety among these heretics, how many doctrines -of the Logos and the Incarnation does Orthodox literature contain? Can -any one affirm, that, when the Council of Ephesus had arbitrated between -the Eutychian doctrine of absorption, and the Nestorian doctrine of -separation, all doubt and ambiguity was removed by the magic phrase -"hypostatic union"? Since the monophysite contest was at its height, has -the Virgin Mary been left in undisputed possession of her title as -"Mother of God"? Has the Eternal Generation of the Son encountered no -orthodox suspicions, and the Indwelling scheme received no orthodox -support? And if we ask these questions: "What respectively happened to -the two natures on the cross? what has become of Christ's human soul -now? is it separate from the Godhead, like any other immortal spirit, or -is it added to the Deity, so as to introduce into his nature a new and -fourth element?" shall we receive from the many voices of the Church but -one accordant answer? Nay, do the authors of this controversy suppose -that, during its short continuance, they have been able to maintain -their unanimity? If they do, I believe that any reader who thinks it -worth while to register the varieties of error, would be able to -undeceive them. If the diversities of doctrine cannot easily and often -be shown to amount to palpable inconsistencies, this must be ascribed, I -believe, to the mystic and technical phraseology, the substitute rather -than the expression for precise ideas,--which has become the vernacular -dialect of orthodox divinity. The jargon of theology affords a field -too barren to bear so vigorous a weed as an undisputed contradiction. - -It is needless to dwell on the numerous forms under which the doctrine -of Atonement has been held by those who subscribe the articles of our -National Church; while its Unitarian opponents have taken their fixed -station on the personal character and untransferable nature of sin. One -writer tells us that only the human nature perished on the cross; -another, that God himself expired: some say, that Christ suffered no -more intensely, but only more "meritoriously," than many a martyr; -others, that he endured the whole quantity of torment due to the wicked -whom he redeemed: some, that it is the spotlessness of his manhood that -is imputed to believers; others, that it is the holiness of his Deity. -From the high doctrine of satisfaction to the very verge of Unitarian -heresy, every variety of interpretation has been given to the language -of the established formularies respecting Christian redemption. Nor is -it yet determined whether, in the lottery of opinion, the name of Owen, -Sykes, or Magee shall be drawn for the prize of orthodoxy. - -And if, from those parts of our belief to which the accidents of their -historical origin have given a _negative_ character, we turn to those -which are _positive_, not the slightest reason will appear for charging -them with uncertainty and fluctuation. All Unitarian writers maintain -the Moral Perfection and Fatherly Providence of the Infinite Ruler; the -Messiahship of Jesus Christ, in whose person and spirit there is a -Revelation of God and a Sanctification for Man; the Responsibility and -Retributive Immortality of men; and the need of a pure and devout heart -of Faith, as the source of all outward goodness and inward communion -with God. These great and self-luminous points, bound together by -natural affinity, constitute the fixed centre of our religion. And on -subjects beyond this centre we have no wider divergences than are found -among those who attach themselves to an opposite system. For example, -the relations between Scripture and Reason, as evidences and guides in -questions of doctrine, are not more unsettled among us, than are the -relations between Scripture and Tradition in the Church. Nor is the -perpetual authority of the "Christian rites" so much in debate among our -ministers, as the efficacy of the sacraments among the clergy. In truth, -our diversities of sentiment affect far less _what_ we believe, than the -question _why_ we believe it. Different modes of reasoning, and -different results of interpretation, are no doubt to be found among our -several authors. We all make our appeal to the records of Christianity; -but we have voted no particular commentator into the seat of authority. -And is not this equally true of our opponents' Church? Their articles -and creeds furnish no textual expositions of Scripture, but only results -and deductions from its study. And so variously have these results been -elicited from the sacred writings, that scarcely a text can be adduced -in defence of the Trinitarian scheme, which some witness unexceptionably -orthodox may not be summoned to prove inapplicable. In fine, we have no -greater variety of critical and exegetical opinion than the divines from -whom we dissent; while the system of Christianity in which our -Scriptural labors have issued, has its leading characteristics better -determined and more apprehensible than the scheme which the articles and -creeds have vainly labored to define. - -The refusal to embody our sentiments in any authoritative formula -appears to strike observers as a whimsical exception to the general -practice of churches. The peculiarity has had its origin in hereditary -and historical associations; but it has its defence in the noblest -principles of religious freedom and Christian communion. At present, -it must suffice to say, that our societies are dedicated, not to -theological opinions, but to religious worship; that they have -maintained the unity of the spirit, without insisting on any unity of -doctrine; that Christian liberty, love, and piety are their essentials -in perpetuity, but their Unitarianism an accident of a few or many -generations,--which has arisen, and might vanish, without the loss of -their identity. We believe in the mutability of religious systems, but -the imperishable character of the religious affections;--in the -progressiveness of opinion within, as well as without, the limits of -Christianity. Our forefathers cherished the same conviction; and so, -not having been born intellectual bondsmen, we desire to leave our -successors free. Convinced that uniformity of doctrine can never -prevail, we seek to attain its only good--peace on earth and communion -with Heaven--without it. We aim to make a true Christendom,--a -commonwealth of the faithful,--by the binding force, not of -ecclesiastical creeds, but of spiritual wants and Christian -sympathies; and indulge the vision of a Church that "in the latter -days shall arise," like "the mountain of the Lord," bearing on its -ascent the blossoms of thought proper to every intellectual clime, and -withal massively rooted in the deep places of our humanity, and gladly -rising to meet the sunshine from on high. - -And now, friends and brethren, let us say a glad farewell to the -fretfulness of controversy, and retreat again, with thanksgiving, into -the interior of our own venerated truth. Having come forth, at the -severer call of duty, to do battle for it, with such force as God -vouchsafes to the sincere, let us go in to live and worship beneath -its shelter. They tell you it is not the true faith. Perhaps not; but -then you think it so; and that is enough to make your duty clear, and -to draw from it, as from nothing else, the very peace of God. May be, -we are on our way to something better, unexistent and unseen as yet, -which may penetrate our souls with nobler affection, and give a fresh -spontaneity of love to God and all immortal things. Perhaps there -cannot be the truest life of faith, except in scattered individuals, -till this age of conflicting doubt and dogmatism shall have passed -away. Dark and leaden clouds of materialism hide the heaven from us; -red gleams of fanaticism pierce through, vainly striving to reveal it; -and not till the weight is heaved from off the air, and the thunders -roll down the horizon, will the serene light of God flow upon us, and -the blue infinite embrace us again. Meanwhile we must reverently love -the faith we have; to quit it for one that we have not, were to lose -the breath of life and die. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[3] Conference with Fisher, Sec. 15; quoted in Tracts for the Times, No. -76. Catena Patrum, No. II. p. 18. - -[4] Of Persons dying without Baptism, p. 979; quoted in _loc. cit._ -pp. 19, 20. - -[5] History of Popish Transubstantiation, Chap. IV.; printed in the -Tracts for the Times, No. XXVII. pp. 14, 15. - -[6] Bishop of Exeter's Charge, delivered at his Triennial Visitation -in August, September, and October, 1836, pp. 44-47. - -[7] Tracts for the Times, No. IV. p. 5. - -[8] Ibid., No. V. pp. 9, 10. - -[9] Archbishop Whately, speaking of the word [Greek: hiereus] and its -meaning, says: "This is an office assigned to none under the Gospel -scheme, except the ONE great High-Priest, of whom the Jewish priests -were types." (Elements of Logic. Appendix: Note on the word "Priest.") -Of the "_Gospel scheme_" this is quite true; of the _Church-of-England -scheme_ it is not. There lies before me Duport's Greek version of the -Prayer-Book and Offices of the Anglican Church: and turning to the -Communion Service, I find the officiating clergyman called [Greek: -hiereus] throughout. The _absence_ of this word from the records of -the primitive Gospel, and its _presence_ in the Prayer-Book, is -perfectly expressive of the difference in the spirit of the two -systems;--the difference between the Church _with_, and the -"Christianity _without_ Priest." - -[10] See Rom. vi. 2-4: "How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any -longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into -Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with -him by baptism into death; that, like as Christ was raised up from the -dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness -of life." Mr. Locke observes of "St. Paul's argument," that it "is to -show in what state of life we ought to be raised out of baptism, in -similitude and conformity to that state of life Christ was raised into -from the grave." See also Col. ii. 12: "Ye are ... buried with him in -baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the -operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead." The force of the -image clearly depends on the sinking and rising in the water. - -[11] Mr. Dalton's Lecture on the Eternity of Future Rewards and -Punishments, p. 760. - -[12] Mr. Dalton's Lecture, p. 760. - - - - -INCONSISTENCY OF THE SCHEME OF VICARIOUS REDEMPTION. - - "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other - name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be - saved."--Acts iv. 12. - - -The scene which we have this evening to visit and explore, is separated -from us by the space of eighteen centuries; yet of nothing on this earth -has Providence left, within the shadows of the past, so vivid and divine -an image. Gently rising above the mighty "field of the world," Calvary's -mournful hill appears, covered with silence now, but distinctly showing -the heavenly light that struggled there through the stormiest elements -of guilt. Nor need we only gaze, as on a motionless picture that closes -the vista of Christian ages. Permitting history to take us by the hand, -we may pace back in pilgrimage to the hour, till its groups stand around -us, and pass by us, and its voices of passion and of grief mock and wail -upon our ear. As we mingle with the crowd which, amid noise and dust, -follows the condemned prisoners to the place of execution, and fix our -eye on the faint and panting figure of one that bears his cross, could -we but whisper to the sleek priests close by, how might we startle them, -by telling them the future fate of this brief tragedy,--brief in act, in -blessing everlasting; that this Galilean convict shall be the world's -confessed deliverer, while they that have brought him to this shall be -the scorn and by-word of the nations; that that vile instrument of -torture, now so abject that it makes the dying slave more servile, -shall be made, by this victim and this hour, the symbol of whatever is -holy and sublime; the emblem of hope and love; pressed to the lips of -ages; consecrated by a veneration which makes the sceptre seem trivial -as an infant's toy. Meanwhile, the sacerdotal hypocrites, unconscious of -the part they play, watch to the end the public murder which they have -privately suborned; stealing a phrase from Scripture, that they may mock -with holy lips; and leaving to the plebeian soldiers the mutual jest and -brutal laugh, that serve to beguile the hired but hated work of agony, -and that draw forth from the sufferer that burst of forgiving prayer, -which sunk at least into their centurion's heart. One there is, who -should have been spared the hearing of these scoffs; and perhaps she -heard them not; for before his nature was exhausted more, his eye -detects and his voice addresses her, and twines round her the filial arm -of that disciple, who had been ever the most loving as well as most -beloved. She at least lost the religion of that hour in its humanity, -and beheld not the prophet, but the son:--had not her own hands wrought -that seamless robe for which the soldiers' lot is cast; and her own lips -taught him that strain of sacred poetry, "My God, my God, why hast thou -forsaken me?" but never had she thought to hear it _thus_. As the cries -become fainter and fainter, scarcely do they reach Peter standing afar -off. The last notice of him had been the rebuking look that sent him to -weep bitterly; and now the voice that alone can tell him his forgiveness -will soon be gone! Broken hardly less, though without remorse, is the -youthful John, to see that head, lately resting on his bosom, drooping -passively in death; and to hear the involuntary shriek of Mary, as the -spear struck upon the lifeless body, moving now only as it is -moved;--whence he alone, on whom she leaned, records the fact. Well -might the Galilean friends stand at a distance gazing; unable to depart, -yet not daring to approach; well might the multitudes that had cried -"Crucify him!" in the morning, shudder at the thought of that clamor ere -night; "beholding the things that had come to pass, they smote their -breasts and returned." - -This is the scene of which we have to seek the interpretation. Our -first natural impression is, that it requires no interpretation, but -speaks for itself; that it has no mystery, except that which belongs -to the triumphs of deep guilt, and the sanctities of disinterested -love. To raise our eye to that serene countenance, to listen to that -submissive voice, to note the subjects of its utterance, would give us -no idea of any mystic horror concealed behind the human features of -the scene; of any invisible contortions, as from the lash of demons, -in the soul of that holy victim; of any sympathetic connection of that -cross with the bottomless pit on the one hand, and the highest heaven -on the other; of any moral revolution throughout our portion of the -universe, of which this public execution is but the outward signal. -The historians drop no hint that its sufferings, its affections, its -relations, were other than human,--raised indeed to distinction by -miraculous accompaniments; but intrinsically, however signally, human. -They mention, as if bearing some appreciable proportion to the whole -series of incidents, particulars so slight, as to vanish before any -other than the obvious historical view of the transaction; the thirst, -the sponge, the rent clothes, the mingled drink. They ascribe no -sentiment to the crucified, except such as might be expressed by one -of like nature with ourselves, in the consciousness of a finished work -of duty, and a fidelity never broken under the strain of heaviest -trial. The narrative is clearly the production of minds filled, not -with theological anticipations, but with historical recollections. - -With this view of Christ's death, which is such as might be -entertained by any of the primitive churches, having one of the -Gospels only, without any of the Epistles, we are content. I conceive -of it, then, as manifesting the last degree of moral perfection in the -Holy One of God; and believe that, in thus being an expression of -character, it has its primary and everlasting value. I conceive of it -as the needful preliminary to his resurrection and ascension, by which -the severest difficulties in the theory of Providence, life, and duty -are alleviated or solved. I conceive of it as immediately procuring -the universality and spirituality of the Gospel; by dissolving those -corporeal ties which gave nationality to Jesus, and making him, in his -heavenly and immortal form, the Messiah of humanity; blessing, -sanctifying, regenerating, not a people from the centre of Jerusalem, -but a world from his station in the heavens. And these views, under -unimportant modifications, I submit, are the only ones of which -Scripture contains a trace. - -All this, however, we are assured, is the mere outside aspect of the -crucifixion; and wholly insignificant compared with the invisible -character and relations of the scene; which, localized only on earth, -has its chief effect in hell; and, though presenting itself among the -occurrences of time, is a repeal of the decretals of Eternity. The being -who hangs upon that cross is not man alone; but also the everlasting -God, who created and upholds all things, even the sun that now darkens -its face upon him, and the murderers who are waiting for his expiring -cry. The anguish he endures is not chiefly that which falls so -poignantly on the eye and ear of the spectator; the injured human -affections, the dreadful momentary doubt; the pulses of physical -torture, doubling on him with full or broken wave, till driven back by -the overwhelming power of love disinterested and divine. But he is -judicially abandoned by the Infinite Father; who expends on him the -immeasurable wrath due to an apostate race, gathers up into an hour the -lightnings of Eternity, and lets them loose upon that bended head. It is -the moment of retributive justice; the expiation of all human guilt: -that open brow hides beneath it the despair of millions of men; and to -the intensity of agony there, no human wail could give expression. -Meanwhile, the future brightens on the elect; the tempests that hung -over their horizon are spent. The vengeance of the lawgiver having had -its way, the sunshine of a Father's grace breaks forth, and lights up, -with hope and beauty, the earth, which had been a desert of despair and -sin. According to this theory, Christ, in his death, was a proper -expiatory sacrifice; he turned aside, by enduring it for them, the -infinite punishment of sin from all past or future believers in this -efficacy of the cross; and transferred to them the natural rewards of -his own righteousness. An acceptance of this doctrine is declared to be -the prime condition of the Divine forgiveness; for no one who does not -_see_ the pardon can _have_ it. And this pardon, again, this clear score -for the past, is a necessary preliminary to all sanctification; to all -practical opening of a disinterested heart towards our Creator and man. -Pardon, and the perception of it, are the needful preludes to that -conforming love to God and men, which is the true Christian salvation. - -The evidence in support of this theory is derived partly from natural -appearances, partly from Scriptural announcements. Involving, as it -does, statements respecting the actual condition of human nature, and -the world in which we live, some appeal to experience, and to the -rational interpretation of life and Providence, is inevitable; and hence -certain propositions, affecting to be of a philosophical character, are -laid down as fundamental by the advocates of this system. Yet it is -admitted, that direct revelation only could have acquainted us, either -with our lost condition, or our vicarious recovery; and that all we can -expect to accomplish with nature, is to harmonize what we observe there -with what we read in the written records of God's will; so that the main -stress of the argument rests on the interpretation of Scripture. The -principles deduced from the nature of things, and laid down as a basis -for this doctrine, may be thus represented:-- - -That man needs a Redeemer; having obviously fallen, by some disaster, -into a state of misery and guilt, from which the worst penal -consequences must be apprehended; and were it not for the probability -of such lapse from the condition in which it was fashioned, it would -be impossible to reconcile the phenomena of the world with the justice -and benevolence of its Creator. - -That Deity only can redeem; since, to preserve veracity, the penalty -of sin must be inflicted; and the diversion only, not the annihilation -of it, is possible. To let it fall on angels would fail of the desired -end; because human sin, having been directed against an Infinite -Being, has incurred an infinitude of punishment; which on no created -beings could be exhausted in any period short of eternity. Only a -nature strictly infinite can compress within itself, in the compass of -an hour, the woes distributed over the immortality of mankind. Hence, -were God personally One, like man, no redemption could be effected; -for there would be no Deity to suffer, except the very One who must -punish. But the triplicity of the Godhead relieves all difficulty; -for, while one Infinite inflicts, another Infinite endures; and -resources are furnished for the atonement. - -Amid a great variety of forms in which the theory of atonement exists, -I have selected the foregoing; which, if I understand aright, is that -which is vindicated in the present controversy. I am not aware that I -have added anything to the language in which it is stated by its -powerful advocate, unless it be a few phrases, leaving its essential -meaning the same, but needful to render it compact and clear. - -The Scriptural evidence is found principally in certain of the -Apostolical Epistles; and this circumstance will render it necessary -to conduct a separate search into the historical writings of the New -Testament, that we may ascertain how they express the corresponding -set of ideas. Taking up successively these two branches of the -subject, the natural and the Biblical, I propose to show, first, that -this doctrine is inconsistent with itself; secondly, that it is -inconsistent with the Christian idea of salvation. - -I. It is inconsistent with itself. - -(1.) In its manner of treating the principles of natural religion. - -Our faith in the infinite benevolence of God is represented as -destitute of adequate support from the testimony of nature. It -requires, we are assured, the suppression of a mass of appearances, -that would scare it away in an instant, were it to venture into their -presence; and is a dream of sickly and effeminate minds, whose belief -is the inward growth of amiable sentimentality, rather than a genuine -production from God's own facts. The appeal to the order and -magnificence of creation, to the structures and relations of the -inorganic, the vegetable, the animal, the spiritual forms, that fill -the ascending ranks of this visible and conscious universe;--to the -arrangements which make it a blessing to be born, far more than a -suffering to die,--which enable us to extract the relish of life from -its toils, the affections of our nature from its sufferings, the -triumphs of goodness from its temptations;--to the seeming plan of -general progress, which elicits truth by the self-destruction of -error, and by the extinction of generations gives perpetual -rejuvenescence to the world;--this appeal, which is another name for -the scheme of natural religion, is dismissed with scorn; and sin and -sorrow and death are flung in defiance across our path,--barriers -which we must remove, ere we can reach the presence of a benignant -God. Come with us, it is said, and listen to the wail of the sick -infant; look into the dingy haunts where poverty moans its life away; -bend down your ear to the accursed hum that strays from the busy hives -of guilt; spy into the hold of the slave-ship; from the factory follow -the wasted child to the gin-shop first, and then to the cellar called -its home; or look even at your own tempted and sin-bound souls, and -your own perishing race, snatched off into the dark by handfuls -through the activity of a destroying God; and tell us, did our -benevolent Creator make a creature and a world like this? A Calvinist -who puts this question is playing with fire. But I answer the question -explicitly: All these things we have met steadily, and face to face; -in full view of them, we have taken up our faith in the goodness of -God; and in full view of them we will hold fast that faith. Nor is it -just or true to affirm, that our system hides these evils, or that our -practice refuses to grapple with them. And if you confess that these -ills of life would be too much for your natural piety, if you declare, -that these rugged foundations and tempestuous elements of Providence -would starve and crush your confidence in God, while ours strikes its -roots in the rock, and throws out its branches to brave the storm, are -you entitled to taunt us with a faith of puny growth? Meanwhile, we -willingly assent to the principle which this appeal to evil is -designed to establish; that, with much apparent order, there is some -apparent disorder in the phenomena of the world; that from the latter, -by itself, we should be unable to infer any goodness and benevolence -in God; and that, were not the former clearly the predominant result -of natural laws, the character of the Great Cause of all things would -be involved in agonizing gloom. The mass of physical and moral evil we -do not profess fully to explain; we think that in no system whatever -is there any approach to an explanation; and we are accustomed to -touch on that dread subject with the humility of filial trust, not -with the confidence of dogmatic elucidation. - -Surely the fall of our first parents, I shall be reminded, gives the -requisite solution. The disaster which then befell the human race has -changed the primeval constitution of things; introduced mortality and -all the infirmities of which it is the result; introduced sin, and all -the seeds of vile affections which it compels us to inherit; introduced -also the penalties of sin, visible in part on this scene of life, and -developing themselves in another in anguish everlasting. Fresh from the -hand of his Creator, man was innocent, happy, and holy; and he it is, -not God, who has deformed the world with guilt and grief. - -Now, _as a statement of fact_, all this may or may not be true. Of this -I say nothing. But who does not see that, _as an explanation_, it is -inconsistent with itself, partial in its application, and leaves matters -incomparably worse than it found them? It is inconsistent with itself; -for Adam, perfectly pure and holy as he is reputed to have been, gave -the only proof that could exist of his being neither, by succumbing to -the first temptation that came in his way; and though finding no -enjoyment but in the contemplation of God, gave himself up to the first -advances of the Devil. Never surely was a reputation for sanctity so -cheaply won. The canonizations of the Romish Calendar have been -curiously bestowed on beings sufficiently remote from just ideas of -excellence; but usually there is _something_ to be affirmed of them, -legendary or otherwise, which, _if true_, might justify a momentary -admiration. But our first parent was not laid even under this necessity, -to obtain a glory greater than canonization; he had simply to do -nothing, except to fall, in order to be esteemed the most perfectly holy -of created minds. Most partial, too, is this theory in its application; -for disease and hardship, and death unmerited as the infant's, afflict -the lower animal creation. Is this, too, the result of the fall? If so, -it is an _unredeemed_ effect; if not, it presses on the benevolence of -the Maker, and, by the physical analogies which connect man with the -inferior creatures, forces on us the impression, that his corporeal -sufferings have an original source not dissimilar from theirs. And -again, this explanation only serves to make matters worse than before. -For how puerile is it to suppose that men will rest satisfied with -tracing back their ills to Adam, and refrain from asking who was Adam's -cause! And then comes upon us at once the ancient dilemma about evil; -was it a mistake, or was it malignity, that created so poor a creature -as our progenitor, and staked on so precarious a will the blessedness of -a race and the well-being of a world? So far, this theory, falsely and -injuriously ascribed to Christianity, would leave us where we were: but -it carries us into deeper and gratuitous difficulties, of which natural -religion knows nothing, by appending eternal consequences to Adam's -transgression; a large portion of which, after the most sanguine -extension of the efficacy of the atonement, must remain unredeemed. So -that if, under the eye of naturalism, the world, with its generations -dropping into the grave, must appear (as we heard it recently -described[13]) like the populous precincts of some castle, whose -governor called his servants, after a brief indulgence of liberty and -peace, into a dark and inscrutable dungeon, never to return or be seen -again, the only new feature which this theory introduces into the -prospect is this: that the interior of that cavernous prison-house is -disclosed; and while a few of the departed are seen to have emerged into -a fairer light, and to be traversing greener fields, and sharing a more -blessed liberty than they knew before, the vast multitude are discerned -in the gripe of everlasting chains and the twist of unimaginable -torture. And all this infliction is a penal consequence of a first -ancestor's transgression! Singular spectacle to be offered in -vindication of the character of God! - -We are warned, however, not to start back from this representation, or -to indulge in any rash expression at the view which it gives of the -justice of the Most High; for that, beyond all doubt, parallel instances -occur in the operations of nature; and that, if the system deduced from -Scripture accords with that which is in action in the creation, there -arises a strong presumption that both are from the same Author. The -arrangement which is the prime subject of objection in the foregoing -theory, viz. the vicarious transmission of consequences from acts of -vice and virtue, is said to be familiar to our observation as a _fact_; -and ought, therefore, to present no difficulties in the way of the -admission of a _doctrine_. Is it not obvious, for example, that the -guilt of a parent may entail disease and premature death on his child, -or even remoter descendants? And if it be consistent with the Divine -perfections that the innocent should suffer for others' sins at the -distance of one generation, why not at the distance of a thousand? The -guiltless victim is not more completely severed from identity with Adam, -than he is from identity with his own father. My reply is brief: I admit -both the fact and the analogy; but the fact is of the exceptional kind, -from which, by itself, I could not infer the justice or the benevolence -of the Creator; and which, were it of large and prevalent amount, I -could not even reconcile with these perfections. If then you take it -out of the list of exceptions and difficulties, and erect it into a -cardinal rule, if you interpret by it the whole invisible portion of -God's government, you turn the scale at once against the character of -the Supreme, and plant creation under a tyrant's sway. And this is the -fatal principle pervading all analogical arguments in defence of -Trinitarian Christianity. No resemblances to the system can be found in -the universe, except in those anomalies and seeming deformities which -perplex the student of Providence, and which would undermine his faith, -were they not lost in the vast spectacle of beauty and of good. These -disorders are selected and spread out to view, as specimens of the -Divine government of nature; the mysteries and horrors which offend us -in the popular theology are extended by their side; the comparison is -made, point by point, till the similitude is undeniably made out; and -when the argument is closed it amounts to this: Do you doubt whether God -could break men's limbs? You mistake his strength of character; only see -how he puts out their eyes! What kind of impression this reasoning may -have, seems to me doubtful even to agony. Both Trinitarian theology and -nature, it is triumphantly urged, must proceed from the same Author; ay, -but what sort of author is that? You have led me, in your quest after -analogies, through the great infirmary of God's creation; and so haunted -am I by the sights and sounds of the lazar-house, that scarce can I -believe in anything but pestilence; so sick of soul have I become, that -the mountain breeze has lost its scent of health; and you say, it is all -the same in the other world, and wherever the same rule extends: then I -know my fate, that in this universe Justice has no throne. And thus, my -friends, it comes to pass, that these reasoners often gain indeed their -victory; but it is known only to the Searcher of Hearts, whether it is a -victory against natural religion, or in favor of revealed. For this -reason I consider the "Analogy" of Bishop Butler (one of the profoundest -of thinkers, and on purely moral subjects one of the justest too) as -containing, with a design directly contrary, the most terrible -persuasives to Atheism that have ever been produced. The essential error -consists in selecting the difficulties,--which are the rare, exceptional -phenomena of nature,--as the basis of analogy and argument. In the -comprehensive and generous study of Providence, the mind may, indeed, -already have overcome the difficulties, and, with the lights recently -gained from the harmony, design, and order of creation, have made those -shadows pass imperceptibly away; but when forced again into their very -centre, compelled to adopt them as a fixed station and point of mental -vision, they deepen round the heart again, and, instead of illustrating -anything, become solid darkness themselves. - -I cannot quit this topic without observing, however, that there -appears to be nothing in nature and life at all analogous to the -vicarious principle attributed to God in the Trinitarian scheme of -Redemption. There is nowhere to be found any proper transfer or -exchange, either of the qualities, or of the consequences, of vice and -virtue. The good and evil acts of men do indeed affect others _as -well_ as themselves; the innocent suffer _with_ the guilty, as in the -case before adduced, of a child suffering in health by the excesses of -a parent. But there is here no endurance _for_ another, similar to -Christ's alleged endurance in the place of men; the infliction on the -child is not deducted from the parent; it does nothing to lighten his -load, or make it less than it would have been, had he been without -descendants; nor does any one suppose his guilt alleviated by the -existence of this innocent fellow-sufferer. There is a nearer approach -to analogy in those cases of crime, where the perpetrator seems to -escape, and to leave the consequences of his act to descend on others; -as when the successful cheat eludes pursuit, and from the stolen gains -of neighbors constructs a life of luxury for himself; or when a -spendthrift government, forgetful of its high trust, turning the -professions of patriotism into a lie, is permitted to run a prosperous -career for one generation, and is personally gone before the popular -retribution falls, in the next, on innocent successors. Here, no -doubt, the harmless suffer _by_ the guilty, in a certain sense _in -the place of_ the guilty: but not in the sense which the analogy -requires. For there is still no substitution; the distress of the -unoffending party is not struck out of the offender's punishment; does -not lessen, but rather aggravates, his guilt; and, instead of fitting -him for pardon, tempts the natural sentiments of justice to follow him -with severer condemnation. Nor does the scheme receive any better -illustration from the fact, that whoever attempts the cure of misery -must himself suffer; must have the shadows of ill cast upon his spirit -from every sadness he alleviates; and interpose himself to stay the -plague which, in a world diseased, threatens to pass to the living -from the dead. The parallel fails, because there is still no -transference: the appropriate sufferings of sin are not given to the -philanthropist; and the noble pains of goodness in him, the glorious -strife of his self-sacrifice, are no part of the penal consequences of -others' guilt; they do not cancel one iota of those consequences, or -make the crimes which have demanded them, in any way, more ready for -forgiveness. Indeed, it is not in the good man's _sufferings_, -considered as such, that any efficacy resides; but in his _efforts_, -which may be made with great sacrifice or without it, as the case may -be. Nor, at best, is there any proper annihilation of consequences at -all accruing from his toils; the past acts of wrong which call up his -resisting energies are irrevocable, the guilt incurred, the penalty -indestructible; the series of effects, foreign to the mind of the -perpetrator, may be abbreviated; prevention applied to new ills which -threaten to arise; but by all this the personal fitness of the -delinquent for forgiveness is wholly unaffected; the volition of sin -has gone forth, and on it flies, as surely as sound on a vibration of -the air, the verdict of judgment. - -Those who are affected by slight and failing analogies like these, -would do well to consider one, sufficiently obvious, which seems to -throw doubt upon their scheme. The atonement is thought to be, in -respect to all believers, a reversal of the fall: the effects of the -fall are partly visible and temporal, partly invisible and eternal; -linked, however, together as inseparable portions of the same penal -system. Now it is evident, that the supposed redemption on the cross -has left precisely where they were all the _visible_ effects of the -first transgression: sorrow and toil are the lot of all, as they have -been from of old; the baptized infant utters a cry as sad as the -unbaptized; and between the holiness of the true believer and the -worth of the devout heretic, there is not discernible such a -difference as there must have been between Adam pure and perfect and -Adam lapsed and lost. And is it presumptuous to reason from the seen -to the unseen, from the part which we experience to that which we can -only conceive? If the known effects are unredeemed, the suspicion is -not unnatural, that so are the unknown. - -I sum up, then, this part of my subject by observing, that, besides -many inconclusive appeals to nature, the advocates of the vicarious -scheme are chargeable with this fundamental inconsistency. They appear -to deny that the justice and benevolence of God can be reconciled with -the phenomena of nature; and say that the evidence must be helped out -by resort to their interpretation of Scripture. When, having heard -this auxiliary system, we protest that it renders the case sadder than -before, they assure us that it is all benevolent and just, because it -has its parallel in creation. They renounce and adopt, in the same -breath, the religious appeal to the universe of God. - -(2.) Another inconsistency appears, in the view which this theory -gives of the character of God. - -It is assumed that, at the era of creation, the Maker of mankind had -announced the infinite penalties which must follow the violation of -his law; and that their amount did not exceed the measure which his -abhorrence of wrong required. "And that which he saith, he would not -be God if he did not perform: that which he perceived right, he would -be unworthy of our trust, did he not fulfil. His veracity and justice, -therefore, were pledged to adhere to the word that had gone forth; and -excluded the possibility of any free and unconditional forgiveness." -Now I would note, in passing, that this announcement to Adam of an -eternal punishment impending over his first sin, is simply a fiction; -for the warning to him is stated thus: "In the day that thou eatest -thereof, thou shalt surely die"; from which our progenitor must have -been ingenious as a theologian, to extract the idea of endless life in -hell. But to say no more of this, what notions of veracity have we -here? When a sentence is proclaimed against crime, is it indifferent -to judicial truth _upon whom_ it falls? Personally addressed to the -guilty, may it descend without a lie upon the guiltless? Provided -there is the suffering, is it no matter _where_? Is this the sense in -which God is no respecter of persons? O what deplorable reflection of -human artifice is this, that Heaven is too veracious to abandon its -proclamation of menace against transgressors, yet is content to vent -it on goodness the most perfect! No darker deed can be imagined, than -is thus ascribed to the Source of all perfection, under the insulted -names of truth and holiness. What reliance could we have on the -faithfulness of such a Being? If it be consistent with his nature to -_punish_ by substitution, what security is there that he will not -_reward_ vicariously? All must be loose and unsettled, the sentiments -of reverence confused, the perceptions of conscience indistinct, where -the terms expressive of those great moral qualities which render God -himself most venerable are thus sported with and profaned. - -The same extraordinary departure from all intelligible meaning of -words is apparent, when our charge of vindictiveness against the -doctrine of sacrifice is repelled as a slander. If the rigorous -refusal of pardon till the whole penalty has been inflicted, (when, -indeed, it is no pardon at all,) be not vindictive, we may ask to be -furnished with some better definition. And though it is said, that -God's love was manifested to us by the gift of his Son, this does but -change the object on which this quality is exercised, without removing -the quality itself; putting _us_ indeed into the sunshine of his -grace, but _the Saviour_ into the tempest of his wrath. Did we desire -to sketch the most dreadful form of character, what more emphatic -combination could we invent than this,--rigor in the exaction of penal -suffering, and indifference as to the person on whom it falls? - -But in truth this system, in its delineations of the Great Ruler of -creation, bids defiance to all the analogies by which Christ and the -Christian heart have delighted to illustrate his nature. A God who -could accept the spontaneously returning sinner, and restore him by -corrective discipline, is pronounced not worth serving, and an object -of contempt.[14] If so, Jesus sketched an object of contempt when he -drew the father of the prodigal son, opening his arms to the poor -penitent, and needing only the sight of his misery to fall on his neck -with the kiss of welcome home. Let the assertions be true, that -sacrifice and satisfaction are needful preliminaries to pardon, that -to pay any attention to repentance without these is mere weakness, and -that it is a perilous deception to teach the doctrine of mercy apart -from the atonement, and this parable of our Saviour's becomes the most -pernicious instrument of delusion,--a statement, absolute and -unqualified, of a feeble and sentimental heresy. Who does not see what -follows from this scornful exclusion of corrective punishment? Suppose -the infliction not to be corrective, that is, not to be designed for -any good, what then remains as the cause of the Divine retribution? -The sense of insult offered to a law. And thus we are virtually told, -that God must be regarded with a mixture of contempt, unless he be -susceptible of personal affront. - -(3.) The last inconsistency with itself, which I shall point out in -this doctrine, will be found in the view which it gives of the work of -Christ. Sin, we are assured, is necessarily infinite. Its infinitude -arises from its reference to an Infinite Being, and involves as a -consequence the necessity of redemption by Deity himself. - -The position, that guilt is to be estimated, not by its amount or its -motive, but by the dignity of the being against whom it is directed, -is illustrated by the case of an insubordinate soldier, whose -punishment is increased according as his rebellion assails an equal -or any of the many grades amongst his superiors. It is evident, -however, that it is not the dignity of the person, but the magnitude -of the effect, which determines the severity of the sanction by which, -in such an instance, law enforces order. Insult to a monarch is more -sternly treated than injury to a subject, because it incurs the risk -of wider and more disastrous consequences, and superadds to the -personal injury a peril to an official power which, not resting on -individual superiority, but on conventional arrangement, is always -precarious. It is not indeed easy to form a distinct notion of an -infinite act in a finite agent; and still less is it easy to evade the -inference, that, if an immoral deed against God be an infinite -demerit, a moral deed towards him must be an infinite merit. - -Passing by an assertion so unmeaning, and conceding it for the sake of -progress in our argument, I would inquire what is intended by that -other statement, that only Deity can redeem, and that by Deity the -sacrifice was made? The union of the divine and human natures in -Christ is said to have made his sufferings meritorious in an infinite -degree. Yet we are repeatedly assured, that it was in his manhood only -that he endured and died. If the divine nature in our Lord had a joint -consciousness with the human, then did God suffer and perish; if not, -then did the man only die, Deity being no more affected by his -anguish, than by that of the malefactors on either side. In the one -case the perfections of God, in the other the reality of the -atonement, must be relinquished. No doubt, the popular belief is, that -the Creator literally expired; the hymns in common use declare it; the -language of pulpits sanctions it; the consistency of creeds requires -it; but professed theologians repudiate the idea with indignation. Yet -by silence or ambiguous speech, they encourage, in those whom they are -bound to enlighten, this degrading humanization of Deity; which -renders it impossible for common minds to avoid ascribing to him -emotions and infirmities totally irreconcilable with the serene -perfections of the Universal Mind. In his influence on the -worshipper, _He_ is no Spirit, who can be invoked by his agony and -bloody sweat, his cross and passion. And the piety that is thus taught -to bring its incense, however sincere, before the mental image of a -being with convulsed features and expiring cry, has little left of -that which makes Christian devotion characteristically venerable. - -II. I proceed to notice the inconsistency of the doctrine under review -with the Christian idea of salvation. - -There is one _significant Scriptural fact_, which suggests to us the -best mode of treating this part of our subject. It is this: that the -language supposed to teach the atoning efficacy of the cross does not -appear in the New Testament till the Gentile controversy commences, -nor ever occurs apart from the treatment of that subject, under some -of its relations. The cause of this phenomenon will presently appear; -meanwhile I state it, in the place of an assertion sometimes -incorrectly made, viz. that the phraseology in question is confined to -the Epistles. Even this mechanical limitation of sacrificial passages -is indeed nearly true, as not above three or four have strayed beyond -the epistolary boundary into the Gospels and the book of Acts; but the -restriction in respect of subject, which I have stated, will be found, -I believe, to be absolutely exact, and to furnish the real -interpretation to the whole system of language. - -(1.) Let us then first test the vicarious scheme by reference to the -sentiments of Scripture generally, and of our Lord and his Apostles -especially, where this controversy is out of the way. Are their ideas -respecting human character, the forgiveness of sin, the terms of -everlasting life, accordant with the cardinal notions of a believer in -the atonement? Do they, or do they not, insist on the necessity of a -sacrifice for human sin, as a preliminary to pardon, to -sanctification, to the love of God? Do they, or do they not, direct a -marked and almost exclusive attention to the cross, as the object to -which, far more than to the life and resurrection of our Lord, all -faithful eyes should be directed? - -(a.) Now to the fundamental assertion of the vicarious system, that -the Deity cannot, without inconsistency and imperfection, pardon on -simple repentance, the whole tenor of the Bible is one protracted and -unequivocal contradiction. So copious is its testimony on this head, -that if the passages containing it were removed, scarcely a shred of -Scripture relating to the subject would remain. "Pardon, I beseech -thee," said Moses, pleading for the Israelites, "the iniquity of this -people, according to the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast -forgiven this people from Egypt even until now. And the Lord said, _I -have pardoned according to thy word_." Will it be affirmed, that this -chosen people had their eyes perpetually fixed in faith on the great -propitiation, which was to close their dispensation, and of which -their own ceremonial was a type?--that whenever penitence and pardon -are named amongst them, this reference is implied, and that as this -faith was called to mind and expressed in the shedding of blood at the -altar, such sacrificial offerings take the place, in Judaism, of the -atoning trust in Christianity? Well, then, let us quit the chosen -nation altogether, and go to a heathen people, who were aliens to -their laws, their blood, their hopes, and their religion; to whom no -sacrifice was appointed, and no Messiah promised. If we can discover -the dealings of God with such a people, the case, I presume, must be -deemed conclusive. Hear, then, what happened on the banks of the -Tigris. "Jonah began to enter into the city," (Nineveh,) "and he cried -and said, yet forty days and Nineveh shall be overthrown. So the -people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on -sackcloth, from the greatest of them even unto the least of them." -"Who can tell," (said the decree of the king ordaining the fast,) "if -God will turn and repent, and turn away from his fierce anger, that we -perish not? And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil -way; and God repented of the evil that he had said he would do unto -them; and he did it not." And when the prophet was offended, first at -this clemency to Nineveh, and afterwards that the canker was sent to -destroy his own favorite plant, beneath whose shadow he sat, what did -Jehovah say? "Thou hast had pity on the gourd, for which thou hast not -labored, neither madest it grow; which came up in a night and perished -in a night; and should not I spare Nineveh, that great city, wherein -are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern between -their right hand and their left hand?"--and who are not likely, one -would think, to have discerned the future merits of the Redeemer. - -In truth, if even the Israelites had any such prospective views to -Calvary, if their sacrifices conveyed the idea of the cross erected -there, and were established for this purpose, the fact must have been -privately revealed to modern theologians; for not a trace of it can be -found in the Hebrew writings. It must be thought strange, that a -prophetic reference so habitual should be always a secret reference; -that a faith so fundamental should be so mysteriously suppressed; that -the uppermost idea of a nation's mind should never have found its way to -lips or pen. "But if it were not so," we are reminded, "if the Jewish -ritual prefigured nothing ulterior, it was revolting, trifling, savage; -its worship a butchery, and the temple courts no better than a -slaughter-house." And were they not equally so, though the theory of -types be true? If neither priest nor people could _see at the time_ the -very thing which the ceremonial was constructed to reveal, what -advantage is it that divines can see it _now_? And even if the notion -was conveyed to the Jewish mind, (which the whole history shows not to -have been the fact,) was it necessary that hecatombs should be slain, -age after age, to intimate obscurely an idea, which one brief sentence -might have lucidly expressed? The idea, however, it is evident, slipped -through after all; for when Messiah actually came, the one great thing -which the Jews did _not_ know and believe about him was, that he could -die at all. So much for the preparatory discipline of fifteen centuries! - -There is no reason, then, why anything should be supplied in our -thoughts, to alter the plain meaning of the announcements of prophets -and holy men, of God's unconditional forgiveness on repentance. "Thou -desirest not sacrifice, else would I give it; thou delightest not in -burnt-offering; the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken -and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." "Wash you, make -you clean," says the prophet Isaiah in the name of the Lord; "put away -the evil of your doings from before mine eyes, cease to do evil, learn -to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the -fatherless, plead for the widow. Come now, and let us reason together, -saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as -snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Once -more, "When I say unto the wicked, thou shalt surely die; if he turn -from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; if the wicked -restore the pledge, give again that he hath robbed, walk in the -statutes of life without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he -shall not die." Nor are the teachings of the Gospel at all less -explicit. Our Lord treats largely and expressly on the doctrine of -forgiveness in several parables, and especially that of the prodigal -son; and omits all allusion to the propitiation for the past. He -furnishes an express definition of the terms of eternal life: "Good -master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And -he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good save -one, that is God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the -commandments." And Jesus adds, "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell -that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in -heaven; and come, follow me." This silence on the prime condition of -pardon cannot be explained by the fact, that the crucifixion had not -yet taken place, and could not safely be alluded to, before the course -of events had brought it into prominent notice. For we have the -preaching of the Apostles, after the ascension, recorded at great -length, and under very various circumstances, in the book of Acts. We -have the very "words whereby," according to the testimony of an angel, -"Cornelius and all his house shall be saved"; these, one would think, -would be worth hearing in this cause: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth -with the Holy Ghost, and with power; who went about doing good, and -healing all that were oppressed of the Devil, for God was with him. -And we are witnesses of all things which he did, both in the land of -the Jews and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree. Him -God raised up the third day, and showed openly; not to all the people, -but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and -drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to -preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he who was ordained -of God to be the judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets -witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall -receive remission of sins." Did an Evangelical missionary dare to -preach in this style now, he would be immediately disowned by his -employers, and dismissed as a disguised Socinian, who kept back all -the "peculiar doctrines of the Gospel." - -(b.) The emphatic mention of the resurrection by the Apostle Peter in -this address, is only a particular instance of a system which pervades -the whole preaching of the first missionaries of Christ. _This_, and -not the cross, with its supposed effects, is the grand object to which -they call the attention and the faith of their hearers. I cannot quote -to you the whole book of Acts; but every reader knows, that "Jesus and -the resurrection" constitutes the leading theme, the central -combination of ideas in all its discourses. This truth was shed, from -Peter's tongue of fire, on the multitudes that heard amazed the -inspiration of the day of Pentecost. Again, it was his text, when, -passing beneath the beautiful gate, he made the cripple leap for joy; -and then, with the flush of this deed still fresh upon him, leaned -against a pillar in Solomon's porch, and spake in explanation to the -awe-struck people, thronging in at the hour of prayer. Before priests -and rulers, before Sanhedrim and populace, the same tale is told -again, to the utter exclusion, be it observed, of the essential -doctrine of the cross. The authorities of the temple, we are told, -were galled and terrified at the Apostle's preaching; "naturally -enough," it will be said, "since, the real sacrifice having been -offered, their vocation, which was to make the prefatory and typical -oblation, was threatened with destruction." But no, this is not the -reason given: "They were grieved because they preached, through Jesus, -the resurrection from the dead." Paul, too, while his preaching was -spontaneous and free, and until he had to argue certain controversies -which have long ago become obsolete, manifested a no less remarkable -predilection for this topic. Before Felix, he declares what was the -grand indictment of his countrymen against him: "Touching the -resurrection of the dead, I am called in question of you this day." -Follow him far away from his own land; and, with foreigners, he harps -upon the same subject, as if he were a man of one idea; which, indeed, -according to our opponents' scheme, he ought to have been, only it -should have been _another idea_. Seldom, however, can we meet with a -more exuberant mind than Paul's; yet the resurrection obviously haunts -him wherever he goes: in the synagogue of Antioch you hear him -dwelling on it with all the energy of his inspiration; and, at Athens, -it was this on which the scepticism of Epicureans and Stoics fastened -for a scoff. In his Epistles, too, where he enlarges so much on -justification by faith, when we inquire what precisely is this faith, -and what the object it is to contemplate and embrace, this remarkable -fact presents itself: that the one only important thing respecting -Christ, which is _never once_ mentioned as the object of justifying -faith, is _his death_, _and blood_, _and cross_. "Faith" by itself, -the "faith of Jesus Christ," "faith of the Gospel," "faith of the Son -of God," are expressions of constant occurrence; and wherever this -general description is replaced by a more specific account of this -justifying state of mind, it is _faith in the resurrection_ on which -attention is fastened. "It is Christ that died, _yea, rather, that is -risen again_." "He was delivered for our offences, and _raised again -for our justification_." "Faith shall be imputed to us for -righteousness, if we believe on _him that raised up Jesus our Lord -from the dead_." Hear, too, the Apostle's definition of saving faith: -"If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt -believe in thy heart _that God hath raised him from the dead_, thou -shalt be saved." The only instance in which the writings of St. Paul -appear to associate the word faith with the death of Christ, is the -following text: "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through -faith in his blood"; and in this case the Apostle's meaning would, I -conceive, be more faithfully given by destroying this conjunction, and -disposing the words thus: "Whom God hath set forth to be a -propitiation by his blood, through faith." The idea of his _blood_, or -_death_, belongs to the word propitiation, not to the word faith. To -this translation no Trinitarian scholar, I am persuaded, can -object;[15] and when the true meaning of the writer's sacrificial -language is explained, the distinction will appear to be not -unimportant. At present I am concerned only with the defence of my -position, that the death of Christ is never mentioned as the object of -saving faith; but that his resurrection unquestionably is. This -phenomenon in Scripture phraseology is so extraordinary, so utterly -repugnant to everything which a hearer of orthodox preaching would -expect, that I hardly expect my affirmation of it to be believed. The -two ideas of _faith_, and of our _Lord's death_, are so naturally and -perpetually united in the mind of every believer in the atonement, -that it must appear to him incredible that they should never fall -together in the writings of the Apostles. However, I have stated my -fact; and it is for you to bring it to the test of Scripture. - -(c.) Independently of all written testimony, moral reasons, we are -assured, exist, which render an absolute remission for the past -essential to a regenerated life for the future. Our human nature is said -to be so constituted, that the burden of sin, on the conscience once -awakened, is intolerable; our spirit cries aloud for mercy; yet is so -straitened by the bands of sin, so conscious of the sad alliance -lingering still, so full of hesitancy and shame when seeking the relief -of prayer, so blinded by its tears when scanning the heavens for an -opening of light and hope, that there is no freedom, no unrestrained and -happy love to God; but a pinched and anxious mind, bereft of power, -striving to work with bandaged or paralytic will, instead of trusting -itself to loosened and self-oblivious affections. Hence it is thought, -that the sin of the past must be cancelled, before the holiness of the -future can be commenced; that it is a false order to represent -repentance as leading to pardon, because to be forgiven is the -prerequisite to love. We cannot forget, however, how distinctly and -emphatically he who, after God, best knew what is in man, has -contradicted this sentiment; for when that sinful woman, whose presence -in the house shocked the sanctimonious Pharisee, stood at his feet as he -reclined, washing them with her tears, and kissing them with reverential -lips, Jesus turned to her and said, "Her sins, which are many, are -forgiven; _for_ she loved much." From him, then, we learn, what our own -hearts would almost teach, that love may be the prelude to forgiveness, -as well as forgiveness the preparative for love. - -At the same time let me acknowledge, that this statement respecting -the moral effects of conscious pardon, to which I have invoked Jesus -to reply, is by no means an unmixed error. It touches upon a very -profound and important truth; and I can never bring myself to regard -that assurance of Divine forgiveness, which the doctrine of atonement -imparts, as a demoralizing state of mind, encouraging laxity of -conscience and a continuance in sin. The sense of pardon, doubtless, -reaches the secret springs of gratitude, presents the soul with an -object, strange before, of new and divine affection, and binds the -child of redemption, by all generous and filial obligations, to serve -with free and willing heart the God who hath gone forth to meet him. -That the motives of self-interest are diminished in such a case, is a -trifle that need occasion small anxiety. For the human heart is no -laborer for hire; and, where there is opportunity afforded for true -and noble love, will thrust away the proffered wages, and toil rather -in a free and thankful spirit. If we are to compare, as a source of -duty, the grateful with the merely prudential temper, rather may we -trust the first, as not the worthier only, but the stronger too; and -till we obtain emancipation from the latter,--forget the computations -of hope and fear, and precipitate ourselves for better or for worse on -some object of divine love and trust,--our nature will be puny and -weak, our wills will turn in sickness from their duty, and our -affections shrink in aversion from their heaven. But though personal -gratitude is better than prudence, there is a higher service still. A -more disinterested love may spring from the contemplation of what God -is in himself, than from the recollection of what he has done for us; -and when this mingles most largely as an element among our springs of -action; when, humbled indeed by a knowledge of dangers that await us, -and thankful, too, for the blessings spread around us, we yet desire -chiefly to be fitting children of the everlasting Father and the holy -God; when we venerate him for the graciousness, and purity, and -majesty of his spirit, impersonated in Jesus, and resolve to serve him -truly, _before_ he has granted the desire of our heart, and because he -is of a nature so sublime and merciful and good;--then are we in the -condition of her who bent over the feet of Christ; and we are -forgiven, because we have loved much. - -(2.) Let us now, in conclusion, turn our attention to those portions -of the New Testament which speak of the death of Christ as the means -of redemption. - -I have said, that these are to be found exclusively in passages of the -sacred writings which treat of the Gentile controversy, or of topics -immediately connected with it. This controversy arose naturally out of -the design of Providence to make the narrow, exclusive, ceremonial -system of Judaism give birth to the universal and spiritual religion of -the Gospel; from God's method of expanding the Hebrew Messiah into the -Saviour of humanity. For this the nation was not prepared; to this even -the Hebrew Christians could not easily conform their faith; and in the -achievement of this, or in persuading the world that it was achieved, -did Paul spend his noble life, and write his astonishing Epistles. The -Jews knew that the Deliverer was to be of their peculiar stock, and -their royal lineage; they believed that he would gather upon himself all -the singularities of their race, and be a Hebrew to intensity; that he -would literally restore the kingdom to Israel; ay, and extend it too, -immeasurably beyond the bounds of its former greatness; till, in fact, -it swallowed up all existing principalities, and powers, and thrones, -and dominions, and became coextensive with the earth. Then in Jerusalem, -as the centre of the vanquished nations, before the temple, as the altar -of a humbled world, did they expect the Messiah to erect his throne; and -when he had taken the seat of judgment, to summon all the tribes before -his tribunal, and pass on the Gentiles, excepting the few who might -submit to the law, a sentence of perpetual exclusion from his realm; -while his own people would be invited to the seats of honor, occupy the -place of authority, and sit down with him (the greatest at his right -hand and his left) at his table in his kingdom. The holy men of old were -to come on earth again to see this day. And many thought that every part -of the realm thus constituted, and all its inhabitants, would never die: -but, like the Messiah himself, and the patriarchs whom he was to call to -life, would be invested with immortality. None were to be admitted to -these golden days except themselves; all else to be left in outer -darkness from this region of light, and there to perish and be seen no -more. The grand title to admission was conformity with the Mosaic law; -the most ritually scrupulous were the most secure; and the careless -Israelite, who forgot or omitted an offering, a tithe, a Sabbath duty, -might incur the penalty of exclusion and death: the law prescribed such -mortal punishment for the smallest offence; and no one, therefore, could -feel himself ready with his claim, if he had not yielded a perfect -obedience. If God were to admit him on any other plea, it would be of -pure grace and goodness, and not in fulfilment of any promise. - -The Jews, being scattered over the civilized world, and having -synagogues in every city, came into perpetual contact with other -people. Nor was it possible that the Gentiles, among whom they lived, -should notice the singular purity and simplicity of the Israelitish -Theism, without some of them being struck with its spirit, attracted -by its sublime principles, and disposed to place themselves in -religious relations with that singular people. Having been led into -admiration, and even profession, of the nation's theology, they could -not but desire to share their hopes; which indeed were an integral -part of their religion, and, at the Christian era, the one element in -it to which they were most passionately attached. But this was a -stretch of charity too great for any Hebrew; or, at all events, if -such admission were ever to be thought of, it must be only on -condition of absolute submission to the requirements of the law. The -Gentile would naturally plead, that, as God had not made him of the -chosen nation, he had given him no law, except that of conscience; -that, being without the law, he must be a law unto himself; and that, -if he had lived according to his light, he could not be justly -excluded on the ground of accidental disqualification. Possibly, in -the provocation of dispute, the Gentile might sometimes become froward -and insolent in his assertion of claim; and, in the pride of his -heart, demand as a right that which, at most, could only be humbly -hoped for as a privilege and a free gift. - -Thus were the parties mutually placed to whom the Deliverer came. Thus -dense and complicated was the web of prejudice which clung round the -early steps of the Gospel; and which must be burst or disentangled ere -the glad tidings could have free course and be glorified. How did -Providence develop from such elements the divine and everlasting -truth? Not by neglecting them, and speaking to mankind as if they had -no such ideas; not by forbidding his messengers and teachers to have -any patience with them; but, on the contrary, by using these very -notions as temporary means to his everlasting ends; by touching this -and that with light before the eyes of Apostles, as if to say, there -are good capabilities in these; the truth may be educed from them so -gently and so wisely, that the world will find itself in light, -without perceiving how it has been quitting the darkness. - -So long as Christ remained on earth, he necessarily confined his -ministry to his nation. He would not have been the Messiah had he done -otherwise. By birth, by lineage, by locality, by habit, he was -altogether theirs. Whoever, then, of his own people, during his mortal -life, believed in him and followed him, became a subject of the -Messiah; ready, it was supposed, even by the Apostles themselves, to -enter the glory of his kingdom, whenever it should please him to -assume it; qualified at once, by the combination of pedigree and of -belief, to enter into life, to become a member of the kingdom of God, -to take a place among the elect; for by all these phrases was -described the admission to the expected realm. If, then, Jesus had -never suffered and died, if he had never retired from this world, but -stayed to fulfil the anticipations of his first followers, his -Messianic kingdom might have included all the converts of the -Israelitish stock. From the exclusion which fell on others, they would -have obtained salvation. Hence, it is never in connection with the -first Jewish Christians that the _death of Christ_ is mentioned. - -It was otherwise, however, with the Gentiles. They could not become his -followers in his mortal lifetime; and had a Messianic reign _then_ been -set up, they must have been excluded; no missionary would have been -justified in addressing them with invitation; they could not, as it was -said, have entered into life. The Messiah must cease to be Jewish, -before he could become universal; and this implied his death, by which -alone the personal relations, which made him the property of a nation, -could be annihilated. To this he submitted; he disrobed himself of his -corporeality, he became an immortal spirit; thereby instantly burst his -religion open to the dimensions of the world; and, as he ascended to the -skies, sent it forth to scatter the seeds of blessing over the field of -the world, long ploughed with cares, and moist with griefs, and softened -now to nourish in its bosom the tree of Life. - -Now, how would the effect of this great revolution be described to the -proselyte Gentiles, so long vainly praying for admission to the -Israelitish hope. At once it destroyed their exclusion; put away as -valueless the Jewish claims of circumcision and law; nailed the -handwriting of ordinances to the cross; reconciled them that had been -afar off; redeemed them to God by his blood, out of every tongue, and -kindred, and people, and nation; washed them in his blood; justified -them _by his resurrection and ascension_; an expression, I would -remark, unmeaning on any other explanation. - -Even during our Lord's personal ministry his approaching death is -mentioned as the means of introducing the Gentiles into his Messianic -kingdom. He adverts repeatedly to his cross, as designed to widen, by -their admission, the extent of his sway; and, according to Scripture -phrase, to yield to him "much fruit." He was already on his last fatal -visit to Jerusalem, when, taking the hint from _the visit of some -Greeks to him_, he exclaimed: "The hour is come, that the Son of man -should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a grain of -wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but _if it die, -it bringeth forth much fruit_." He adds, in allusion to the death he -should die: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw _all -men unto me_." It is for this end that he resigns for a while his -life,--that he may bring in the wanderers who are not of the -commonwealth of Israel: "Other sheep I have, which are not of this -fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there -shall be one fold and one shepherd: _therefore doth my Father love me, -because I lay down my life_, that I may take it again." Many a parable -did Jesus utter, proclaiming his Father's intended mercy to the -uncovenanted nations: but for himself personally he declared, "I am -not sent, but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." His advent -was a promise of _their_ economy; his office, the traditionary hope of -their fathers; his birth, his life, his person, were under the Law, -and excluded him from relations to those who were beyond its -obligations. On the cross, all the connate peculiarities of the -Nazarene ceased to exist: when the seal of the sepulchre gave way, the -seal of the law was broken too; the nationality of his person passed -away; for how can an immortal be a Jew? This, then, was the time to -open wide the scope of his mission, and to invite to God's acceptance -those that fear him in every nation. Though, before, the disciple -might "have known Christ after the flesh," and followed his steps as -the Hebrew Messiah, "yet now henceforth was he to know him so no -more"; these "old things had passed away," since he had "died for -all,"--died to become universal,--to drop all exclusive relations, and -"reconcile the world," the Gentile world, to God. Observe to whom this -"ministry of reconciliation" is especially confided. As if to show -that it is exclusively _the risen Christ_ who belongs to all men, and -that his death was the instrument of the Gentiles' admission, their -great Apostle was one Paul, who had not known the Saviour in his -mortal life; who never listened to his voice till it spake from -heaven; who himself was the convert of his ascension; and bore to him -the relation, not of subject to the person of a Hebrew king, but of -spirit to spirit, unembarrassed by anything earthly, legal, or -historical. Well did Paul understand the freedom and the sanctity of -this relation; and around the idea of the Heavenly Messiah gathered -all his conceptions of the spirituality of the Gospel, of its power -over the unconscious affections, rather than a reluctant will. His -believing countrymen were afraid to disregard the observances of the -law, lest it should be a disloyalty to God, and disqualify them for -the Messiah's welcome, when he came to take his power and reign. Paul -tells them, that, while their Lord remained in this mortal state, they -were right; as representative of the law, and filling an office -created by the religion of Judaism, he could not but have held them -_then_ to its obligations; nor could they, without infidelity, have -neglected its claims, any more than a wife can innocently separate -herself from a living husband. But as the death of the man sets the -woman free, and makes null the law of their union, so the decease of -Christ's body emancipates his followers from all legal relations to -him; and they are at liberty to wed themselves anew to the risen -Christ, who dwells where no ordinance is needful, no tie permitted but -of the spirit, and all are as the angels of God. Surely, then, this -mode of conception explains why the death of Jesus constitutes a great -date in the Christian economy, especially as expounded by the friend -and Apostle of those who were not "Jews by nature, but sinners of the -Gentiles." Had he never died, they must have remained aliens from his -sway; the enemies against whom his power must be directed; without -hope in the day of his might; strangers to God and his vicegerent. - -But, while thus they "were yet without strength, Christ died for" these -"ungodly"; died to put himself into connection with them, else -impossible; and, rising from death, drew them after him into spiritual -existence on earth, analogous to that which he passed in heaven. "You," -says their Apostle, "being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of -your flesh, hath he quickened together with him"; giving you, as "risen -with him," a life above the world and its law of exclusion,--a life not -"subject to ordinances," but of secret love and heavenly faith, "hid -with Christ in God"; "blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that -was against us, which was contrary to us, and taking it out of the way, -nailing it to his cross." God had never intended to perpetuate the -division between Israel and the world, receiving the one as the sons, -and shutting out the other as the slaves of his household. If there had -been an appearance of such partiality, he had always designed to set -these bondmen free, and to make them "heirs of God through Christ"; "in -whom they had redemption through his blood" from their servile state, -the forgiveness of disqualifying sins, according to the riches of his -grace. Though the Hebrews boasted that "theirs was the adoption," and -till Messiah's death had boasted truly; yet in that event God, "before -the foundation of the world," had "blessed us" (Gentiles) "with all -spiritual blessings in heavenly places"; "having predestinated us unto -the adoption of children, by Jesus Christ, according" (not indeed to any -right or promise, but) "to the good pleasure of his will," "and when we -were enemies, having reconciled us, by the death of his Son"; "that in -the fulness of times he might gather together in one _all things_ in -Christ"; "by whom we" (Gentiles) "have now received this atonement" -(reconciliation); that he might have no partial empire, but that "in him -might all fulness dwell." "Wherefore," says their Apostle, "remember -that ye, _Gentiles in the flesh_, were in time past without Messiah, -being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the -covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world; but -now in Christ Jesus, ye, who sometime were afar off, are made nigh by -the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and -hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us" (not between -God and man, but between Jew and Gentile); "having abolished in his -flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances; -for to make in himself, of twain, one new man, so _making peace_; and -that he might reconcile both unto God, in one body, by the cross, having -slain the enmity thereby; and came and preached peace to you who were -afar off, as well as to them that were nigh. For through him we both -have an access by one spirit unto the Father." - -The way, then, is clear and intelligible, in which the death and -ascension of the Messiah rendered him universal, by giving spirituality -to his rule; and, on the simple condition of faith, added the -uncovenanted nations to his dominion, so far as they were willing to -receive him. This idea, and this only, will be found in almost every -passage of the New Testament (excepting the Epistle to the Hebrews) -usually adduced to prove the doctrine of the Atonement. Some of the -strongest of these I have already quoted; and my readers must judge -whether they have received a satisfactory meaning. There are others, in -which the Gentiles are not so distinctly stated to be the sole objects -of the redemption of the cross; but with scarcely an exception, so far -as I can discover, this limitation is implied, and either creeps out -through some adjacent expression in the context, or betrays itself, when -we recur to the general course of the Apostle's argument, or to the -character and circumstances of his correspondents. Thus Paul says, that -Christ "gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time"; the -next verse shows what is in his mind, when he adds, "_whereunto_ I am -ordained a preacher, and an Apostle, a teacher of THE GENTILES in faith -and verity"; and the whole sentiment of the context is the _Universality -of the Gospel_, and the duty of praying for Gentile kings and people, as -not abandoned to a foreign God and another Mediator; for since Messiah's -death, to _us all_ "there is but One God, and One Mediator between God -and men, the man Christ Jesus": wherefore the Apostle wills, that _for -all_ "men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and -doubting,"--without wrath at their admission, or doubt of their -adoption. And wherever emphasis is laid on the _vast number_ benefited -by the cross, a contrast is implied with the _few_ (only the Jews) who -could have been his subjects had he not died: and when it is said, "he -gave his life a ransom _for many_"; his blood was "shed _for many_, for -the remission of sins"; "thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us by thy -blood, _out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation_, and -hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign on the -earth"; "behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of _the -world_";[16]--by all these expressions is still denoted the efficacy of -Christ's death in removing the Gentile disqualification, and making his -dispensation spiritual as his celestial existence, and universal as the -Fatherhood of God. Does Paul exhort certain of his disciples "to feed -the church of the Lord, which he hath purchased with his own blood"?[17] -We find that he is speaking of the _Gentile_ church of Ephesus, whose -elders he is instructing in the management of their charge, and to which -he afterwards wrote the well-known Epistle, on their Gentile freedom and -adoption obtained by the Messiah's death. When Peter says, "Ye know that -ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from -your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers; but -with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and -without spot,"--we must inquire _to whom_ he is addressing these words. -If it be to the Jews, the interpretation which I have hitherto given of -such language will not apply, and we must seek an explanation altogether -different. But the whole manner of this Epistle, the complexion of its -phraseology throughout, convinces me that it was addressed especially to -the _Gentile converts_ of Asia Minor; and that the redemption of which -it speaks is no other than that which is the frequent theme of their own -Apostle. - -In the passage just quoted, the form of expression itself suggests the -idea, that Peter is addressing a class which did not include himself: -"YE were not redeemed," &c.; farther on, in the same Epistle, the same -sentiment occurs, however, without any such visible restriction. -Exhorting to patient suffering for conscience' sake, he appeals to the -example of Christ; "who, when he suffered, threatened not, but -committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously; who, his own self, -bare _our_ sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to -sins, should live unto righteousness": yet, with instant change in the -expression, revealing his correspondents to us, the Apostle adds, "by -whose stripes YE were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but -are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls." With the -instinct of a gentle and generous heart, the writer, treating in plain -terms of the former sins of those whom he addresses, puts himself in -with them; and avoids every appearance of that spiritual pride by -which the Jew constantly rendered himself offensive to the Gentile. - -Again, in this letter, he recommends the duty of patient endurance, by -appeal to the same consideration of Christ's disinterested -self-sacrifice. "It is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer -for well-doing than for evil-doing: for Christ also hath once suffered -for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." And -who are these "unjust" that are thus brought to God? The Apostle -instantly explains, by describing how the "Jews by nature" lost -possession of Messiah by the death of his person, and "sinners of the -Gentiles" gained him by the resurrection of his immortal nature; "being -put to death in flesh, but quickened in spirit; and _thereby he went and -preached unto the spirits in prison, who formerly were without faith_." -This is clearly a description of the heathen world, ere it was brought -into relation to the Messianic promises. Still further confirmation, -however, follows. The Apostle adds: "Forasmuch, then, as Christ hath -suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same -mind; for the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the -will _of the Gentiles_; when _we_ walked in lasciviousness, lusts, -excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and _abominable idolatries_." -If we cannot admit this to be a just description of the holy Apostle's -former life, we must perceive that, writing to Pagans of whom it was -all true, he beautifully withholds from his language every trace of -invidious distinction, puts himself for the moment into the same class, -and seems to take his share of the distressing recollection. - -The habitual delicacy with which Paul, likewise, classed himself with -every order of persons in turn, to whom he had anything painful to -say, is known to every intelligent reader of his Epistles. Hence, in -_his_ writings too, we have often to consider _with whom_ it is that -he is holding his dialogue, and to make our interpretation dependent -on the answer. When, for example, he says, that Jesus "was delivered -for _our_ offences, and was raised again for _our_ justification"; I -ask, "For whose?--was it for everybody's?--or for the Jews', since -Paul was a Hebrew?" On looking closely into the argument, I find it -beyond doubt that neither of these answers is correct; and that the -Apostle, in conformity with his frequent practice, is certainly -identifying himself, Israelite though he was, with _the Gentiles_, to -whom, at that moment, his reasoning applies itself. The neighboring -verses have expressions which clearly enough declare this: "when we -were _yet without strength_," and "_while we were yet sinners_," -Christ died for us. It is to the _Gentile church_ at Corinth, and -while expatiating on their privileges and relations as such, that Paul -speaks of the disqualifications and legal unholiness of the heathen, -as vanishing in the death of the Messiah; as the recovered leper's -uncleanness was removed, and his banishment reversed, and his -exclusion from the temple ended, when the lamb without blemish, which -the law prescribed as his sin-offering, bled beneath the knife, so did -God provide in Jesus a lamb without blemish for the exiled and -unsanctified Gentiles, to bring them from their far dwelling in the -leprous haunts of this world's wilderness, and admit them to the -sanctuary of spiritual health and worship: "He hath made him to be a -sin-offering for us (Gentiles), who knew no sin; that we might be made -the justified of God in him"; entering, under the Messiah, the -community of saints. That, in this sacrificial allusion, the Gentile -adoption is still the Apostle's only theme, is evident hence: that -twice in this very passage he declares that he is speaking of that -peculiar "reconciliation," the word and ministry of which have been -committed to himself; he is dwelling on the topic most natural to one -who "magnified his office," as "Apostle of the Gentiles." - -To the same parties was Paul writing, when he said, "Christ, our -passover, is sacrificed for us." Frequently as this sentence is cited -in evidence of the doctrine of Atonement, there is hardly a verse in -Scripture more utterly inapplicable; nor, if the doctrine were true, -could anything be more inept than an allusion to it in this place. I -do not dwell on the fact that the paschal lamb was neither -sin-offering nor proper sacrifice at all: for the elucidation of the -death of Jesus by sacrificial analogies is as easy and welcome as any -other mode of representing it. But I turn to the whole context, and -seek for its leading idea, before multiplying inferences from a -subordinate illustration. I find the author treating, not of the -_deliverance_ of believers from curse or exclusion, but of their duty -to keep the churches cleansed, by the expulsion of notoriously -profligate members. Such persons they are to cast from them, as the -Jews, at the passover, swept from their houses all the leaven they -contained; and as for eight days, at that season, only pure unleavened -bread was allowed for use, so the Church must keep the Gospel festival -free from the ferment of malice and wickedness, and tasting nothing -but sincerity and truth. This comparison is the primary sentiment of -the whole passage; under cover of which the Apostle is urging the -Corinthians to expel a certain licentious offender: and only because -the feast of unleavened bread, on which his fancy has alighted, set in -with the day of passover, does he allude to this in completion of the -figure. As his correspondents were Gentiles, their Christianity -commenced with the death of Christ; with him, as an immortal, their -spiritual relations commenced; when he rose, they rose with him, as by -a divine attraction, from an earthly to a heavenly state; their old -and corrupt man had been buried together with him, and, with the human -infirmities of his person, left behind for ever in his sepulchre; and -it became them "to seek those things which are above," and to "yield -themselves to God, as those that are alive from the dead." This period -of the Lord's sequestration in the heavens Paul represents as a -festival of purity to the disciples on earth, ushered in by the -self-sacrifice of Christ. The time is come, he says; cast away the -leaven, for the passover is slain, blessed bread of heaven to them -that taste it! let nothing now be seen in all the household of the -Church, but the unleavened cake of simplicity and love. - -Paul again appears as the advocate of the Gentiles, when he protests -that now between them and the Jews "there is no difference, since all -have sinned and come short of the glory of God"; that the Hebrew has -lost all claim to the Messianic adoption, and can have no hope but in -that free grace of God, which has a sovereign right to embrace the -heathen too; and which, in fact, has compassed the Gentiles within its -redemption, by causing Jesus the Messiah to die; "by whose blood God -hath set forth a propitiation, through faith; to evince his justice, -while overlooking, with the forbearance of God, transgressions -past;--to evince his justice in the arrangements of the present -crisis; which preserve his justice (to the Israelite), yet justify on -mere discipleship to Jesus." The great question which the Apostle -discusses throughout this Epistle is this: "On what terms is a man now -admitted as a subject to the Messiah, so as to be acknowledged by him, -when he comes to erect his kingdom?" "He must be one of the -circumcised, to whom alone the holy law and promises are given," says -the Jew. "That is well," replies Paul; "only the promises, you -remember, are conditional on obedience; and he who claims by the law -must stand the judgment of the law. Can your nation abide this test, -and will you stake your hopes upon the issue? Or is there on record -against you a violation of every condition of your boasted -covenant,--wholesale and national transgression, which your favorite -code itself menaces with 'cutting off'? Have you even rejected and -crucified the very Messiah, who was tendered to you in due fulfilment -of the promises? Take your trial by the principles of your law, and -you must be cast off, and perish, as certainly as the heathen whom you -despise; and whose rebellion against the natural law, gross as it is, -does not surpass your own offences against the tables of Moses. You -must abandon the claim of right, the high talk of God's justice and -plighted faith;--which are alike ill suited to you both. The rules of -law are out of the question, and would admit nobody; and we must -ascend again to the sovereign will and free mercy of Him who is the -source of law; and who, to bestow a blessing which its resources -cannot confer, may devise new methods of beneficence. God has violated -no pledge. Messiah came to Israel, and never went beyond its bounds; -the uncircumcised had no part in him; and every Hebrew who desired it -was received as his subject. But when the people would not have him, -and threw away their ancient title, was God either to abandon his -vicegerent, or to force him on the unwilling? No: rather did it befit -him to say: 'If they will reject and crucify my servant,--why, let him -die, and then he is Israelite no more; I will raise him, and take him -apart in his immortality; where his blood of David is lost; and the -holiness of his humanity is glorified; and all shall be his, who will -believe, and love him, as he there exists, spiritually and truly.'" -Thus, according to Paul, does God provide a new method of adoption or -justification, without violating any promises of the old. Thus he -makes Faith in Jesus--a moral act, instead of a genealogical -accident--the single condition of reception into the Divine kingdom -upon earth. Thus, after the passage of Christ from this world to -another, Jew and Gentile are on an equality in relation to the -Messiah; the one gaining nothing by his past privileges; the other, -not visited with exclusion for past idolatry and sins, but assured, in -Messiah's death, that these are to be overlooked, and treated as if -cleansed away. He finds himself invited into the very penetralia of -that sanctuary of pure faith and hope, from which before he had been -repelled as an unclean thing; as if its ark of mercy had been purified -for ever from his unworthy touch, or he himself had been sprinkled by -some sudden consecration. And all this was the inevitable and instant -effect of that death on Calvary, which took Messiah from the Jews and -gave him to the world. - -With emphasis, not less earnest than that of Paul, does the Apostle John -repudiate the notion of any _claim_ on the Divine admission by law or -righteousness; and insist on humble and unqualified acceptance of God's -free grace and remission for the past, as the sole avenue of entrance to -the kingdom. This avenue was open, however, to all "who confessed that -Jesus the Messiah had come in the flesh"; in other words, that, during -his mortal life, Jesus had been indicated as this future Prince; and -that his ministry was the Messiah's preliminary visit to that earth on -which shortly he would reappear to reign. The great object of that visit -was to prepare the world for his real coming; for as yet it was very -unfit for so great a crisis; and especially to open, by his death, a way -of admission for the Gentiles, and frame, on their behalf, an act of -oblivion for the past. "If," says the Apostle to them, "we walk in the -light, _as he is in the light_" (of love and heaven), "we have -fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son -cleanseth us from all sin": the Israelite will embrace the Gentiles in -fraternal relations, knowing that the cross has removed their past -unholiness. Nor let the Hebrew rely on anything now but the Divine -forbearance; to appeal to rights will serve no longer: "If we say we -have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." Nor let -any one despair of a reception, or even a restoration, because he has -been an idolater and sinner: "Jesus Christ the righteous" is "an -advocate with the Father" for admitting all who are willing to be his; -"and he is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only (not -merely for our small portion of Gentiles, already converted); but also -for the _whole_ world," if they will but accept him. He died to become -universal; to make all his own; to spread an oblivion, wide as the -earth, over all that had embarrassed the relations to the Messiah, and -made men aliens, instead of Sons of God. Yet did no spontaneous movement -of their good affections solicit this change. It was "not that we -(Gentiles) loved God; but that he loved us, and sent his Son, the -propitiation for our sins"; "he sent his only-begotten Son into the -world, that we might live through him." That this Epistle was addressed -to Gentiles, and is therefore occupied with the same leading idea -respecting the cross which pervades the writings of Paul, is rendered -probable by its concluding words, which could hardly be appropriate to -Jews: "Keep yourselves from idols." How little the Apostle associated -any vicarious idea even with a form of phrase most constantly employed -by modern theology to express it, is evident from the parallel which he -draws, in the following words, between the death of our Lord and that of -the Christian martyrs: "Hereby perceive we love, because _Christ_ laid -down his life _for us_; and we ought to lay down our lives _for the -brethren_." - -Are, then, the _Gentiles alone_ beneficially affected by the death of -Christ? and is no wider efficacy _ever_ assigned to it in Scripture? The -great number of passages to which I have already applied this single -interpretation will show that I consider it as comprising _the great -leading idea_ of the Apostolic theology on this subject; nor do I think -that there is (out of the Epistle to the Hebrews, which I shall soon -notice) a single doctrinal allusion to the cross, from which this -conception is wholly absent. At the same time, I am not prepared to -maintain, that this is the _only_ view of the crucifixion and -resurrection ever present to the mind of the Apostles. Jews themselves, -they naturally inquired, how _Israel_, in particular, stood affected by -the unanticipated death of its Messiah; in what way its relations were -changed, when the offered Prince became the executed victim; and how far -matters would have been different, if, as had been expected, the -Anointed had assumed his rights and taken his power at once; and, -instead of making his first advent a mere preliminary and warning visit -"in the flesh," had set up the kingdom forthwith, and gathered with him -his few followers to "reign on the earth." Had this--instead of -submission to death, removal, and delay--been his adopted course, what -would have become of his own nation, who had rejected him,--who must -have been tried by that law which was their boast, and under which he -came,--who had long been notorious offenders against its conditions, and -now brought down its final curse by despising the claims of the -accredited Messiah? They must have been utterly "cut off," and cast out -among the "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel," "without Messiah," -"without hope," "without God"; for while "circumcision profiteth, _if -thou keep the law_; yet if thou be a _breaker of the law_, thy -circumcision is made uncircumcision." Had he come _then_ "to be -glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that -believe,"--had he then been "revealed with his mighty angels" (whom he -might have summoned by "legions"),--it must have been "in flaming fire, -taking vengeance on them that knew not God, nor obeyed the glad tidings -of the Lord Jesus Christ"; to "punish with everlasting destruction from -the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power." The sins and -prospects of Israel being thus terrible, and its rejection imminent (for -Messiah was already in the midst of them), he withheld his hand; refused -to precipitate their just fate; and said, "Let us give them time, and -wait; I will go apart into the heavens, and peradventure they will -repent; only they must receive me then spiritually, and by hearty faith, -not by carnal right, admitting thus the willing Gentile with -themselves." And so he prepared to die and retire; he did not permit -them to be cut off, but was cut off himself instead; he restrained the -curse of their own law from falling on them, and rather perished himself -by a foul and accursed lot, which that same law pronounces to be the -vilest and most polluted of deaths. Thus says St. Paul to the Jews: "He -hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; -for it is written, 'Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.'"[18] In -this way, but for the death of the Messiah, Israel too must have been -lost; and by that event they received time for repentance, and a way for -remission of sins; found a means of reconciliation still; saw their -providence, which had been lowering for judgment, opening over them in -propitiation once more; the just had died for the unjust, to bring them -to God. What was this delay,--this suspension of judgment,--this -opportunity of return and faith,--but an instance of "the long-suffering -of God," with which "he endures the vessels of wrath (Jews) fitted to -destruction, and makes known the riches of his glory on the vessels of -mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory"? If Christ had not -withdrawn awhile, if his power had been taken up at once, and wielded in -stern and legal justice, a deluge of judgment must have overwhelmed the -earth, and swept away both Jew and Gentile, leaving but a remnant safe. -But in mercy was the mortal life of Jesus turned into a preluding -message of notice and warning, like the tidings which Noah received of -the flood; and as the growing frame of the ark gave signal to the world -of the coming calamity, afforded an interval for repentance, and made -the patriarch, as he built, a constant "preacher of righteousness"; so -the increasing body of the Church, since the warning retreat of Christ -to heaven, proclaims the approaching "day of the Lord," admonishes that -"all should come to repentance," and fly betimes to that faith and -baptism which Messiah's death and resurrection have left as an ark of -safety. "Once, in the days of Noah, the long-suffering of God waited -while the ark was preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls, were -saved by water: a representation, this, of the way in which baptism -(not, of course, carnal washing, but the engagement of a good conscience -with God) saves us now, _by the resurrection of Jesus Christ_; who is -gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels, and -authorities, and powers, being made subject to him." Yet "the time is -short," and must be "redeemed"; "it is the last hour"; "the Lord," "the -coming of the Lord," "the end of all things," are "at hand." - -I have described _one_ aspect, which the death of the Messiah -presented to _the Jews_; and, in this, we have found another primary -conception, explanatory of the Scriptural language respecting the -cross. Of the two relations in which this event appeared (the Gentile -and the Israelitish), I believe the former to be by far the most -familiar to the New Testament authors, and to furnish the true -interpretation of almost all their phraseology on the subject. But, as -my readers may have noticed, many passages receive illustration by -reference to either notion; and some may have a meaning compounded of -both. I must not pause to make any minute adjustment of these claims, -on the part of the two interpreting ideas: it is enough that, either -separately or in union, they have now been taken round the whole -circle of apostolic language respecting the cross, and detected in -every difficult passage the presence of sense and truth, and the -absence of all hint of vicarious atonement. - -It was on the _unbelieving_ portion of the Jewish people that the -death of their Messiah conferred the national blessings and -opportunities to which I have adverted. But to _the converts_ who had -been received by him during his mortal life, and who would have been -heirs of his glory, had he assumed it at once, it was less easy to -point out any personal benefits from the cross. That the Christ had -retired from this world was but a disappointing postponement of their -hopes; that he had perished as a felon was shocking to their pride, -and turned their ancient boast into a present scorn; that he had -become spiritual and immortal made him no longer theirs "as concerning -the flesh," and, by admitting Gentiles with themselves, set aside -their favorite law. So offensive to them was this unexpected slight on -the institutions of Moses, immemorially reverenced as the ordinances -of God, that it became important to give some turn to the death of -Jesus, by which that event might be harmonized with the national -system, and be shown to _effect the abrogation of the law, on -principles strictly legal_. This was the object of the writer of the -Epistle to the Hebrews; who thus gives us a third idea of the -relations of the cross,--bearing, indeed, an essential resemblance to -St. Paul's Gentile view, but illustrated in a manner altogether -different. No trace is to be observed here of Paul's noble glorying in -the cross: so studiously is every allusion to the crucifixion avoided, -till all the argumentative part of the Epistle has been completed, -that a reader finds the conclusion already in sight, without having -gained any notion of _the mode_ of the Lord's death, whether even it -was natural or violent,--a literal human sacrifice, or a voluntary -self-immolation. Its ignominy and its agonies are wholly unmentioned; -and his mortal infirmities and sufferings are explained, not as the -spontaneous adoptions of previous compassion in him, but as God's -fitting discipline for rendering him "a merciful and faithful -high-priest." They are referred to in the tone of apology, not of -pride; as needing rather to be reconciled with his office, than to be -boldly expounded as its grand essential. The object of the author -clearly is, to find a place for the death of Jesus among the Messianic -functions; and he persuades the Hebrew Christians that it is (not a -satisfaction for moral guilt, but) a commutation for the Mosaic Law. -In order to understand his argument, we must advert for a moment to -the prejudices which it was designed to conciliate and correct. - -It is not easy for us to realize the feelings with which the Israelite, -in the yet palmy days of the Levitical worship, would hear of an -abrogation of the Law;--the anger and contempt with which the mere bigot -would repudiate the suggestion;--the terror with which the new convert -would make trial of his freedom;--the blank and infidel feeling with -which he would look round, and find himself drifted away from his -anchorage of ceremony;--the sinking heart with which he would hear the -reproaches of his countrymen against his apostasy. Every authoritative -ritual draws towards itself an attachment too strong for reason and the -sense of right; and transfers the feeling of obligation from realities -to symbols. Among the Hebrews this effect was the more marked and the -more pernicious, because their ceremonies were in many instances only -remotely connected with any important truth or excellent end; they were -separated by several removes from any spiritual utility. Rites were -enacted to sustain other rites; institution lay beneath institution, -through so many successive steps, that the crowning principle at the -summit easily passed out of sight. To keep alive the grand truth of the -Divine Unity, there was a gorgeous temple worship; to perform this -worship there was a priesthood; to support the priesthood there were -(among other sources of income) dues paid in the form of sacrifice; to -provide against the non-payment of dues there were penalties; to prevent -an injurious pressure of these penalties, there were exemptions, as in -cases of sickness; and to put a check on trivial claims of exemption, it -must be purchased by submission to a fee, under name of an atonement. -Wherever such a system is received as divine, and based on the same -authority with the great law of duty, it will always, by its -definiteness and precision, attract attention from graver moral -obligations. Its materiality renders it calculable: its account with the -conscience can be exactly ascertained: as it has little obvious utility -to men, it appears the more directly paid to God: it is regarded as the -special means of pleasing him, of placating his anger, and purchasing -his promises. Hence it may often happen, that the more the offences -against the spirit of duty, the more are rites multiplied in -propitiation; and the harvest of ceremonies and that of crimes ripen -together. - -At a state not far from this had the Jews arrived when Christianity was -preached. Their moral sentiments were so far perverted, that they valued -nothing in themselves, in comparison with their legal exactitude, and -hated all beyond themselves for their want of this. They were eagerly -expecting the Deliverer's kingdom, nursing up their ambition for his -triumphs; curling the lip, as the lash of oppression fell upon them, in -suppressed anticipation of vengeance; satiating a temper, at once fierce -and servile, with dreams of Messiah's coming judgment, when the blood of -the patriarchs should be the title of the world's nobles, and the -everlasting reign should begin in Jerusalem. Why was the hour delayed? -they impatiently asked themselves. Was it that they had offended -Jehovah, and secretly sinned against some requirement of his law? And -then they set themselves to a renewed precision, a more slavish -punctiliousness than before. Ascribing their continued depression to -their imperfect legal obedience, they strained their ceremonialism -tighter than ever; and hoped to be soon justified from their past sins, -and ready for the mighty prince and the latter days. - -What, then, must have been the feeling of the Hebrew, when told that -all his punctualities had been thrown away,--that, at the advent, -faith in Jesus, not obedience to the law, was to be the title to -admission,--and that the redeemed at that day would be, not the -scrupulous Pharisee, whose dead works would be of no avail, but all -who, with the heart, have worthily confessed the name of the Lord -Jesus? What doctrine could be more unwelcome to the haughty Israelite? -it dashed his pride of ancestry to the ground. It brought to the same -level with himself the polluted Gentile,--whose presence would alone -render all unclean in the Messiah's kingdom. It proved his past ritual -anxieties to have been all wasted. It cast aside for the future the -venerated law; left it in neglect to die; and made all the apparatus -of Providence for its maintenance end in absolutely nothing. Was then -the Messiah to supersede, and not to vindicate, the law? How different -this from the picture which prophets had drawn of his golden age, when -Jerusalem was to be the pride of the earth, and her temple the praise -of nations, sought by the feet of countless pilgrims, and decked with -the splendor of their gifts! How could a true Hebrew be justified in a -life without law? How think himself safe in a profession, which was -without temple, without priest, without altar, without victim? - -Not unnaturally, then, did the Hebrews regard with reluctance two of the -leading features of Christianity; the death of the Messiah, and the -freedom from the law. The Epistle addressed to them was designed to -soothe their uneasiness, and to show that, if the Mosaic institutions -were superseded, it was in conformity with principles and analogies -contained within themselves. With great address, the writer links the -two difficulties together, and makes the one explain the other. He finds -a ready means of effecting this, in the sacrificial ideas familiar to -every Hebrew; for by representing the death of Jesus as a commutation -for legal observances, he is only ascribing to it an operation -acknowledged to have place in the death of every lamb slain as a -sin-offering at the altar. These offerings were a distinct recognition, -on the part of the Levitical code, of a principle of _equivalents_ for -its ordinances; a proof that, under certain conditions, they might -yield: nothing more, therefore, was necessary, than to show that the -death of Christ established those conditions. And such a method of -argument was attended by this advantage, that, while the _practical end_ -would be obtained of terminating all ceremonial observance, the law was -yet treated as _in theory_ perpetual; not as ignominiously abrogated, -but as legitimately commuted. Just as the Israelite, in paying his -offering at the altar to compensate for ritual omissions, recognized -thereby the claims of the law, while he obtained impunity for its -neglect; so, if Providence could be shown to have provided a legal -substitute for the system, its authority was acknowledged at the moment -that its abolition was secured. - -Let us advert, then, to the functions of the Mosaic sin-offerings, to -which the writer has recourse to illustrate his main position. They -were of the nature of a _mulct or acknowledgment rendered for -unconscious or inevitable disregard of ceremonial liabilities, and -contraction of ceremonial uncleanness_. Such uncleanness might be -incurred from various causes; and, while unremoved by the appointed -methods of purification, disqualified from attendance at the -sanctuary, and "cut off" "the guilty" "from among the congregation." -To touch a dead body, to enter a tent where a corpse lay, rendered a -person "unclean for seven days"; to come in contact with a forbidden -animal, a bone, a grave, to be next to any one struck with sudden -death, to be afflicted with certain kinds of bodily disease and -infirmity, unwittingly to lay a finger on a person unclean, occasioned -defilement, and necessitated a purification or an atonement. -Independently of these offences, enforced upon the Israelite by the -accidents of life, it was not easy for even the most cautious -worshipper to keep pace with the complicated series of petty debts -which the law of ordinances was always running up against him. If his -offering had an invisible blemish; if he omitted a tithe, because "he -wist it not"; or inadvertently fell into arrear, by a single day, with -respect to a known liability; if absent from disease, he was compelled -to let his ritual account accumulate; "though it be hidden from him," -he must "be guilty, and bear his iniquity," and bring his victim. On -the birth of a child, the mother, after the lapse of a prescribed -period, made her pilgrimage to the temple, presented her sin-offering, -and "the priest made atonement for her." The poor leper, long banished -from the face of men, and unclean by the nature of his disease, became -a debtor to the sanctuary, and on return from his tedious quarantine -brought his lamb of atonement, and departed thence, clear from -neglected obligations to his law. It was impossible, however, to -provide by specific enactment for every case of ritual transgression -and impurity, arising from inadvertence or necessity. Scarcely could -it be expected that the courts of worship themselves would escape -defilement, from imperfections in the offerings, or unconscious -disqualification in people or in priest. To clear off the whole -invisible residue of such sins, an annual "day of atonement" was -appointed; the people thronged the avenues and approaches of the -tabernacle; in their presence a kid was slain for their own -transgressions, and for the high-priest the more dignified expiation -of a heifer; charged with the blood of each successively, he sprinkled -not only the exterior altar open to the sky, but, passing through the -first and holy chamber into the Holy of Holies (never entered else), -he touched, with finger dipped in blood, the sacred lid (the -Mercy-seat) and foreground of the Ark. At that moment, while he yet -lingers behind the veil, the purification is complete; on no -worshipper of Israel does any legal unholiness rest; and were it -possible for the high-priest to remain in that interior retreat of -Jehovah, still protracting the expiatory act, so long would this -national purity continue, and the debt of ordinances be effaced as it -arose. But he must return; the sanctifying rite must end; the people -be dismissed; the priests resume the daily ministrations; the law open -its stern account afresh; and in the mixture of national exactitude -and neglects, defilements multiply again till the recurring -anniversary lifts off the burden once more. Every year, then, the -necessity comes round of "making atonement for the holy sanctuary," -"for the tabernacle," "for the altar," "for the priests, and for all -the people of the congregation." Yet, though requiring periodical -renewal, the rite, so far as it went, had an efficacy which no Hebrew -could deny; for ceremonial sins, unconscious or inevitable (to which -all atonement was limited[19]), it was accepted as an indemnity; and -put it beyond doubt that Mosaic obedience was commutable. - -Such was the system of ideas, by availing himself of which the author -of the Epistle to the Hebrews would persuade his correspondents to -forsake their legal observances. "You can look without uneasiness," he -suggests, "on your ritual omissions, when the blood of some victim -has been presented instead, and the penetralia of your sanctuary have -been sprinkled with the offering: well, on no other terms would I -soothe your anxiety; precisely such equivalent sacrifice does -Christianity exhibit, only of so peculiar a nature, that, for _all_ -ceremonial neglects, intentional no less than inadvertent, you may -rely upon indemnity." The Jews entertained a belief respecting their -temple, which enabled the writer to give a singular force and -precision to his analogy. They conceived that the tabernacle of their -worship was but the copy of a divine structure, devised by God -himself, made by no created hand, and preserved eternally in heaven: -this was "the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man"; -which no mortal had beheld, except Moses in the mount, that he might -"make all things according to that pattern"; within whose Holy of -Holies dwelt no emblem or emanation of God's presence, but his own -immediate Spirit; and the celestial furniture of which required, in -proportion to its dignity, the purification of a nobler sacrifice, and -the ministrations of a diviner priest, than befitted the "worldly -sanctuary" below. And who then can mistake the meaning of Christ's -departure from this world, or doubt what office he conducts above? He -is called by his ascension to the pontificate of heaven; consecrated, -"not after the law of any carnal commandment, but after the power of -an endless life"; he drew aside the veil of his mortality, and passed -into the inmost court of God: and as he must needs "have somewhat to -offer," he takes the only blood he had ever shed,--which was his -own,--and, like the High-Priest before the Mercy-seat, sanctifies -therewith the people that stand without, "redeeming the -transgressions" which "the first covenant" of rites entailed. And he -has not returned; still is he hid within that holiest place; and still -the multitude he serves turn thither a silent and expectant gaze; he -prolongs the purification still; and while he appears not, no other -rites can be resumed, nor any legal defilement be contracted. Thus, -meanwhile, ordinances cease their obligation, and the sin against them -has lost its power. How different this from the offerings of -Jerusalem, whose temple was but the "symbol and shadow" of that -sanctuary above. In the Hebrew "sacrifices there was a remembrance -again made of sins every year"; "the high-priest annually entered the -holy place"; being but a mortal, he could not go in with his own blood -and _remain_, but must take that of other creatures and _return_; and -hence it became "not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats -should _take away_ sins," for instantly they began to accumulate -again. But to the very nature of Christ's offering a perpetuity of -efficacy belongs; bearing no other than "_his own_ blood," he was -immortal when his ministration began, and "ever liveth to make his -intercession"; he could "not offer himself often, for then must he -often have suffered since the foundation of the world,"--and "it is -appointed unto men _only once_ to die"; so that "_once for all_ he -entered into the holy place, and obtained a redemption that is -_perpetual_"; "_once_ in the end of the world hath he appeared, and by -sacrificing himself hath absolutely _put away_ sin"; "this man, after -he had offered one sacrifice for sins, for ever sat down on the right -hand of God," "for by one offering he hath perfected for ever them -that are sanctified." The ceremonial, then, with its periodical -transgressions and atonements, is suspended; the services of the outer -tabernacle cease, for the holiest of all is made manifest; one who is -"priest for ever" dwells therein;--one "consecrated for evermore," -"holy, harmless, undefiled, in his celestial dwelling quite separate -from sinners; who needeth not _daily_, as those high-priests, to offer -up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's; for -this he did _once for all_ when he offered up himself."[20] - -Nor is it in its perpetuity alone that the efficacy of the Christian -sacrifice transcends the atonements of the law; it removes a higher -order of ritual transgressions. It cannot be supposed, indeed, that -Messiah's life is no nobler offering than that of a creature from the -herd or flock, and will confer no more immunity. Accordingly, it goes -beyond those "_sins of ignorance_," those ceremonial inadvertences, -for which alone there was remission in Israel; and reaches to -_voluntary_ neglects of the sacerdotal ordinances; insuring indemnity -for legal omissions, when incurred not simply by the accidents of the -flesh, but even by intention of the conscience. This is no greater -boon than the dignity of the sacrifice requires; and does but give to -his people below that living relation of soul to God which he himself -sustains above. "If the blood of bulls and of goats ... sanctifieth to -the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, -who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, -purify (even) your conscience from dead works (ritual observances) to -serve the living God!" Let then the ordinances go, and the Lord "put -his laws _into the mind_, and write them _in the heart_"; and let all -have "boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by -this new and living way which he hath consecrated for us"; "provoking -each other to love and to good works." - -See, then, in brief, the objection of the Hebrews to the Gospel; and the -reply of their instructor. They said: "What a blank is this; you have no -temple, no priest, no ritual! How is it that, in his ancient covenant, -God is so strict about ceremonial service, and permits no neglect, -however incidental, without atonement; yet in this new economy throws -the whole system away, letting us run up an everlasting debt to a law -confessedly unrepealed, without redemption of it or atonement for it?" - -"Not without redemption and atonement," replies their evangelical -teacher; "temple, sacrifice, priest, remain to us also, only glorified -into proportions worthy of a heavenly dispensation; our temple, in the -skies; our sacrifice, Messiah's mortal person; our priest, his -ever-living spirit. How poor the efficacy of your former offerings! -year after year, your ritual debt began again: for the blood dried and -vanished from the tabernacle which it purified; the priest returned -from the inner shrine; and when there, he stood, with the interceding -blood, before the emblem, not the reality, of God. But Christ, not at -the end of a year, but at the end of the great world-era of the Lord, -has come to offer up himself,--no lamb so unblemished as he; his -voluntary and immortal spirit, than which was nothing ever more -divinely consecrate, becomes officiating priest, and strikes his own -person with immolating blow; it falls and bleeds on earth, as on the -outer altar, standing on the threshold of the sanctuary of heaven: -thither he ascends with the memorials of his death, vanishes into the -Holy of Holies of the skies, presents himself before the very living -God, and sanctifies the temple there and worshippers here; saying to -us, 'Drop now for ever the legal burdens that weigh you down; doubt -not that you are free, as my glorified spirit here, from the -defilements you are wont to dread; I stay behind this veil of visible -things, to clear you of all such taint, and put away such sin -eternally. Trust, then, in me, and take up the freedom of your souls: -burst the dead works, that cling round your conscience like cerements -of the grave; and rise to me, by the living power of duty, and a -loving allegiance to God.'" - -So far, then, as the death of Christ is treated in Scripture -dogmatically, rather than historically, its effects are viewed in -contrast with the different order of things which must have been -expected, had he, as Messiah, _not_ died. And thus regarded, it -presented itself to the minds of the Apostles in three relations:-- - -First, to the Gentiles, whom it drew in to be subjects of the Messiah, -by breaking down the barriers of his Hebrew personality, and -rendering him spiritual as well as immortal. - -Secondly, to the unbelieving Jews; whom his retirement from this world -delivered from the judgment due to them, on the principles of their own -law, both for their _general_ violation of the _conditions_ of their -covenant, and for their positive rejection of him. His absence reopened -their opportunities; and to tender them this act of long-suffering, he -took on himself the death which had been incurred by them. - -Thirdly, to the believing Jews; the terms of whose discipleship the -Messiah's death had changed, destroying all the benefits of their -lineage, and substituting an act of the mind, the simpler claim of -faith. It was therefore a commutation for the Ritual Law, and gave -them impunity and atonement for all its violations. - -With the last two of these relations, beyond their remarkable -historical interest, we have no personal concern. The first remains, -and ever will remain, worthy of the glorious joy with which Paul -regarded and expounded it. God has committed the rule of this world to -no exclusive prince, and no sacerdotal power, and no earthly majesty; -but to one whose spirit, too divine to be limited to place and time, -broke through clouds of sorrow into the clearest heaven; and thither -has since been drawing our human love, though for ages now he has been -unseen and immortal. An impartial God, a holy and spiritual law, an -infinite hope for all men, are given to us by that generous cross. - -It is evident that all three of the relations which I have described -belonged to the death of Jesus, _in his capacity of Messiah_; and could -have had no existence if he had not borne this character, but had been -simply a private martyr to his convictions. The foregoing exposition -gives a direct answer to the inquiry, pressed without the slightest -pertinence upon the Unitarian, why the phraseology of the cross is never -found applied to Paul or Peter, or any other noble confessor, who died -in attestation of the truth; why "no record is given that we are -justified by the blood of Stephen; or that he bare our sins in his own -body, and made reconciliation for us."[22] I know not why such a -question should be submitted to us; we have assuredly no concern with -it; having never dreamt that the Apostles could have written as they did -respecting the death on Calvary, if they had thought of it only as a -scene of martyrdom. We have passed under review the whole language of -the New Testament on this subject; and in the interpretation of it have -_not even once_ had recourse to this, which is said to be our only view -of the cross. We have seen the Apostles justly announcing their Lord's -death as a _proper propitiation_; because it placed whole classes of -men, without any meritorious change in their character, in saving -relations: declaring it a _strict substitute_ for others' punishment; on -the ground that there were those who must have perished, if he had not; -and that he died and retired, that they might remain and live: -describing it as a _sacrifice which put away sin_; because it did that -for ever, which the Levitical atonements achieved for a day: but we have -not found them ever appealing to it either as a satisfaction to the -justice of God, or an example of martyrdom to men. The Trinitarians have -one idea of this event themselves; and their fancy provides their -opponents with one idea of it; of the former not a trace exists, on any -page of Scripture; and of the latter the Unitarian need not avail -himself at all, in explaining the language whereof it is said to be his -solitary key. - -Nowhere, then, in Scripture do we meet with anything corresponding -with the prevailing notions of vicarious redemption; everywhere, and -most emphatically in the personal instructions of our Lord, do we find -a doctrine of forgiveness, and an idea of salvation, utterly -inconsistent with it. He spake often of the unqualified clemency of -God to his returning children; never once of the satisfaction demanded -by his justice. He spake of the joy in heaven over one sinner that -repenteth; but was silent on the sacrificial faith, without which -penitence is said to be unavailing. Nor did he, like his modern -disciples, teach that there are _two separate salvations_, which must -follow each other in a fixed order: first, redemption from the -penalty, secondly, from the spirit, of sin; pardon for the past, -before sanctification in the present; a removal of the "hinderance in -God," previous to its annihilation in ourselves. If indeed there were -in Christianity two deliverances, discriminated and successive, it -would be more in accordance with its spirit to invert this order;--to -recall from alienation first, and announce forgiveness afterwards; to -restore from guilt, before cancelling the penalty; and permit the -_healing_ to anticipate the _pardoning_ love. At least, there would -seem, in such arrangement, to be a greater jealousy for the holiness -of the divine law, a severer reservation of God's complacency for -those who have broken from the service of sin, than in the system -which proclaims impunity to the rebel will, ere yet its estrangement -is renounced. If the outward remission precedes the inward -sanctification, then does God admit to favor the yet unsanctified; -guilt keeps us in no exile from him: and though the Holy Spirit is to -follow afterwards, it becomes the peculiar office of the cross to lift -us as we are, with every stain upon the soul and every vile habit -unretraced, from the brink of perdition to the assurance of glory: the -divine lot is given to us, before the divine love is awakened in us; -and the heirs of heaven have yet to become the children of holiness. -With what consistency can the advocates of such an economy accuse its -opponents of dealing lightly with sin, of deluding men into a false -trust, and administering seductive flatteries to human nature?[23] -What! shall we, who plant in every soul of sin a hell, whence no -foreign force, no external God, can pluck us, any more than they can -tear us from our identity,--we, who hide the fires of torment in no -viewless gulf, but make them ubiquitous as guilt,--we, who suffer no -outward agent from Eden, or the Abyss, or Calvary, to encroach upon -the solitude of man's responsibility, and confuse the simplicity of -conscience,--we, who teach that God will not, and even cannot, spare -the froward, till they be froward no more, but must permit the burning -lash to fall, till they cry aloud for mercy, and throw themselves -freely into his embrace;--shall we be rebuked for a lax administration -of peace, by those who think that a moment may turn the alien into the -elect? It is no flattery of our nature, to reverence deeply its moral -capacities: we only discern in them the more solemn trust, and see in -their abuse the fouler shame. And it is not of what men _are_, but of -what they _might be_, that we encourage noble and cheerful thoughts. -Doubtless, we think exaggeration possible (which our opponents -apparently do not) even in the portraiture of their actual character: -and perhaps we are not the less likely to awaken true convictions of -sin, that we strive to speak of it with the voice of discriminative -justice, instead of the monotonous thunders of vengeance; and to draw -its image in the natural tints provided by the conscience, rather than -in the preternatural flame-color mingled in the crucibles of hell. - -In making _penal_ redemption and _moral_ redemption separate and -successive, the vicarious scheme, we submit, is inconsistent with the -Christian idea of salvation. Not that we take the second, and reject -the first, as our Trinitarian friends imagine; nor that we invert -their order. We accept them both; putting them, however, not in -succession, but in super-position, so that they coalesce. The power -and the punishment of sin perish together; and together begin the -holiness and the bliss of heaven. Whatever extracts the poison cools -the sting: nor can the divine vigor of spiritual health enter, without -its freedom and its joy. That there can be any separate dealings with -our past guilt and with our present character, is not a truth of God, -but a fiction of the schools. The sanctification of the one is the -redemption of the other. The mind given up to passion, or chained to -self, or anyhow alienated from the love and life divine, dwells, -whatever be its faith, in the dark and terrible abyss; while he, and -he only, that, in the freedom and tranquillity of great affections, -communes with God and toils for men, understands the meaning, and wins -the promises, of heaven. Am I asked: "What, then, is to persuade the -sinful heart thus to draw near to God;--what, but a proclamation of -absolute pardon, can break down the secret distrust, which keeps our -nature back, wrapped in the reserve of conscious guilt?" I reply; -however much these fears and hesitations might cling round us, and -restrain us from the mystic Deity of Nature, they can have no place in -our intercourse with the Father whom Jesus represents. It needs only -that Christ be truly his image, to know "that the hinderance is not -with him, but entirely in ourselves";[24] to see that there is no -anger in his look; to feel that he invites us to unreserved -confession, and accepts our self-abandonment to him,--that he lifts -the repentant, prostrate at his feet, and speaks the words of severe, -but truest hope. Am I told, "that only the gratitude excited by -personal rescue from tremendous danger, by an unconditional and entire -deliverance, is capable of winning our reluctant nature, of opening -the soul to the access of the Divine Spirit, and bringing it to the -service of the Everlasting Will"? I rejoice to acknowledge, that -_some_ such disinterested power must be awakened, some mighty forces -of the heart be called out, ere the regeneration can take place that -renders us children of the Highest; ere we can break, with true new -birth, from the shell of self, and try and train our wings in the -atmosphere of God. The permanent work of duty must be wrought by the -affections; not by the constraint, however solemn, of hope and fear; -no self-perfectionating process, elaborated by an anxious will, has -warmth enough to ripen the soul's diviner fruits; the walks of outward -morality, and the slopes of deliberate meditation, it may keep smooth -and trim; but cannot make the true life-blossoms set, as in a garden -of the Lord, and the foliage wave as with the voice of God among the -trees. I gladly admit that, to a believer in the vicarious sacrifice, -the sense of pardon, the love of the Great Deliverer, may well fulfil -this blessed office, of carrying him out of himself in genuine -allegiance to a being most benign and holy. And perceiving that, if -this doctrine were removed, there is not, _in the system of which it -forms a part_, and which else would be all terror, anything that could -perform the same generous part, I can understand why it seems to its -advocates an _essential_ power in the renovation of the character. But -great as it may be, within the limits of its own narrow scheme, ideas -possessed of higher moral efficacy are not wanting, when we pass into -a region of nobler and more Christian thought. Shall we say that the -view of the Infinite Ruler, given in the spoken wisdom or the living -spirit of Christ, has no sanctifying power? Yet where is there any -trace in it of the satisfactionist's redemption? When we sit at -Messiah's feet, that transforming gratitude for an extinguished -penalty, on which the prevailing theology insists, as its central -emotion, becomes replaced by a similar and profounder sentiment -towards the Eternal Father. If to rescue men from a dreadful fate in -the future be a just title to our reverence, _never to have designed_ -that fate claims an affection yet more devoted; if there be a divine -mercy in annihilating an awful curse, in shedding only blessing there -is surely a diviner still. Shall the love restored to us after long -delay, and in consideration of an equivalent, work mightily on the -heart,--and shall that which asked no purchase, which has been veiled -by no cloud, which has enfolded us always in its tranquillity, nor can -ever quit the soul opened to receive it, fail to penetrate the -conscience, and dissolve the frosts of our self-love by some holier -flame? Never shall it be found true, that God must threaten us with -vengeance, ere we can feel the shelter of his grace! - -In truth, the Christian idea of salvation cannot be better -illustrated, than by the doubt which has been entertained respecting -the proper translation of my text. Some, referring it to spiritual -redemption, adhere to the common version; others, seeing that the -Apostle Peter is explaining "by what power or by what name" he had -cured the lame man at the temple gate, refer the words to this miracle -of deliverance, and render them thus: "Neither is there _healing_ in -any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, -whereby we can be _healed_." It matters little which it is; for -whether we speak of body or of mind, Jesus "_saves_" us by "_making us -whole_"; by putting forth upon us a divine and healing power, by which -past suffering and present decrepitude disappear together; which -supplies the defective elements of our nature, cools the burning of -inward fever, or calls into being new senses and perceptions, opening -a diviner universe to our experience. The deformed and crooked will, -bowed by Satan, lo! these many years, and nowise able to lift up -itself, he loosens and makes straight in uprightness. The moral -paralytic, collapsed and prostrate amid the stir of life, and -incapably gazing on the moving waters in which others find their -health, has often started up at the summons of that voice, though -perchance "he wist not who it was"; and, going his way, has found it -to be "the sabbath," and owned the "work" of one who is in the spirit -of "the Father." From the eye long dark and blind to duty and to God, -he has caused the film to pass away; and shown the solemn look of life -beneath a heaven so tranquil and sublime. Even the dead of soul, close -wrapped in bandages of selfishness,--that greediest of graves,--have -been quickened by his piercing call, and have come forth, to learn, -"when risen," that only in the meekness that can obey is there the -power to command, only in the love that serves is there the life of -heart-felt liberty. To call, then, on the name and trust in the spirit -of Christ, is to invoke the restoring power of God; to give symmetry -and speed to our lame affections, and the vigor of an athlete to our -limping wills. There is not any Christian _salvation_ that is not thus -identical with Christian _perfection_: "nor any other name under -heaven given among men, whereby we may be (thus) _made whole_." Let -all that would "be perfect be thus minded"; seek "the measure of the -stature of the fulness of Christ"; and they shall find in him a "power -to become the sons of God." - -FOOTNOTES: - -[13] See Rev. II. M'Neile's Lecture, The Proper Deity of our Lord the -only Ground of Consistency in the Work of Redemption, pp. 339, 340. - -[14] "Either he" ("the Deity of the Unitarians") "must show no mercy, -in order to continue true; or he must show no truth, in order to -exercise mercy. If he overlook man's guilt, _admit him to the -enjoyment of his favor, and proceed_ by corrective discipline to -restore his character, he unsettles the foundations of all equitable -government, obliterates the everlasting distinctions between right and -wrong, spreads consternation in heaven, and proclaims impunity in -hell. Such a God would not be worth serving. _Such_ tenderness, -instead of inspiring filial affection, would lead only to reckless -contempt."--_Mr. M'Neile's Lecture_, p. 313. - -Surely this is a description, not of the Unitarian, but of the -Lecturer's own creed. It certainly is no part of his opponents' -belief, that God first admits the guilty to his favor, and _then -"proceeds"_ "to restore his character." This arrangement, by which -pardon _precedes_ moral restoration, is that feature in the Orthodox -theory of the Divine dealings against which Unitarians protest, and -which Mr. M'Neile himself insists upon as essential throughout his -Lecture. "We think," he says, "that _before_ man can be introduced to -the only true process of improvement, he must _first_ have forgiveness -of his guilt." What is this "first" step, of pardon, but an -"overlooking of man's guilt"; and what is the second, of -"sanctification," but a "restoring of character"; whether we say by -"corrective discipline," or the "influence of the Holy Spirit," -matters not. Is it said that the guilt is not overlooked, if Christ -endured its penalty? I ask, again, whether justice regards only the -_infliction_ of suffering, or its _quantity_, without caring about its -_direction_? Was it impossible for the stern righteousness of God -freely to forgive the penitent? And how was the injustice of -liberating the guilty mended by the torments of the innocent? Here is -the verdict against sin: "The soul that sinneth, it shall die." And -how is this verdict executed? The soul that had sinned does _not_ die; -and one "that knew no sin" dies instead. And this is called a divine -union of _truth_ and _mercy_; being the most precise negation of both, -of which any conception can be formed. First, to hang the destinies of -all mankind upon a solitary volition of their first parents, and then -let loose a diabolic power on that volition to break it down; to -vitiate the human constitution in punishment for the fall, and yet -continue to demand obedience to the original and perfect moral law; to -assert the absolute inflexibility of that holy law, yet all the while -have in view for the offenders a method of escape, which violates -every one of its provisions, and makes it all a solemn pretence; to -forgive that which is in itself unpardonable, on condition of the -suicide of a God, is to shock and confound all notions of rectitude, -without affording even the sublimity of a savage grandeur. This will -be called "blasphemy"; and it is so; but the blasphemy is not in the -_words_, but in the _thing_. - -Unitarians are falsely accused of representing God as "overlooking -man's guilt." They hold, that _no guilt is overlooked till it is -eradicated from the soul_; and that pardon proceeds _pari passu_ with -sanctification. - -[15] Mr. Buddicom has the following note, intimating his approbation -of this rendering: "Some of the best commentators have connected -[Greek: en to autou aimati], not with [Greek: dia tes pisteos], but -with [Greek: hilasterion] and, accordingly, Bishop Bull renders the -passage, 'Quem proposuit Deus placamentum in sanguine suo per -fidem.'"--_Lecture on Atonement_, p. 496. - -[16] John i. 29. For an example of the use of the word "_world_" to -denote the Gentiles, see Rom. xi. 12-15; where St. Paul, speaking of -the rejection of the Messiah by the Jews, declares that it is only -temporary; and as it has given occasion for the adoption of the -Gentiles, so will this lead, by ultimate reaction, to the readmission -of Israel; a consummation in which the Gentiles should rejoice without -boasting or high-mindedness. "If," he says, "the fall of them (the -Israelites) be the riches of _the world_ (the Gentiles), and the -diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their -fulness! For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the Apostle of -the Gentiles, I magnify my office; if, by any means, I may provoke to -emulation them which are my flesh (the Jews), and save some of them; -for if the casting away of them be the _reconciling of the world_, -what shall the receiving of them be but life from the dead?" - -[17] Acts xx. 28. It is hardly necessary to say, that the reading of -our common version, "_church of God_," wants the support of the best -authorities; and that, with the general consent of the most competent -critics, Griesbach reads "_church of the Lord_." - -[18] Gal. iii. 13. Even here the Apostle cannot refrain from adverting -to his _Gentile_ interpretation of the cross; for he adds,--"that the -blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles, through Jesus Christ." - -[19] In three or four instances, it is true, a sin-offering is -demanded from the perpetrator of some act of _moral wrong_. But in all -these cases a suitable punishment was ordained also; a circumstance -inconsistent with the idea, that the expiation procured remission of -guilt. The _sacrifice_ appended to the _penal infliction_ indicates -the twofold character of the act,--at once a _ceremonial defilement_ -and a _crime_; and requiring, to remedy the one, an atoning rite,--to -chastise the other, a judicial penalty. See an excellent tract by Rev. -Edward Higginson, of Hull, entitled, "The Sacrifice of Christ -scripturally and rationally interpreted," particularly pp. 30-34. - -[20] Heb. vii. 27. Let the reader look carefully again into the verbal -and logical structure of this verse; and then ask himself whether it -is not as plain as words can make it, that Christ "once for all" -_offered up_ "_a sacrifice first for_ HIS OWN SINS, and _then for the -people's_." The argument surely is this: "He need not do the _daily_ -thing, for he has done it _once for all_; the never-finished work of -other pontiffs, a single act of his achieved." The sentiment loses its -meaning, unless that which he did once is _the selfsame thing_ which -they did always: and what was that?--the offering by the high-priest -of a sacrifice first for his own sins, and then for the people's. With -what propriety, then, can Mr. Buddicom ask us this question: "Why is -he said to have excelled the Jewish high-priest in _not_ offering a -sacrifice for himself?" I submit, that no such thing is said; but -that, on the contrary, it is positively affirmed that Christ _did_ -offer sacrifice for his own sins. So plain indeed is this, that -Trinitarian commentators are forced to slip in a restraining word and -an additional sentiment into the last clause of the verse. Thus -Pierce: "Who has no need, like the priests under the law, from time to -time to offer up sacrifice first for his own sins, and after that for -the people's. For this _latter_ he did once for all when he offered up -himself; _and as to the former, he had no occasion to do it at all_." -And no doubt the writer of the Epistle _ought_ to have said just this, -if he intended to draw the kind of contrast which orthodox theology -requires, between Jesus and the Hebrew priests. He limits the -opposition between them to _one_ particular;--the Son of Aaron made -offering _daily_,--the Son of God _once for all_. Divines must add -_another_ particular;--that the Jewish priest atoned for _two_ classes -of sins, his own and the people's,--Christ for the people's only. -Suppose for a moment that this was the author's design; that the word -"_this_," instead of having its proper grammatical antecedent, may be -restrained, as in the commentary cited above, to the sacrifice for -_the people's_ sins; then the word "daily" may be left out, without -disturbance to the other substantive particular of the contrast: the -verse will then stand thus: "Who needeth not, as those high-priests, -to offer up sacrifice for his own sins; _for_ he offered up sacrifice -for the people's sins, when he offered up himself." Here, all the -reasoning is obviously gone, and the sentence becomes a mere inanity: -to make sense, we want, instead of the latter clause, the sentiment of -Pierce,--_for_ "he had no occasion to do this at all." This, however, -is an invention of the expositor, more jealous for his author's -orthodoxy than for his composition. I think it necessary to add, that, -by leaving out the most emphatic word in this verse (the word _once_) -Mr. Buddicom has suppressed the author's antithesis, and favored the -suggestion of his own. I have no doubt that this was unconsciously -done; but it shows how system rubs off the angles of Scriptural -difficulties.--I subjoin a part of the note of John Crell on the -passage: "De pontifice Christo loquitur. Quid vero fecit semel -Christus? quid aliud, quam quod Pontifex antiquus stata die -quotannis[21] faciebat? Principaliter autem hic non de oblatione pro -peccatis populi; sed de oblatione pro ipsius Pontificis peccatis agi, -ex superioribus, ipsoque rationum contextu manifestum est." - -The sins which his sacrifice cancelled must have been of the same -order in the people and in himself; certainly therefore not moral in -their character, but ceremonial. His death was, for himself no less -than for his Hebrew disciples, a commutation for the Mosaic -ordinances. Had he not died, he must have continued under their power; -"were he on earth, he would not be a priest," or have "obtained that -more excellent ministry," by which he clears away, in the courts -above, all possibilities of ritual sin below, and himself emerges from -legal to spiritual relations. - -[21] This is obviously the meaning of [Greek: kath hemeran] in this -passage; _from time to time_, and in the case alluded to, _yearly_; -not, as in the common version, _daily_. - -[22] Mr. Buddicom's Lecture on the Atonement, p. 471. - -[23] See Mr. M'Neile's Lecture, pp. 302, 311, 328, 340, 341. - -[24] Mr. M'Neile's Lecture, p. 338. - - - - -MEDIATORIAL RELIGION. - - _The Nature of the Atonement, and its Relation to Remission of - Sins and Eternal Life._ By JOHN M'LEOD CAMPBELL. Cambridge: - Macmillan & Co. 1856. - - -This is a strange book. A Greek would have hated it. A Puritan would -have found it savory, even where it was unsound. Rosenkranz, who has -written on the _AEsthetik des Haesslichen_, would have been thankful for -such a fund of illustration. Cumbrous, tiresome, monotonous, it has -few attractions for the natural man, who may have a weakness in favor -of pure English and nice grammar. It despises the graces of carnal -literature, and treats all the color and music of language as the -Roundheads treated a cathedral, silencing the "box of whistles" and -smashing the "mighty big angels in glass." And yet, if you can get -over its grating way of delivering itself, you will find it no -barbaric product, but the utterance of a deep and practised thinker, -charged with the richest experiences of the Christian life, and -resolute to clear them from every tangle of fiction or pretence. -Beneath the uncouth form there is not only severe truth, but great -tenderness and beauty,--a fine apprehension of the real inner strife -of tempted men, and an intense faith in an open way of escape from it, -without compromise of any sanctity. The author, though not tuneful in -his speech, has the gifts of a true prophet; and often enables one to -fancy what Isaiah might have been if he had heard nothing but the -bagpipe, and had set his "burdens" to its drone. Whether Mr. -Campbell's style has been formed north of the Tweed, we know not. In -any case, it is trained in the school of Calvinism; is untouched -therefore by any feeling for art; and runs on with a sort of -extemporaneous habit, insufficiently relieved by occasional flashes of -grotesque and forcible expression. It is only in exterior aspect, -however, that he presents the features of the rugged old Calvinism: -and though the first-born of that system and its younger sons are -distinguished like Isaac's children, "Esau is a hairy man, and Jacob -is a smooth man," yet no true patriarch of the school can be so blind -as not to see beneath our author's goat-skin dress, and know that he -is other than the heir. In fact, the peculiarity of this work as a -theological phenomenon is, that it is a destruction of Calvinism -without any revolt from it,--an escape from it through its own -interior. Its postulates are not denied. Its phraseology is not -rejected. Its statement of the problem of redemption is in the main -accepted. Its provision for the solution,--the Incarnation of the -Son,--is sacredly preserved. Yet these elements are put into such play -as to make it checkmate itself on its own area. Its definitions are -shown to be suicidal; and its sharp-edged logic is used to cut through -the ligaments that constrain and shape it. - -We have spoken first of the _style_ of this book, because it strikes -the reader at the outset, and is not unlikely to repel him if he is -not warned. Of one other feature, derived from the same school, we -must say a word, to qualify the admiration and gratitude which we -shall then ungrudgingly tender to the author. In common with all the -great masters of the "Evangelical" school, he is too much at home with -the Divine economy; knows too well how the same thing appears from the -finite and the infinite point of view; can tell too surely how a mixed -nature, both divine and human, would feel on looking from both ends at -once; and altogether goes with too close a search to the "secret place -of the Most High." Not that he speaks unworthily on these high themes; -we have nothing truer to suggest, except more silence. But we must -confess that when a teacher lays down the conditions of divine -possibility, expatiates psychologically on the sentiments of the -Father and the Son, and seems as though he had been allowed a peep -into the autobiography of God, we shrink from the sharp outlines, and -feel that we shall believe more if we are shown less. With so many -soundings taken, and so many channels buoyed, the sense of the -shoreless sea is gone, and we find only a port of traffic, with -coast-lights instead of stars. The temptation to this theological -map-making has always proved peculiarly strong among the disciples of -Geneva: and the reason is to be found in the very nature of the -problem they have attempted to resolve. Religion has two foci to -determine,--the divine nature and the human. Athanasius and the Greek -influence fixed the doctrine of the Godhead: Augustine and the Latin -Church defined the spiritual state of man. The one, it has been said, -produced a theology; the other, an anthropology. In the construction -of the former, it is obvious that the appeal could be made only to -positive authority, whether of Scripture or the Church. On the Nicene -question no one could pretend to have personal insight or scientific -data: it must be decided by arbitrary vote on impressions of -testimony. But for establishing a doctrine of humanity, the living -resources of consciousness and experience were present with perpetual -witness; every proposition advanced could be confronted with its -corresponding reality: the disciple could not help carrying the dogma -inward to the test of his self-knowledge. The scheme of the Trinity -partook of the nature of a _Gnosis_, which dwelt apart from the stir -of phenomena, and, having once set and crystallized, could only be -hung up for preservation. The dogmas of human depravity and -helplessness partook of the nature of a _Science_, coming in contact -with the facts of life and character at every point. Moral experience -had something to say to them: and unless they could keep good terms -with it, they could not hope to hold their ground. Hence the -Augustinian divines have been constrained to seek a _philosophy_ of -religion, and to collate the text of their Scriptural system with the -running paraphrase of actual life. No writers have contributed so much -to lay bare the inmost springs of human action and emotion; have -tracked with so much subtilty the windings of guilty self-deception, -or so found the secret sorrow that lies at the core of every -unconsecrated joy. If we must concede to the Roman Catholic casuists -and the problems of the confessional the merit of creating an ethical -Art embodied in systems of rules, we owe to the deeper Evangelical -spirit, whether in its action or its reaction, the ground-lines of an -ethical Philosophy;--or, if you deny that such a thing as yet exists, -at least the true idea and undying quest of it. The disciples of -Augustine, belonging to an anthropological school, have been naturally -distinguished by a reflective and psychologic habit. - -If it was the function of the Greek period to settle the doctrine of -God, and of its Latin successor to define the nature of man, it was the -aim of the _Reformation_, leaving these two extremes undisturbed, to -find the way of mediation between them. So long as the great sacerdotal -Church, living continuator of Christ's presence, was intrusted with the -business, private Christians wanted no theory on the subject; all nice -questions went into the ecclesiastical closet and disappeared. But as -soon as ever the hierarchy fell out of this position, there was an -immense void left to be filled. On the one hand, Infinite Holiness, -quite alienated; on the other, Human Pravity, quite helpless: how was -any approximation to be rendered conceivable? True, the great original -Mediation on Calvary, which the papal priesthood pretended to prolong, -remained; for it was fixed in history. But it lay a great way off, a -fact in the old past; and its intervention was required to-day by -Melancthon, and Carlstadt, and a whole generation quite remote from it. -How was its power to be fetched into the present? how applied to men -walking about in Wittenberg or Zuerich? This was the problem which flew -open by the cancelling of the Romish credentials: and the various -answers to it constitute the body of Protestant theology. In one point -they all agree, that, to replace the priestly media that are thrust out, -_Personal Faith_ is the element that must be brought in. In what way -this subjective state of the individual mind draws or appropriates the -efficacy of the Incarnation; in what _order_ the redeeming process runs -among the three given terms,--the alienated Father, the mediating Son, -the believing disciple; whether any part of the process is moral and -real, or all is legal and virtual;--these are questions which the -Reformation has found it easier to open than to close. But answer them -as you will, they entangle your thoughts in the mutual relations and -sentiments of three persons; and cannot be discussed without -establishing some principles of moral psychology, as the common grounds -of intercommunion between minds finite and infinite, and dealing with -hypothetical problems of divine as well as human casuistry. Hence the -inevitable tendency of the doctrine of Mediation to venture on a natural -history of the Divine Mind,--to construct a drama of Providence and -Grace, with plot too artfully wrought for the free hand of Heaven, and -traits too specific and minute for reverent contemplation. - -It is deeply instructive to observe the pulsation of religious thought -in men. Revealed religion is ever passing into natural, and natural -returning to re-interpret the revealed. We can almost see the steps by -which sacred history was converted into dogma; while dogma, assumed in -turn as the starting-point, is ever producing new readings of the -history. This world may be regarded as a _human theatre_, where the -Wills of men perform the parts; or as the stage of _Divine agency_, -using the visible actors as the executants of an invisible thought. -Its vicissitudes, presented in the former aspect, yield only history; -in the latter, give rise to doctrine. Noticed by Tacitus, the life of -Christ is a provincial incident of Tiberius's reign, and his death a -judicial act of Pontius Pilate's government. In the three first -Gospels and the book of Acts, the crucifixion is still the act of -wicked or misguided men, inflicted on an expostulating victim; not, -however, without being _foreseen_ as the appointed precursor of a -resurrection. The event is thus in the main simply historical; but -with a divine comment which gives it an incipient theological -significance. It appears under another aspect in the Gospel of John; -there, Christ not only foresaw, but _determined_ his own death: his -life "no man taketh it from him," but he "lays it down of himself"; he -is not merely the submissive medium, but the spontaneous co-agent of a -Divine intent. Finally, in St. Paul,--to whom the person and ministry -of Christ were unfamiliar, who, as a disciple of his heavenly life, -looked back upon them from a higher point,--the historical aspect -almost wholly disappears in the ideal; and the cross becomes the -Gospel, the wisdom of God and the power of God, the self-sacrifice of -the Son the reconciling way to the Father, the very focus and symbol -of all the mystery and mercy comprised in humanity. The movement of -thought through these successive stages is obvious. An event is at -first accepted as it arises. But in proportion as its concrete -impression retires, the need becomes more urgent to find its function: -instinctive search is made for all those elements, accessories, and -effects of it, which promise to bring out its meaning and idea, until -at last its doctrine absorbs itself, and enters the human mind as a -permanent factor of positive religion. It is thus that the great -antitheses, of Law and Gospel, of the Natural and the Spiritual man, -of dead Works and living Faith, of self-seeking enmity and -self-surrendering reconciliation with God, have settled upon the -consciousness of Christendom, and grown into the very substance of its -experience. They have become part of its natural religion. But in this -character they may, conversely, be taken as the initiative of a new -version of the history whence they sprung. They could not be born into -unmixed and formed existence at once; but, like all new affections, -must feel their way out of an early indeterminate state, into clear -self-apprehension and settled purity. The testimony of the Christian -conscience needs time to become articulate and collected. The shadow -of human guilt may lie so dark upon the mind, the dawn of the divine -holiness may so dazzle the inward vision, that blindness in part may -linger for a while; and the eye, in very opening to Christ's healing -touch, may fail to see. Once accustomed to the new light of life, men -are no longer occupied with it alone, but find in it a medium for -truer discernment of objects around. The special sentiments awakened -by the Gospel test themselves afresh, like any other theory, by being -fully lived out, and tried as experiments upon the soul. The type of -character,--the edition of human nature,--in which they take -embodiment, becomes a distinct object of critical appreciation; and -while all its deep expressive traits speak for the inner truth whence -they are moulded, every mixture of disharmony or defect calls for some -revision of idea. In the thirsty spiritual state to which men were -reduced on the eve of the Reformation, they drank up with intense -eagerness the most turbid supplies of evangelical doctrine. With purer -health and finer perception they become aware that not all was water -of life; and that coarse notions of the nature of justice, the -conditions of mercy, and the measurement of sin, were intermixed and -must become mere sediment. Cleared of these, the theory is taken back -to the facts of revelation, and so washed through them, that they may -also emerge as from a sprinkling of regeneration. Through such -re-baptism does our author, furnished with a purified conception of -"atonement," pass the history of Christ. - -In looking for the whereabouts of the atonement, we are guided, as in -search for the pole-star, by two pointers whose indications we are to -follow. Its function was double,--to cancel a guilty past, to make a -holy future: and it must be of such a nature as to disappoint neither -of these conditions. In determining its form, the great anxiety of -theologians hitherto has been to fit it for its _retrospective_ -action, and disembarrass the problem of salvation of the burden of -accumulated sin. It is Mr. Campbell's distinction that he lays the -superior stress on its _prospective_ action, and requires that it -shall positively heal the sickness of our nature, and evolve thence a -real and living righteousness. God's moral perfectness could be -satisfied with nothing less. If, indeed, He looked on our guilt -merely as an obstacle to our "salvation," and desired to remove it as -a hinderance out of the way,--if He rather sought a pretext for making -us happy than a provision for drawing us to goodness,--then the work -of Christ might be so devised as simply to tear out the defiled page -of the past, and register an infinite credit not our own, without -inherent care for ulterior personal holiness. But were it so, the -divine _love_ would amount only to an unrighteous desire for our -happiness, and the divine _righteousness_ to an unloving repulsion -from our sin. Such spurious analysis corresponds with no reality; and -in the truth of things there can be no heavenly affection that is not -holy, nor any holiness that is not affectionate. - -"While in reference to the not uncommon way of regarding this subject -which represents righteousness and holiness as opposed to the sinner's -salvation, and mercy and love as on his side, I freely concede that -all the Divine attributes were, in one view, against the sinner, in -that they called for the due expression of God's wrath against sin in -the history of redemption: I believe, on the other hand, that the -justice, the righteousness, the holiness of God, have an aspect -according to which they, as well as his mercy, appear as intercessors -for man, and crave his salvation. Justice may be contemplated as -according to sin its due; and there is in righteousness, as we are -conscious to it, what testifies that sin should be miserable. But -_justice_, looking at the sinner not simply as the fit subject of -punishment, but as existing in a moral condition of unrighteousness, -and so its own opposite, must desire that the sinner should cease to -be in that condition; should cease to be unrighteous, should become -righteous: righteousness in God craving for righteousness in man, with -a craving which the realization of righteousness in man alone can -satisfy. So also of holiness. In one view it repels the sinner, and -would banish him to outer darkness, because of its repugnance to sin. -In another, it is pained by the continued existence of sin and -unholiness, and must desire that the sinner should cease to be sinful. -So that the sinner, conceived of as awakening to the consciousness of -his own evil state, and saying to himself, 'By sin I have destroyed -myself. Is there yet hope for me in God?'--should hear an encouraging -answer, not only from the love and mercy of God, but also from his -very righteousness and holiness. We must not forget, in considering -the response that is in conscience to the charge of sin and guilt, -that, though the fears which accompany that response are partly the -effect of a dawning of light, they also in part arise from remaining -darkness. He who is able to interpret the voice of God within him -truly, and with full spiritual intelligence will be found saying, not -only, 'There is to me cause for fear in the righteousness and holiness -of God,' but also, 'There is room for hope for me in the Divine -righteousness and holiness.' And when gathering consolation from the -meditation of the name of the Lord, that consolation will be not only, -'Surely the Divine mercy desires to see me happy rather than -miserable,' but also, 'Surely the Divine righteousness desires to see -me righteous,--the Divine holiness desires to see me holy,--my -continuing unrighteous and unholy is as grieving to God's -righteousness and holiness as my misery through sin is to his pity and -love.' 'Good and righteous is the Lord, therefore will he teach -sinners the way which they should choose.' 'A just God and a Saviour'; -not as the harmony of a seeming opposition, but 'a Saviour, _because_ -a just God.'"--p. 29. - -From this justly-conceived passage the characteristics of Mr. -Campbell's theory may already be divined. He sets his faith on a -concrete, living, indivisible God, whom you can never understand by -laying out His abstract attributes one by one, with their separate -requirements, and then putting them together again to compute the -resultant. He insists on the absolute dominance of a moral and -spiritual idea throughout the revealed economy: of this nature is the -evil to be met,--sin and estrangement; of this nature is the good to -be reached,--righteousness and reconciliation; and only of this nature -can be the mediation which effects the change; related upward to the -Father and downward to men, in a way accordant with the laws of -conscience, and intelligible by its self-light. He craves, therefore, -a natural juncture, a real causal nexus, between the several parts of -the process, to the exclusion of all forensic fictions and arbitrary -scene-shifting and sovereign _tours-de-force_. In short, he will have -no tricks passed off, no _quasi_-transformations upon the conscience; -he feels the moral world to be above the range of mere miracle; any -change in it irreducible to its solemn laws would _ipso facto_ fall -out of it and become a mere dynamical surprise. Of _physical_ miracle -our author avails himself to the full amount; the incarnation of the -Son of God being, with him, as with others, the central fact and -essential medium of Christian redemption. But the august power thus -_super_naturally set up--the Person at once divine and human--works -out his great problem _naturally_, without requiring the suspension of -one rule of right, or holding any magical dealings with the character -of God or man. His problem, therefore, is to show how the life and -death of Christ--considered as God in humanity--were fitted, and alone -fitted, to blot out the sins of the world before God, and to introduce -among men a new state of real righteousness and eternal life. - -The common Evangelical scheme of redemption so far affects to be -deduced from certain general principles, and to render the way of -redemption _conceivable_, that it is stigmatized as _rationalistic_ by -Catholics and Anglicans. It is so, however, only in the sense of -hanging well together, and serving the purpose of a _theological -Mnemonic_ to those who want a religion ready more than deep. In the -higher sense, of occupying any natural ground of reason, it does not -earn its reproach. The propositions which it lays down, as to the -inability of a holy nature to forgive unless circuitously and with -compensation, and as to the commutability of either penal liabilities -or moral attributes, are without any support from our primary -sentiments of right and wrong, and could be carried out by no sane man -in the conduct of life. The doctrine is taught in two principal -forms;--the earlier and more exact scheme of "_Satisfaction_," -elaborated by Anselm of Canterbury, and perfected by Owen and -Edwards; and the modern theory of "_Public Justice_," maintained in -the writings of Dr. Pye Smith and Dr. Payne, and prevailing wherever -the first decadence from the old Calvinism is going on. The first of -these prepares its ground by laying down these principles as -fundamental;--that the connection between sin and suffering is -inviolably secured on the veracity of God; that "when we have done -all, we are unprofitable servants," and have only rendered our strict -due; that, far from "doing all," we have done and can do nothing, -except accumulate guilt, which, measure it as you will,--by the -majesty of the authority defied, or the multitude of the offenders and -their sins,--is practically of infinite amount. Here, then, is a case -of utter despair: infinite debt; nothing to pay; remission impossible; -punishment eternal; death unattainable. But we are brought into the -labyrinth on one side, to emerge from it on the other. While _men_ can -only multiply demerit, there are natures conceivable to which merit is -possible. A Divine Person, laying aside a blessedness inherently his, -and assuming sorrow not his own, and doing this out of a pure love, -fulfils the conditions; and when the Son takes on him our humanity, -the act, carried out unto the end, has a merit in it which in amount -is a full set-off against the guilt of men. Still, this only leaves us -with two opposite funds--of infinite good desert and infinite ill -desert--which sit apart and unrelated. In due course, the one ought to -have a boundless reward, the other a boundless punishment. But to -render his affluence available for our debt, the Son consummates his -self-sacrifice, substitutes himself for us as the object of -retribution, and dies once for all,--one infinite death for many -finite hereafters of woe. The Father's justice is satisfied; the -allotment of suffering to sin has been accurately observed; His desire -to pardon is released from its restraint. Having dealt with the person -of the Son as if it were mankind, He may deal with mankind as if they -were the Son, and look upon them as clothed with a perfect obedience. - -The wholly artificial structure of this scheme, which is its greatest -condemnation, has been its chief security. It is by approaching within -conducting-distance of reality, that a doctrine elicits resistance and -meets the stroke of natural objection; and if it only keeps far enough -aloft in the metaphysic atmosphere, it may float along unarrested from -zone to zone of time. Men know not what to make of propositions so -much out of their sphere, so evasive of any real encounter with their -consciousness, and are apt to let them pass for their very -strangeness' sake. But surely we are bound to demand for them some -"response of conscience," and, with Mr. Campbell, to demur to such of -them as will not bear this test. Limiting ourselves to the -_mediatorial_ part of the theory, we will assume the problem of moral -evil to be correctly stated, and only ask whether, from the supposed -case of despair, the offered solution affords any real exit of relief. -Nor do we assume this for argument's sake alone. We can perfectly -understand any remorseful sense, however deep, of human unworthiness; -any appreciative reverence, however intense, of Christ's -self-sacrifice. Set the one under the shadow of the Father's infinite -disapproval, the other in the light of His infinite complacency; so -far we go; there let them lie. But what next? Here, on the left hand, -is Sin with its need of punishment; there, on the right, a perfect -Holiness with its merits. While they are thus spread beneath the -Father's eye, they break up their inviolable alliances; each moral -cause crosses over and takes the opposite effect. If such change took -place, the _seat_ of the fact must be sought partly in the -consciousness of Christ, partly in the Father's view of things. In -reference to the first, must we say that the Crucified _felt himself_ -under Divine wrath and punishment, and esteemed that wrath to be -_just_,--the fitting expression of his own inward _remorse_? If so, -can we affirm that his consciousness was veracious? or did he not -feel, in regard to _others'_ sins, sentiments and experiences that are -false except in relation to _one's own_? And, ascending to the other -point of view, shall we affirm that the Father _saw sin_ in the Son -and was angry with him; so that, in the hour of sublimest obedience, -the words ceased to be true, "Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am -well pleased"? And on the other hand, what is meant when it is said -that beneath the Divine eye men in their guilt are seen "clothed with" -a perfect righteousness? Is such an aspect of them _true_? or is it -akin to an ocular deception? We seem to be reduced to this -dilemma;--the change of apparent moral place implied in "imputation" -is either a faithful representation, or a _quasi_-representation, of -the reality of things. If the latter, then the Divine consciousness is -illusory, and the world is administered on a fiction; if the former, -then the moral law, in assuring us of the personal and inalienable -nature of sin, gives a false report, and there is nothing to prevent a -circulating medium of merit from passing current through the universe. -Mr. Campbell's deference for the great advocates of this marvellous -doctrine does not obstruct his perception of its difficulties. - -"I freely confess," he says, "that to my own mind it is a relief, not -only intellectually, but also morally and spiritually, to see that there -is no foundation for the conceptions that when Christ suffered for us, -the just for the unjust, he suffered either 'as by imputation unjust,' -or 'as if he were unjust.' I admit that _intellectually_ it is a relief -not to be called to conceive to myself a double consciousness, both in -the Father and in the Son, such as seems implied in the Father's seeing -the Son at one and the same time, though it were but for a moment, as -the well-beloved Son, to whom infinite favor should go forth, and also -as worthy, in respect of the imputation of our sins to him, of being the -object of infinite wrath, he being the object of such wrath accordingly; -and in the Son's knowing himself the well-beloved of the Father, and yet -having the consciousness of being personally, through imputation of our -sin, the object of the Father's wrath. I feel it intellectually a relief -neither to be called to conceive this, nor to assume it as an -unconceived mystery. Still more do I feel it _morally_ and _spiritually_ -a relief, not to be required to recognize legal fictions as having a -place in this high region, in which the awful realities of sin and -holiness, spiritual death and spiritual life, are the objects of a -transaction between the Father and the Son in the Eternal Spirit."--p. -310. - -The second form of mediatorial doctrine, to which we have referred as -the modern type of Calvinism, has arisen from the endeavor to evade some -of these perplexities. The riddle that haunts its teachers is still the -same,--how it can become possible to show mercy to sinners; but the -difficulty in the way is differently conceived, and therefore met by a -different expedient. It is not an obstacle in God, arising from his -personal sentiment of equity, which must be satisfied; but springs out -of the necessity of consistent rectitude, and adherence to law in his -administrative government. The Father himself, it is intimated, would be -quite willing to forgive, were there nothing to consult except his own -disposition. But it would never do to play fast and loose with the -criminal law of the universe, and, notwithstanding the most solemn -enactments, let off delinquents on mere repentance, as if nothing were -the matter beyond a personal affront. Something more is due to _Public -Justice_. If the due course of retribution is to be turned aside, it -must be in such a way and at such a cost as to proclaim aloud the -awfulness of the guilt remitted. This, we are told, is accomplished by -the sufferings and death of the Son of God, which were substituted for -our threatened punishment, not as its quantitative equal paid to the -Father, but as a moral equivalent in the eyes of men. Their validity is -thus conceived to depend by no means on their particular measure, but on -the meritorious obedience of love which was their sustaining and -animating soul, and which, being on the scale of a Divine nature, gave -infinite value to the smallest sorrow. Within the casket of his grief -was held such a priceless righteousness, that, on beholding it, the -Father might regard it as an adequate plea for acts of mercy to sinners. -He does not indeed impute to them the actual moral perfectness of -Christ, so as to see them invested with it, any more than he imputed to -Christ their guilt, and frowned on Calvary. It is the _effects_ only of -that holiness which he imputes; he offers to men the benefits of it, -without reckoning it as really theirs, and giving them the _legal -standing_ which its possession would bestow. - -No doubt this scheme gets rid of the penal mensuration and moral -conveyancing of the older Calvinism. It shifts also the bar to free -mercy away from the inner personality of God, and sets it in his outer -government. But when we again attempt to seize the _mediatorial -expedient_, what is it? It is said to be a display of the enormity of -that guilt which needs to be redeemed at such a cost. But is that need -_real_? Have we not been told that it has no place in God? Does he -then hang out a profession that is not true to the kernel of things, -but only a show-off for impression's sake? If Eternal Justice in its -inner essence does _not_ require the expiation provided, why in its -outer manifestation pretend that it _does_? As nothing can become -right for "the sake of good example" that is not right in itself, so -is "Public Justice," unsustained by the sincere heart of reality, a -mere dramatic imposture. Mr. Campbell has supplied us with a forcible -statement of this truth:-- - -"Surely rectoral or public justice, if it is to have any moral -basis,--any basis other than expediency,--must rest upon, and refer -to, distributive or absolute justice. In other words, unless there be -a rightness in connecting sin with misery, and righteousness with -blessedness, looking at individual cases simply in themselves, I -cannot see that there is a rightness in connecting them as a rule of -moral government. 'An English judge once said to a criminal before -him: You are condemned to be transported, not because you have stolen -these goods, but that goods may not be stolen.' (_Jenkyns_, 175, 176.) -This is quoted in illustration of the position, that 'the death of -Christ is an honorable ground for remitting punishment,' because 'his -sufferings answer the same ends as the punishment of the sinner.' I do -not recognize any harmony between this sentiment of the English judge -and the voice of an awakened conscience on the subject of sin. It is -just because he has sinned and deserves punishment, and not because he -says to himself that God is a moral governor, and must punish him to -deter others, that the wrath of God against sin seems so -terrible,--and as just as terrible."--p. 79. - -Even were the expression backed up by reality, we cannot but ask about -the fitness of the medium for the thought to be conveyed. God's horror -at guilt is publicly proclaimed by the most awful crime in human -history! To explain the difficulty of letting off the offender, he -exhibits the anguish of the innocent! The spectacle would seem in danger -of suggesting the wrong lesson to the terrified observer,--of raising to -intensity the doubt whether, in a world that gives its silver to a -Judas, its judgment-seat to a Pilate, and the cross to the Son of God, -any Providence can care for rectitude at all. Even when the death of -Christ is contemplated exclusively as a _self_-sacrifice, without -remembering the guilt which compassed it, we are at a loss to understand -how it could be "an honorable ground for remitting punishment." What -difference did it make in the previous reasons of the Divine government, -so that penalties right before should be less right afterwards? If -Catiline were undergoing his just retribution at the date of the Last -Supper, what plea was there for releasing him at or before the date of -the resurrection? That obedience rendered and suffering endured by one -soul should dispense with the liabilities of another, is a supposition -at variance with the personal and inalienable nature of all sin; and to -say that God "imputes the _effects_" of Christ's holiness to those who -are not partakers in the cause, is to accuse the Divine government of -total disregard to character and evasion of moral reality. The old -Calvinism represents the Father as having an illusory _perception_ of -men, _as if_ they were clad in a divine righteousness. The new Calvinism -represents him as having indeed a true perception of their -unrighteousness, but, notwithstanding this, falsifying the truth _in -action_, and proceeding as if the facts were quite other than they are. -Inasmuch as unveracious vision is intellectual, while unveracious -practice is moral, the younger doctrine appears to us a positive -degradation of the elder, not only in logical completeness, but in -religious worth. Both of them make the redeeming economy proceed upon a -_fiction_; but there is all the difference between unconscious and -conscious fiction; between an inner "satisfaction" brought about by an -optical displacement of merit, and an outward "exhibition" set up for -the sake of impression. The theory of Owen, stern as it is, bears the -stamp of resolute meaning consistently carried through into the inmost -recess of the Divine nature. The newer doctrine is the production of a -platform age, which obtrudes considerations of _effect_ even into its -thoughts of God and his government, and can scarce refrain from turning -the universe itself into a theatre for rhetorical pathos and _ad -captandum_ display. - -With good reason, therefore, does our author feel that this whole -subject is in need of reconsideration. His own doctrine diverges from -its predecessors at a very early point, and is seen at its source in -the following proposition of Edwards, as cited by Mr. Campbell:-- - -"In contending that sin must be punished with an infinite punishment, -President Edwards says, 'that God could not be just to himself without -this vindication, unless there could be such a thing as a repentance, -humiliation, and sorrow for this (viz. sin) proportionable to the -greatness of the Majesty despised,'--for that there must needs be -'either an equivalent punishment, or an equivalent sorrow and -repentance'; 'so,' he proceeds, 'sin must be punished with an infinite -punishment'; thus assuming that the alternative of 'an equivalent -sorrow and repentance' was out of the question. But, upon the -assumption of that identification of himself with those whom he came -to save, on the part of the Saviour, which is the foundation of -Edwards's whole system, it may at the least be said, that the Mediator -had the two alternatives open to his choice,--either to endure for -sinners an equivalent punishment, or to experience in reference to -their sin, and present to God on their behalf, an adequate sorrow and -repentance. Either of these courses should be regarded by Edwards as -equally securing the vindication of the majesty and justice of God in -pardoning sin."--p. 136. - -The side of the alternative which Edwards abandoned, our author takes -up and follows out. The work of Christ, as a ground of remission, -consisted in the offering on behalf of humanity of an adequate -repentance. Adequate it could not have been but for his Divine nature; -which attaches to his holy sorrow an infinite moral value, to balance -the infinite heinousness of the sin deplored. The only reason why -human penitence does not in itself avail to restore, lies in its -imperfect purity and depth. Through the cloud of evil, and with the -eye of self, we are disqualified for true discernment of sin as it is: -both the limits of a finite nature, and the delusions of a tempted and -fallen one, hinder us from appreciating the measure of our guilt and -misery. Even when our better mind reasserts itself, our very -compunction carries in it many a speck of ill, and our repentance -needs to be repented of. But were it not for this, there would be -"more atoning worth in one tear of the true and perfect sorrow which -the memory of the past would awaken," "than in endless ages of penal -woe." It is not the inefficacy, but the impossibility, of due -penitence that constitutes our fatal disability; to be relieved from -which we need to be taken out of ourselves, to be identified with a -perfect spirit; our humanity must cease to be human, and become one -with the Divine nature. This is precisely the condition which realized -itself in Christ. As God in humanity, he had perfect sympathy with the -holiness of one sphere, and the infirmities of the other; he saw the -whole amount of the world's moral estrangement, not only with infinite -pity for its misery, but with infinite horror at its guilt. He could -both make a plenary confession for us, and respond unreservedly to the -Father's righteous judgment; could bear our burden on his heart before -heaven, and utter the _Miserere_ of holy sorrow, which our most -plaintive cry can never approach. This is the true nature of his -sufferings. He "made his soul an offering for sin," yielded it up to -be filled with a sense of our real aspect beneath the Omniscient eye, -and an Amen to its condemning look. Hence his sorrows had nothing -_penal_ in them, any more than the tears of a devout parent over a -prodigal child are penal. They are incident to that attitude of soul -which a perfect nature cannot but have in the presence of a brother's -sin. They are altogether moral and spiritual; and their efficacy as an -expiation is that of true repentance; expressing at once our entire -confession, acceptance of the Father's just displeasure, and sympathy -with his compassionate grieving at our alienation. - -At the same time, this mere retrospective confession would not of itself -avail, were there no better hope for the future of mankind. But our -Mediator's own experience in humanity, his consciousness of intimate -peace and communion with the Father, opened to him the other side of our -nature, assured him of its secret capacity for good, and filled him with -hope in the very moment of contrition. As his sympathy could have -fellowship with our temptations, so could ours have fellowship with his -righteousness; and the light of Divine love that rested actually on -himself was thereby a possibility for the universal human soul, and was -already hovering round with longing to descend. It was on the strength -of this assurance that his intercession on our behalf was presented; it -would never have pleaded for indemnity in relation to the past, but as -the prelude to a real righteousness, a true partnership in his life of -filial harmony with God. The validity of his transaction on our behalf -consisted in its perfect seizure of the whole reality, its entire -"response to the mind of the Father in relation to men"; sorrow for -their estrangement, conviction of their possible return, and desire to -draw them into the spirit of genuine Sonship. - -It was needful, then,--so we conceive our author's meaning,--that the -sentiments of God towards the world's sin and misery should quit their -absolute position, and should come and take their station in humanity; -and from that field should turn their gaze and expression upward to meet -the Father's downward and accordant look. As this "Amen of the Son to -the mind of the Father" constitutes the essence of the atonement on the -Divine side, so does it consist on the human side in "the Amen of each -individual soul to the Amen of the Son." The reproduction in us of the -filial spirit of Christ,--his confession, his pleading, his trust,--is -our fellowship with him and reconciliation with God. - -"This is saving faith,--true righteousness,--being the living action, -and true and right movement of the spirit of the individual man in the -light of eternal life. And the certainty that God has accepted that -perfect and divine Amen as uttered by Christ in humanity is necessarily -accompanied by the peaceful assurance that, in uttering, in whatever -feebleness, a true Amen to that high Amen, the individual who is -yielding himself to the spirit of Christ to have it uttered in him is -accepted of God. This Amen in man is the due response to that word, 'Be -ye reconciled to God'; for the gracious and Gospel character of which -word, as the tenderest pleading that can be addressed to the most -sin-burdened spirit, I have contended above. This Amen is sonship; for -the Gospel call, 'Be ye reconciled to God,' when heard in the light of -the knowledge that 'God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that -we might be made the righteousness of God in him,' is understood to be -the call to each one of us on the part of the Father of our spirits, 'My -son, give me thine heart,' addressed to us on the ground of that work by -which the Son had declared the Father's name, that the love wherewith -the Father hath loved him may be in us, and he in us. In the light -itself of that Amen to the mind of the Father in relation to man which -shines to us in the atonement, we see the _righteousness of God in -accepting the atonement_, and in that same light the Amen of the -individual human spirit to that divine Amen of the Son of God is seen to -be what the Divine righteousness will necessarily acknowledge as the -_end of the atonement accomplished_."--p. 225. - -In this view, it is not the rescue from punishment, not any favorable -change in our legal standing, not any imputed righteousness, that -Christ's mediation obtains, but a real transformation of soul and -character through the divine infection and infusion of his own filial -spirit. Only in so far as his mind thus spreads to us are we united to -him, or in any way partakers of his gift of life. Personal alienation -can have no reversal but in personal return; nor can anything -"extraneous to the nature of the Divine will itself, to which we are -to be reconciled, have part in reconciling us to that will." The fear -of hell is not repentance; the assurance of heaven is not salvation; -nor under any modification can the desire of safety, or the -consciousness of its attainment, constitute the least approach to -holiness. The good alone can touch the springs of goodness; and the -divine and trustful life of Christ must speak to us on its own -account, and win us by its own power, or not at all. Not that it acts -on us merely in the way of _example_. We do not so stand apart from -him in our independent individuality, that by an external imitation we -can copy him, and become, as it were, each another Christ, repeating -in ourselves his offering of propitiation. He is the Vine, of which we -are the branches. The sap is from him, drawn through the eternal root -of righteousness, and does but flow as a derived life into us. The Son -of God is not a mere historical personage, to be contemplated at a -distance in the past, but ever with us in the power of an endless -life; still succoring us when we are tempted, and ministering to -conscience a present help and peace. It is not, therefore, by -_following_ him, but by _abiding in_ him, that we have our fellowship -in his harmony with God. - -The essence, then, of the scheme of redemption, in the view of our -author, seems to be this: that the Divine nature entered humanity to -open the Fatherliness of God by living the life of perfect Sonship; and -that, having awakened that life in us by this its visible realization, -he sustains it by the inner presence of his Spirit. It is one of the -obvious consequences of this doctrine, that no exclusive or exceptional -value is to be ascribed to the _death_ of Christ. It is simply the final -and crowning expression of the same filial mind which is the continuous -essence of his whole existence upon earth. Nor does the theory attach -importance to any _sufferings_ of Christ, as such; but only as media and -measures of moral expression. Had men sinned _as spirits_, his -reconciling work would not have involved death at all: but since in our -constitution mortality is "the wages of sin," his response to the -Divine mind in regard to sin would have been incomplete, had he not -honored this law and tasted its realization. Not to lose sight of the -main features of the doctrine in pursuit of details, we must pass -without notice many curious and subtle thoughts of our author on this -part of his subject. Indeed, everywhere the reader who has patience with -the entangled style will find deep hints and delicate turns of -reflection. But we must withdraw to a little distance from his system, -and endeavor to look at it as a whole; fixing attention especially on -the central point of all,--the _mediatorial provision_, which replaces -the penal "satisfaction" of the elder Calvinism, and the "exhibition of -rectoral justice" of the modern divines. - -Instead of an infinite punishment endured or represented, the theory -offers us an infinite _repentance_ performed. Repentance for -what?--for human sin. Repentance by whom?--by Him "who knew no sin." -Is this a thing that can be? Is vicarious contrition at all more -conceivable than vicarious retribution? It is surely one and the same -difficulty that meets them both. On what ground is the transfer of -either moral qualities or their effects regarded by our author as -impossible?--because at variance with our consciousness of the -personal and inalienable nature of sin. But not less is this truth -contradicted when we say that the guilt may be incurred by one person, -and the availing repentance take place in another. Nor can any -imagination of Christ's state of mind identify it with penitence. Mr. -Campbell himself describes it (p. 135) as having "all the elements of -a perfect repentance in humanity for all the sin of man--a perfect -sorrow--a perfect contrition,--all the elements of such a repentance, -and that in absolute perfection--all--_excepting the personal -consciousness of sin_." This exception, however, contains just the -essential element of the whole. Penitence without any personal -consciousness of sin is a contradiction in terms; and the requisition -of the Divine law is, that _the sinner_ shall turn from the evil of -his heart, not that the righteous shall make confession for him. The -entire moral value of contrition belongs to it as the sign of inner -change of character from prior evil to succeeding good; and it admits -of no transplantation from the identical personality which has been -the seat of the evil and is the candidate for the good. - -Further, it seems a paradox to say, with our author, that true -repentance is impossible to man, who alone needs it; and can be -realized only by the Son of God, in whom there is no room for it. It -would indeed be a hopeless realm to live in, which should annex to all -sins both an imperative demand and an absolute disqualification for -adequate contrition, and first open the fountain of availing tears in -holy natures that have none to shed. It is, in truth, of the very -essence of repentance to have its seat in mixed and imperfect moral -beings: and our author lays upon it quite an arbitrary requisition, -when he insists that, to pass as adequate, it must contain a perfect -appreciation of the sin deplored,--a view of it coincident with that -of God. Under such an aspect as this it could never have appeared to -us, though we had remained guiltless of it, and recoiled from it: and -we can hardly be required to reach, in the rebound of recovery, a -point beyond the station which would have prevented the fall. Many -errors in theology arise from applying absolute conceptions to -relative conditions, and forgetting that religion, as realized in us, -is a life, a movement, a progress, and not an ultimate limit of -perfection. Repentance is a transitional state, to which it is absurd -to apply an infinite criterion: it is a change from the worse to the -better mind, and cannot need the resources or belong to the experience -of the best. To pronounce it impossible to the wandering and fallen, -and make it the exclusive function of the All-holy, implies the -strangest metamorphosis of its meaning. - -But how, it may be asked, could a paradox so violent find favor with -an author everywhere intent on the exclusion of fiction from Christian -theology? To refer a moral act to the _wrong personality_, to toss -about a solemn change like penitence between guilty and innocent, as -if its particular seat were a matter of indifference, is so serious an -error, that it could never enter a mind like Mr. Campbell's, unless -under some plausible disguise. Can we find the shape under which it -has recommended itself to his approval? - -The sentiment ascribed to the Son of God in regard to sin,--wanting as -it does the essential penitential element of personal compunction,--is -simple sorrow for others' guilt, founded on perfect apprehension of -its nature. But this attitude of soul in him awakens the conscience of -his disciples, and is reproduced in them by fellowship. Spread into -their consciousness, it is no longer clear of the immediate presence -of sin, but, falling in with it, assumes the missing element, and -becomes repentance. When the Christian sense of evil, which ever -partakes of true contrition, is thus contemplated as a transmigration -of the Mediator's own spirit into the soul, the two are so identified -in thought, that what is true only of the human effect is referred to -the Divine cause; and the moral sorrow of Christ is regarded as -_potentially_ equivalent to repentance, because that is _actually_ the -form of the corresponding phenomenon in us. If this, however, -_explains_ our author's position, it hardly _justifies_ it. -Intercession for others in their guilt may _move them_ to remorse for -their own, but is a fact of quite different nature. As attributes and -expressions of character, the two phenomena are not to be confounded; -and as affecting our relation to God, there is the obvious and -admitted distinction, that intercession avails not for those who -remain impenitent, and would not be needed for the spontaneously -penitent. The sorrowful expostulations of the Son of God have only so -far a reconciling effect as they become the medium, in the hearts of -men, of an awakened contrition, aspiration, and faith. We cannot -conceive them to have _immediately_ altered--as repentance _does_--the -personal relation between God and the transgressors of His will; else -the change would be a change in the Divine sentiment whilst its -objects still remained unchanged. The effect _waits_ for its -development in souls melted and renewed. And thus the atoning sorrow -of Christ becomes simply a provision for a healing penitence in men. - -The ascription of "repentance" to Christ is curious in another point of -view. It arises from a blending together of _his_ consciousness and _his -disciples'_; from slurring the lines of personality between them; from -regarding their spiritual state as an organic extension of his, and his -as the vital root of theirs. In his endeavor to recommend it to us, our -author instinctively runs into abstract expressions in speaking of -mankind; fusing down concrete men into "_humanity_"; referring to the -Mediator as "God in _humanity_"; and so, dealing with our nature as if -it were a single existence, carrying or turning up all its individuals -as partial phenomena of one essence. On the other hand, in our endeavor -to correct his doctrine, we have had to lay stress on the inalienable -and separate character of all particular persons, taken one by one; to -insist on the solitude of each responsible agent, and the impassable -barriers which forbid the transference of moral attributes from mind to -mind. Which of these two modes of conception is the truer? For according -as we incline to the one or the other,--according as we treat _humanity_ -as the organic unit of which individual samples of mankind are numerical -accidents, or take each man as an integer, of which the race is a -multiple,--shall we lean towards mediatorial or towards direct religion. -We are firmly convinced that _no_ doctrine of _mediation_--in the strict -sense implying transactions with God on behalf of men, _as well as_ in -the opposite direction--can be harmonized with the modern -_individualism_; and that it is precisely in the attempt to unite these -incompatibles, that the forensic fictions to which Mr. Campbell objects, -and the moral fiction in his own theory to which we object, have had -their origin. They are mere artificial devices to compensate the loss of -that realistic mode of conception in which alone a true atoning doctrine -can rest in peace. So long as you contemplate the Redeemer as a detached -person, not less insulated in his integrity of being than angel from -archangel or from man, the difficulty will remain insuperable of making -his moral acts avail for _other human individuals_, unless by a -fictitious transference, against which conscience protests. Punishment -by substitute, righteousness by deputy, vicarious repentance, are -notions at variance with the fundamental postulates of the Moral Sense: -and in the attempt to defend them we are liable to lose the solemn, -living, face-to-face reality of the strife within us, and to weave -around us a web of legal and formal relations, as little like any -heart-felt veracity as a chancery decree to a law of nature. In -proportion as the soul is pierced with a sharper contrition, and attains -a deeper and clearer insight into her own unfaithful disorder, will the -inherent impossibility of any foreign exchange of righteousness become -apparent, and the desire to be shielded from punishment will pass away: -nor is the conscience truly awakened which does not rather rush into the -arms of its just anguish than start back and fly away. And the more you -hold up to view the holiness of Christ, the darker will the personal -past appear to grow; for self-reproach will say: "Yes, I see him as the -holy Son of God; the guiltier am I that the vision did not keep me from -my sin." Talk to such a one of Christ's transactions on our behalf, as -"_federal head_" of a redeemed people; and his misery will take no -notice of the cold pretence, unless to think, "Whatever engagements he -made for me, I have broken them all." In short, while Christ is regarded -simply as an historical individual, with the chasm of an incommunicable -personality between him and us, no ingenuity can construct, except from -the ruins of moral law, any other bridge of mediation than the suasion -of natural reverence, by which his image passes into the heart of faith. - -It is otherwise when we break through the restraints of the modern -individualism, and strive to enter into that literal identification of -Christ with Christians which is so frequent with St. Paul. If, instead -of saying that Christ _had_ our human nature, we could put our thought -into this form,--"He _was_ (and _is_) our human nature,"--if we could -suppose our type of being not merely represented in him as a sample, but -concentrated in him as a whole,--we should read its essentials and -destination in his biography: his predicates would be its predicates: -and in his sorrows and sanctity it might undergo purification. Humanity -thus made into a person would then be the corresponding fact to Deity -embodied in a person: both would be _Incarnations_,--essential Manhood -and essential Godhead,--co-present in the same manifested life. In the -ordinary conception of the doctrine of two natures, Christ is -represented, we believe, as _a_ man; in the mode of thought to which we -now refer, he appears as _Man_. The difficulties which arise in the -attempt to carry out this form of thinking are evident enough, even to -those who know nothing of the Parmenides of Plato. Indeed, they are -rendered so obtrusive by our modern habits of mind, that even a -momentary seizure, for mere purposes of interpretation, of that older -intellectual posture, scarcely remains possible to us. The apprehension -of it, however, is indispensable to one who would appreciate the -mediatorial theology of Christendom,--a theology which never could have -sprung up if our present conceptualist and nominalist notions had always -prevailed, and which, ever since their ascendency in Europe, has been -driven to deplorable shifts of self-justification. The parallel between -the first and second Adam, the fall and the restoration, the death -incurred and the life recovered, acquire new meaning for those who thus -think,--that as the incidents of Adam's existence become _generic_ by -_descent_, so the incidents of Christ's existence are generic by -_diffusion_; that if in the one we see humanity at head-quarters in -_time_, in the other we see it at head-quarters in _comprehension_; so -that, like an atmosphere which, purified at nucleus, has the taint drawn -off from its margin, our nature is freed from its sickliness in him. It -becomes intelligible to us in what sense we are to take refuge in him as -our including term, to find in him an epitome of our true existence, to -die (even to have died) with him, to suffer with him, to be risen with -him, to dwell above in him. On the assumption of such a union, his life -ceases to be an individual biography; what is manifested in him -personally, becomes true of us universally; and it is as if we were -all--like special examples in a general rule, or undeveloped truths in a -parent principle--virtually present in his dealings with evil and with -God. It is evident, that in this view his mediation has no chasm to -cross, no foreign region to enter, but is an inseparable predicate of -his own personal acts. The facility of conception afforded by this -method is betrayed by Mr. Campbell's resort to an analogous hypothesis -as a mere illustrative help to the mind. Witness the following striking -passage:-- - -"That we may fully realize what manner of equivalent to the dishonor -done to the law and name of God by sin an adequate repentance and -sorrow for sin must be, and how far more truly than any penal -infliction such repentance and confession must satisfy Divine justice, -let us suppose that all the sin of humanity has been committed by one -human spirit, on whom is accumulated this immeasurable amount of -guilt; and let us suppose this spirit, loaded with all this guilt, to -pass out of sin into holiness, and to become filled with the light of -God, becoming perfectly righteous with God's own righteousness,--such -a change, were such a change possible, would imply in the spirit so -changed a perfect condemnation of the past of its own existence, and -an absolute and perfect repentance, a confession of its sin -commensurate with its evil. If the sense of personal identity -remained, it must be so. Now, let us contemplate this repentance with -reference to the guilt of such a spirit, and the question of pardon -for its past sin and admission now to the light of God's favor. Shall -this repentance be accepted as an atonement, and, the past sin being -thus confessed, shall the Divine favor flow out on that present -perfect righteousness which thus condemns the past, or shall that -repentance be declared inadequate? Shall the present perfect -righteousness be rejected on account of the past sin, so absolutely -and perfectly repented of? and shall Divine justice still demand -adequate punishment for the past sin, and refuse to the present -righteousness adequate acknowledgment,--the favor which, in respect of -its own nature, belongs to it? It appears to me impossible to give any -but one answer to these questions. We feel that such a repentance as -we are supposing would, in such a case, be the true and proper -satisfaction to offended justice. Now, with the difference of -personal identity, the case I have supposed is the actual case of -Christ, the holy one of God, bearing the sins of all men on his -spirit,--in Luther's words, 'the one sinner,'--and meeting the cry of -these sins for judgment, and the wrath due to them, absorbing and -exhausting that Divine wrath in that adequate confession and perfect -response on the part of man which was possible only to the infinite -and eternal righteousness in humanity."--p. 143. - -The case which our author here presents as an aid to the imagination -was to Luther the literal reality; to whom, accordingly, Christ was -"the one sinner," _without_ "the difference of personal identity," -which is here so innocently slipped in, as if it were of no -consequence. Christ, in the Reformer's view, _was_ humanity, _our_ -humanity; and the grand function and triumph of faith is to feel -ourselves included in him, to merge our individuality, sins and all, -in his comprehending manhood and atoning obedience. Hence the stress -which Luther lays on "the well-applying the pronoun" _our_, in the -phrase, "who gave himself for our sins"; "that this one syllable being -believed may swallow up all thy sins." The effect of this realism on -the theology of Luther has not been sufficiently remarked. We believe -it to be the key to much that is obscure in his writings, and the -secret source of his antipathy to the Calvinistic type of the -Reformation. Absorption of Manhood into Christ,--distribution of -Godhead into humanity,--these were the correlative parts of his -objective belief,--Atonement and Eucharistic Real Presence: and -neither in themselves nor in their correspondence can they be -appreciated, without standing with him at the point of view which we -have endeavored to indicate. - -Whether mediatorial religion shall continue to include in its scheme -some provision for _dealing with God on behalf of men_, will mainly -depend on the successful revival or the final abandonment of the old -realistic modes of thought. Mr. Campbell's compromise with them, -taking refuge with them for illustration while disowning them in -substance, answers no logical or theological purpose at all. If he -follows out the natural tendencies and affinities of his faith, he -must rest exclusively at last in the other half of the doctrine, which -exhibits the _dealing with man on behalf of God_. In this best sense -mediatorial religion is imperishable, and imperishably identified with -Christianity. The Son of God, at once above our life and in our life, -morally divine and circumstantially human, mediates for us between the -self so hard to escape, and the Infinite so hopeless to reach; and -draws us out of our mournful darkness without losing us in excess of -light. He opens to us the moral and spiritual mysteries of our -existence, appealing to a consciousness in us that was asleep before. -And though he leaves whole worlds of thought approachable only by -silent wonder, yet his own walk of heavenly communion, his words of -grace and works of power, his strife of divine sorrow, his cross of -self-sacrifice, his reappearance behind the veil of life eternal, fix -on him such holy trust and love, that, where we are denied the -assurance of knowledge, we attain the repose of faith. - - - - -FIVE POINTS OF CHRISTIAN FAITH. - - -It is at all times difficult, even for the wisest, to describe aright -the tendencies of the age in which they live, and lay down its -bearings on the great chart of human affairs. Our own sensations can -give us no notice whither we are going; and the infinite life-stream -on which we ride, restless as it is with the surface-waves of -innumerable events, reports nothing of the mighty current that sweeps -us on, except by faint and silent intimations legible only to the -skilled interpreter of heaven. It is something, however, to have the -feeling _that we are moving_, and to be awake and looking out; and -perhaps there never was a period in which this consciousness was more -diffused throughout society than in our own. No one can look up and -around at the religious and social phenomena of Christendom, without -the persuasion that we are entering a new hemisphere of the world's -history,--a persuasion corroborated even by those who disclaim it, and -who insist on still steering by lights of tradition now sinking into -the mists of the receding horizon. Wherever we turn our eye, we -discover some symptom of an impending revolution in the forms of -Christian faith. The gross materialism and absolute unbelief diffused -for the first time among vast masses of our population; the -fast-spreading (and, as it appears to us, morbid) dislike to look -steadily at anything miraculous; the extensive renunciation, even -among the religious classes on the Continent, of historical -Christianity; the schisms and ever-new peculiarities which are -weakening all sects, and, like seedlings of the Reformation, are -obscuring the species, by multiplying the varieties, of opinion; the -revived controversies, penetrating all the great political questions -of the age, between the ecclesiastical and civil powers,--are not the -only indications of approaching theological change. That very -conservatism and recoil upon the high doctrine of an elder time, which -is manifest in every section of the Christian world, is a confession -by contrast of the same thing. For opinion does not turn round and -retreat into the past, till it has lost its natural shelter in the -present, and dreads some merciless storm in the future. The outward -strength which the older churches of our country seem to be acquiring -arises from the rallying of alarm and the herding together of -trembling sympathies; and though fear may unite men against external -assaults upon institutions, it cannot stop the decay of inward doubt. -It would seem as if Christianity was threatened by the mental activity -which it has itself created; as if the intellectual weapons which have -been forged and tempered by its skill were treacherously turned -against its life. It is vain, however, to strike a power that is -immortal; nothing will fall but the bodily form cast for a season -around the imperishable spirit. - -Protestantism, with all its blessings, has after all greatly -disfigured Christianity, by constructing it into a rigid metaphysical -form, and setting it up on a narrow pedestal of antiquarian proof;--by -destroying its infinite character through definitions, and developing -it dogmatically rather than spiritually;--by treating it, not as an -ideal glory around the life of man, but a logical incision into the -psychology of God. The wreck of systems framed under this false -conception will but leave the pure spirit of our religion in the -enjoyment of a more sacred homage;--you may dash the image, but you -cannot touch the god. - -In the following remarks we shall seek to make this evident;--to show -what principles of religion in general, and of Christianity in -particular, may be pronounced safe from the shocks of doubt. In times -of consternation and uncertainty, it behooves each one to look within -him for the heart of courage, and around him for the place of shelter, -and to single out, amid countless points of danger, some refuge -immutable and eternal. With this view, we propose to trace an outline -of Christian truths which we consider secure and durable as our very -nature;--a chain of granite points rising, like the rock of ages, -above the shifting seas of human opinion. In doing so, we shall be -simply delineating Unitarian Christianity, according to our conception -of it;--expounding it, not as a barren negation, but as a scheme of -positive religion; exhibiting both its characteristic faiths, and -something of the modes of thought by which they are reached. - - * * * * * - -I. In the _first_ place, WE HAVE FAITH in the _Moral Perceptions of -Man_. The conscience with which he is endowed enables him to -appreciate the distinction between right and wrong; to understand the -meaning of "_ought_," and "_ought not_"; to love and revere whatever -is great and excellent in character, to abhor the mean and base; and -to feel that in the contrast between these we have the highest order -of differences by which mind can be separated from mind. And on this -consciousness,--the basis of our whole responsible existence,--no -suspicion is to be cast; no lamentation over its fallibility, no hint -of possible delusion, is to pass unrebuked; it is worthy of absolute -reliance as the authoritative oracle of our nature, supreme over all -its faculties,--entitled to use sense, memory, understanding, to -register its decrees, without a moment's license to dispute them. That -Justice, Mercy, and Truth are good and venerable, is no matter of -doubtful opinion, in which peradventure an error may be hid;--is not -even a thing of certain inference, recommended to us by the force of -evidence;--is not an empirical judgment, depending on the -pleasurableness of these qualities, and capable of reversal, if, under -some tyrant sway, they were to be rendered sources of misery. The -approval which we award to them is quite distinct from assent to a -scientific probability; the excellence which we ascribe to them is not -identical with their command of happiness, but altogether transcends -this, precedes it, and survives it; the obligation they lay upon us is -not the consequence of positive law, human or divine, or in any way -the creature of superior will; for all free-will must itself possess a -moral quality,--can never stir without exercising it,--and cannot -therefore give rise to that which is a prior condition of its own -activity. And if (to pursue the thought suggested above) we could be -snatched away to some distant world, some out-province of the -universe, abandoned by God's blessed sway to the absolutism of demons, -where selfishness and sensuality, and hate and falsehood, were -protected and enjoined by public law, it is clear that, by such -emigration, our interests only, and not our duties, would be reversed; -and that to rebel and perish were nobler than to comply and live. The -discernment of moral distinctions, then, belongs to the very highest -order of certainties; it has its seat in our deepest reason, among the -primitive strata of thought, on which the depositions of knowledge, -and the accumulations of judgment, and the surface growths of opinion, -all repose. As experience in the past has not taught it, experience in -the future cannot _unteach_ it. The difference between good and evil -we cannot conceive to be merely relative, and incidental to our point -of view,--variable with the locality and the class in which a being -happens to rest,--an optical caprice of the atmosphere in which we -live;--but rather a property of the very light itself, found -everywhere out of the region of absolute night; or, at least, a -natural impression, belonging to that perceptive eye of the soul, -through which alone we can look out, as through a glass, upon all -beings and all worlds; and if any one will say that the glass is -colored, it is, at all events, the tint of nature, shed on it by the -ineffaceable art of the Creator. The modes in which we think of moral -qualities are not terrestrial peculiarities of idea, like foreign -prejudices; the terms in which we speak of them are not untranslatable -provincial idioms, vulgarities of our planetary dialect, but are -familiar, like the symbols of a divine science, to every tribe of -souls, belonging to the language of the universe, and standing -defined in the vocabulary of God. The laws of right are more -necessarily universal than the physical laws of force; and if the same -agency of gravitation that governs the rain-drop determines the -evolutions of the sky, and the Principia of Newton would be no less -intelligible and true on the ring of Saturn than in the libraries of -this earth,--yet more certain is it that the principles of moral -excellence, truly expounded for the smallest sphere of responsibility, -hold good, by mere extension, for the largest, and that those -sentiments of conscience which may give order and beauty to the life -of a child, constitute the blessedness of immortals, and penetrate the -administration of God. This is what we intend, when we insist on -implicit faith in the moral perceptions of man. They are to be assumed -by us as the fixed station, the grand heliocentric position, whence -our survey of the spiritual universe must be made, and our system of -religion constructed. Whatever else may move, here, as in creation's -centre of gravity, we take our everlasting stand. Whatever else be -doubtful, these are to be simply trusted. The force of certainty by -which nature and God give them to the conscience exceeds any by which, -either through the understanding or through external supernatural -communication, they might _seem_ to be drawn away. No revelation could -persuade me that what I revere as just, and good, and holy, is _not -venerable_, any more than it could convince me that the midnight -heavens are not sublime. - -There is nothing to move us from this position, in the objection, that -different men have different ideas of right and wrong, and that the -heroic deeds of one latitude are regarded as the crimes of another. This -moral discrepancy is, in the first place, infinitely small in proportion -to the moral agreement of mankind, so that it is even difficult to find -many striking examples of it; and when the subject is mentioned, -everybody expects to hear the self-immolation of the Indian widow, and -other superstitions of the Ganges, adduced as the standing -illustrations. What, after all, are these eccentricities of the moral -sense, compared with the scale of its common consent? As well might you -deny the existence of an atmosphere, because you have found the air -exhausted from a pump! Where is the nation or the individual, without -the rudiments, however imperfectly unfolded, of the same great ideas of -duty which we possess ourselves?--where the language, in which there are -no terms to denote good and evil,--the just, the brave, the -merciful?--where the tribe so barbarous as not to listen, with earnest -eye, to the story of the good Samaritan? And if such there were, should -we not call them a people but little human (_inhuman_), and deem them, -not the specimens, but the outlaws of our nature? Moreover, the -variances of moral judgment are usually only apparent and external. The -action which one man pronounces wrong and another right, is not the -same, except upon the lips: enter the minds of the two disputants, and -you will find that it is only half taken into the view of each, and -presents to them its opposite hemispheres; no wonder that it shows the -darkness of guilt to the one, and the sunshine of virtue to the other. -And accordingly, these differences actually vanish as the faculty of -conscience unfolds itself, and the scope of the mind is enlarged. Like -the discrepancies in the ideas which men have of beauty, they exist -principally between the uncultivated and the refined: and the -well-developed perceptions of the best in all ages and countries visibly -agree. Nay, while yet the discordance lasts, it introduces no real -doubt: for heaven has established a moral subordination among men, which -reveals the real truth of our own nature. Do we not always see, that the -lower conscience bows before the higher;--that the heart, without light -or heat itself, may be pierced, as with a flash, by a sentiment darted -from a loftier soul, and own it to be from above;--that, simply by this -natural allegiance of the lesser to the nobler, classes and nations and -sects are raised in dignity and moral greatness;--that they, and they -only, have had any grand and sublime existence in the history of the -world, who have been gifted with power to create a new religion,--a -fresh development of what is holy and divine;--and that every one so -endowed has always gathered around him the multitudes ever praying to -be lifted above the level of their life, and blessing the benefactor who -wakes up the consciousness of their higher nature? And if so, the -general _direction_ of the moral sentiment is the same, however its -intensity may vary: and the irregular indications which it gives are not -due to any inherent vacillation, but to the disturbing causes which -deflect it from the celestial line of simplicity and truth. - -We keep our foot, then, on this primitive foundation,--faith in the -moral perceptions of man. We say, that we know what we mean, when we -affirm that a being is just, pure, disinterested, merciful; that these -terms describe one particular kind of character, and one only; that -they have the same sense to whomsoever they are applied, and are not -to be juggled with, so as to denote quite opposite forms of action and -disposition, according as our discourse may be of heaven or of earth; -that whenever they lose their ordinary and intelligible signification, -they become senseless; and that what would be wrong and odious in any -one moral agent, can be, under similar relations, right and lovely in -no other. These positions, which we take to be fundamental, are in -direct contradiction to the theological maxims with which most -churches begin;--viz. that human nature is so depraved that its -conscience has lost its discernment, sees everything through a -corrupted medium, and deserves no trust; that it may surrender its -convictions to anything which can bring fair historical evidence of -its being a revelation;--in other words, that it may be right to throw -away our ideas of right, and, in obedience to antiquarian witnesses, -suppose it holy in God to design and execute a scheme which it would -be a crime in man to imitate. These principles are defended by the -assertion, that the relations of the Divine and the human being are so -different as to destroy all the analogies of character between them. -The only tendency, both of this defence and of the principles -themselves, is to absolute scepticism;--to _atheistical scepticism_, -inasmuch as our propositions respecting God, if not true in the plain -human sense, are to us true in no other, and represent _nothing_; to -_moral scepticism_, inasmuch as, the sentiments of conscience being -exposed to distrust, and all its language rendered unsettled, the very -ground on which human character must plant itself is loosened; the -rock of duty melts into water beneath our feet, and we are cast into -the waves of impulse and caprice. - - * * * * * - -II. We have Faith in the _Moral Perfection of God_. This indeed is a -plain consequence of our reliance on the natural sentiments of duty. -For it is not, we apprehend, by our logical, but by our moral faculty, -that we have our knowledge of God; and he who most confides in the -instructor will learn the sacred lesson best. That one whom we may -call the Holiest rules the universe, is no discovery made by the -intellect in its excursions, but a revelation found by the conscience -on retiring into itself; and though we may reason in defence of this -great truth, and these reasonings, when constructed, may look -convincing enough, they are not, we conceive, the source, but rather -the effect, of our belief,--not the forethought which actually -precedes and introduces the Faith, but the afterthought by which Faith -seeks to make a friend and an intimate of the understanding. Does any -one hesitate to admit this, and think that our conceptions of the -Divine character are inferences regularly drawn from observation,--not -indeed observation on the mere physical arrangements, but on the moral -phenomena, of our world,--from the traces of a regard to character in -the administration of human life? We will not at present dispute the -conclusion; but, observing that the premises which furnish it are -certain _moral_ experiences, we remark that the very power of -receiving and appreciating these, of knowing what they are worth, -belongs not to our scientific faculty, but to our sense of justice and -of right. On a being destitute of this they would make no impression; -and in precise proportion to the intensity of this feeling will be the -vividness and force of their persuasion. And is it not plain _in -fact_, that it is far from being the clear and acute intellect, but -rather the pure and transparent heart, that best discerns God? How -many strong and sagacious judgments, of coolest capacity for the just -estimate of argument, never attain to any deep conviction of a perfect -Deity! Nay, how much does scepticism on this great matter seem to be -proportioned, not to the obtuseness, but rather to the subtlety and -searchingness of the mere understanding? But when was it ever known -that the singularly pure and simple heart, the earnest and aspiring -conscience, the lofty and disinterested soul, had no faith in the -"First fair and the First good"? Philosophy at its ease, apart from -the real responsibilities and strong battle of life, loses its diviner -sympathies, and lapses into the scrupulosity of doubt, and from the -centre of comfort weeps over the miseries of earth, and the -questionable benevolence of heaven; while the practically tried and -struggling, with moral force growing beneath the pressure of crushing -toil, look up with a refreshing trust, and with worn and bleeding feet -pant happily along to the abodes of everlasting love. The moral -victor, flushed with triumph over temptation, feels that God is on his -side, and that the spirit of the universe is in sympathy with his joy. -Never did any one spend himself in the service of man, and yet despair -of the benignity of God. Our faith, then, in the Divine perfection, -forms and disengages itself from the deeps of conscience: and the -Holiest that broods over us solemnly rises--the awful spirit of -eternity--from the ocean of our moral nature. - -It is in conformity with this doctrine of the _moral_ origin of our -belief in the first principles of religion, that to every man his God -is _his best and highest_, the embodiment of that which the believer -himself conceives to be the greatest. The image which he forms of that -Being may indeed be gross and terrible; and others may be shocked, and -exclaim that he trusts, not in a Divinity, but in a Fiend: but will -the worshipper himself perceive and acknowledge this?--will he not -indignantly deny it?--will he not eagerly vindicate the perfection of -the Deity he serves? He can do no otherwise; for he discerns nothing -more sublime, and cannot be convinced that _that_ is low which stands -at the summit of his thoughts. This uniform phenomenon in the history -of religion could not exist, if human faith were an inference of -intellectual origin. There would be nothing _then_ to prevent some -men, in their reasonings on the probable character of God, from -assigning to that character a place _beneath_ their own conceptions of -what is most excellent; and amid the infinite varieties of -speculation, many forms of this opinion would undoubtedly arise. Let -any one, then, who dissents from the account which we have given, ask -himself this question: Why is it, that to discover a blemish in a -divinity is the same thing as to renounce faith in him; and that, even -in pagan times, to _assail the character_ of the gods was the constant -mark of an _unbelieving_ age? Is it not clear that, by a constraining -necessity of our being, we are compelled to regard the godlike and the -perfect as identical, and to look to heaven through the eye of our -moral nature? The Intellect alone, like the telescope waiting for an -observer, is quite blind to the celestial things above it,--a dead -mechanism dipped in night,--ready to serve as the dioptric glass, -spreading the images of light from the Infinite on the tender and -living retina of Conscience. - -If, then, there is no discernment of Deity except through our moral -sense, the importance of confiding in the perceptions of that -sense,--of rendering our consciousness of them vivid and -distinct,--and the corresponding mischief of distrusting and -repudiating these our appointed instructors,--become evident. Faith in -the human conscience is necessary to faith in the Divine perfection: -and _this_ again is the needful prelude to the belief in any special -revelation. For, unless we are first assured of the truth and -excellence of God, we cannot tell that his communications may not -deceive us, giving us false notices of things, and agitating us with -illusory hopes and fears. This might be apprehended from a Being of -undetermined benevolence and integrity: and that this idea of a -_mendacious revelation_ has never seriously entered the minds of men, -is a strong proof of their natural and necessary faith in the -rectitude and goodness of the Divine Administrator of creation. This -Moral Perfection of God being assumed as a postulate in the very idea -of a Revelation, no system of religion which contradicts it can be -admitted as credible _on any terms_. - -Now the whole scheme of Redemption, as it is represented in the popular -theology, appears to us to fall under this condemnation. Under the -_names_ of Justice, Sanctity, Mercy, it ascribes to the All-perfect a -course of sentiment and of practice which--it is undeniable--no other -moral agent, placed in analogous relations, could adopt without the -deepest guilt. The Holiness of God, so often adduced to justify the -severities of this scheme, we would yield to no one in earnestly -maintaining; believing, as we do, that his abhorrence of moral evil is -absolute and everlasting, his resistance to it real and true, and his -love of excellence simply infinite as his nature. But purity of mind -does not express itself by implacable vengeance against the impure, or -oblige its possessor to engage himself in physically smiting them,--much -less limit him through all eternity to this mode of administration. -Rather does it incline away from a treatment which too often adds only -torment, and removes no guilt,--which makes no advance towards the -blessed dispositions it loves,--which fevers and parches instead of -cooling and melting the passions of a culprit nature. It is a coarse and -wretched error to suppose that anguish is a specific for sin, to the -incessant infliction of which the Sinless is bound. God never departs -indeed from his devotion to the laws of goodness, and his design of -calling wider and wider virtue into existence: but he pursues them with -the fertility of his infinite free-will;--now by the severities of his -displeasure,--now by the openness of his forgiveness,--now by the -solicitations of his love. His purpose, as one whose perfection is not -merely spotless, but active and productive, cannot be, as some -Christians seem to say, the penal publication of his personal offence -against the insulters of his law, but the spread and cultivation -throughout his spiritual universe of pure and high affections: and -whenever the new germs of these appear in the garden of the Lord, no -vernal sunshine or summer dews can more gently cherish the bursting -flower, than does his mercy foster the fair and early growth. The -assertion that God cannot pardon and recall to goodness till he has -expended his tortures upon the evil, seems to us a plain denial of his -moral excellence. Theologians speak as if there were some crime, or at -least some weakness, in the clemency which freely receives a repentant -creature into favor; as if the mercy which exacts no penalty, when -penalty is no longer needed, were an amiable imbecility of human nature, -which only a loose-principled and unholy being can exercise! as if -absolute unforgiveness were the perfection of sanctity! True, this is -disclaimed in words; and the Eternal Father is called merciful, for -remitting the sinner's doom and transferring the burden of his guilt to -a victim divine and pure. But surely this disclaimer is more insulting -to our moral sense than the accusation. For, either this transference of -righteousness and guilt is a mere figure of speech, denoting only that, -from the death on Calvary, God took chronological occasion to pass his -own spontaneous pardon, and set up the cross to _mark the date_ of his -volition; or else, if the vicariousness be not this mere pretence, it -describes an outrage upon the first principles of rectitude, a reckless -disregard of all moral considerations, from the thought of which we are -astonished that all good men do not recoil. - -We press once more the question which has never been answered: How is -the alleged immorality of letting off the sinner mended by the added -crime of penally crushing the Sinless? Of what man--of what -angel--could such a thing be reported, without raising a cry of -indignant shame from the universal human heart? What should we think -of a judge who should discharge the felons from the prisons of a city, -because some noble and generous citizen offered himself to the -executioner instead? And if this would be barbarity below, it cannot -be holiness above. Moral excellence and beauty, we repeat, are no -local growths, changing their species with every clime; nor are the -poisonous weeds of this outer region the chosen adornments of -paradise. The principles of Justice and Right embrace all beings and -all times, and, like the indestructible conception of space, attach -themselves to our contemplation of objects within the remotest -infinitude. It is no more possible that what would be evil in man -should be good in God, than that a circle on earth should be a square -in heaven. Having faith, then, in the absolute perfection of our -Creator, we dare ascribe to Him nothing which revolts the secret -conscience He has given us. - - * * * * * - -III. The relation which thus subsists between the human conscience and -the Divine excellence leads us to avow, in the next place, a FAITH in -the _strictly Divine and Inspired Character of our own highest Desires -and best Affections_. We do not mean by this, that these affections -are of miraculous origin; that their appearance breaks through any -regular law; or that they do not belong to our own nature so as to -form an integrant part of its history; or that they do not arise -spontaneously within it, but require to be precipitated upon it from -without. They are as much properties of our own minds, as our -selfishness and sin: we are _conscious_ of them, and so they cannot -but be parts of our personality.[25] But in admitting them to be -_human_, I do not deny that they are _divine_: in regarding them as -indigenous to our created spirit, I do not treat them as foreign to -the Creator's; nor is there any inconsistency in believing them to be -simultaneously domesticated with both. That which is _included within_ -the mind of man, is not _therefore excluded from_ the mind of _God_; -much less is it true that occurrences agreeable to the order of nature -are, by that circumstance, disqualified from being held the immediate -products of the Heavenly Will. The Supreme Cause, so far from being -shut out by his own secondary causes and natural laws, has now at -least no residence, no activity, no existence, except within them; He -covers, penetrates, fills them; thinks, speaks, executes, through -them, as the media of his volition: and _His_ energy and _theirs_ not -only _may coincide_, but even _must coalesce_. He is not to be brought -down from his universal dominion to the rank of _one of_ the physical -causes active in creation, doing that only which the others have left -undone. Will any one stand with me by the midnight sea, and, because -the tides in the deep below hang upon the moon in the heavens above, -forbid me to hear in their sweep the very voice of God, and tell me -that, while they roll untired on, He sleeps through the silent vault -around me? It is by the law of gravitation that the planets find an -unerring track in the desert space; and is it false, then, that He -"leadeth them forth with his finger," and bids us note, in pledge of -his punctuality, that "not one faileth"? Is there any error in -ascribing the very same event at one time to gravitation, at another -to God? Certainly not; for this is but one of the forms of his -personal activity. And it is the same in the world of Mind; its -natural laws do not exclude, but, on the contrary, include, the direct -Divine agency: and though _my_ thought, or hope, or love, cannot be -_yours_, they may yet be God's; not emanations from the God without -us, but inspirations of the God within. Why should we start to think -that there is a part of us which is divine?--why image to ourselves a -distant, external, contemplative God, seeing all things and touching -nothing, gazing on the unconscious evolutions of things, as the -retired Mechanist of nature?--why enthrone Him in the inertness of -dead space, without even a sacred function there, and exclude Him from -the tried, and tempted, and ever-trembling soul of Man? If we found -Him not at home in the secret places of strife and sorrow, vainly -should we wander to seek Him in the colder regions of nature abroad. -We have no sympathy with any system which denies the doctrine of a -Holy Spirit; which discerns nothing divine in the higher experiences -of human nature; which owns no black abyss and no heavenly heights in -the soul of man, but only a flat, common, midway region, neither very -foul nor very fair,--well enough for the streets of traffic, but -without a mount of vision and of prayer. Nothing noble, nothing great, -has ever come from a faith which did not deeply reverence the soul, -and stand in awe of it as the seat of God's own dwelling, the -presence-chamber of his sanctity,--the focus of that infinite -whispering-gallery which the universe spreads around us. - -Nor can we doubt at what point of our own nature we must stand, in -order to hear the voice and feel the inspiration of the Eternal. The -pure in heart--each in proportion to his purity--see Him. Our -Conscience, our Moral Perceptions, as we have seen, are our only -revealers of God. In proportion to their clearness do we discern Him; -and behind the clouds that obscure them, He becomes dim, and vanishes -away. The aspirations of duty, the love of excellence, the -disinterested and holy affections, of which every good heart is -conscious, constitute our affinity with Him,--by which we know Him, as -like knows like: they are the expression of his mind, the pencil of -rays by which He paints his image on our spiritual nature. God is -related to our soul, like the sun in a stormy sky to the windowed -cells in which mortals live; and as we sit at our work in the chamber -of conscience or of love, the burst of brilliancy or the sudden gloom -within reports to us the clear-shining or the cloud of the heaven -without. Nor can any philosophy, falsely so called, permanently expel -this conviction from the Christian heart. Every devout and earnest -mind naturally feels that its selfishness and sin are of the earth, -earthy,--the most offensive of all attitudes to God,--the infatuated -turning of the back to Him: and, on the other hand, welcomes the fresh -glow of pure Resolve, the heart-felt sob of Penitence, the glorious -Courage that slays Temptation at his feet,--each as the gracious gift -of a divine strength, and the authentic voice of the Inspirer, God. By -this natural faith (natural, however, only to the Christian mind) we -are prepared to abide; and, with the Apostle Paul, to own ourselves, -not without deep awe, the very temple of the Holiest. - - * * * * * - -IV. We have said, that in the Conscience and Moral Affections we have -our _only_ revealers of God. Let it be understood that we mean our -only _internal_ revealers of Him; the only faculty of our nature -capable of furnishing us with the idea and belief of Him, with any -perception of his character, and allegiance to his will. We mean to -state that, without this faculty, the bare intellect, the mere -scientific and reasoning power, could make no way towards the -knowledge of divine realities; could never, by any system of helps -whatsoever, be trained or guided into this knowledge, any more than, -in the absence of the proper sense, the _ear_ of the blind can be -taught _to see_; and that nature, life, history, miracle, -notwithstanding their most sedulous discipline, would leave us utterly -in the dark about religion, except so far as they addressed themselves -to our consciousness of what is holy, just, beautiful, and great. But -we do _not_ mean to state that the Moral Sense can stand alone, -dispense with all outward instruction, and supply a man with a natural -religion ready made. Nor do we mean that the every-day experience of -man, and the ordinary providence of God, are enough, without special -revelation, to lead us to heavenly truth. And we are therefore -prepared to advance another step, and to say, that, while regarding -the human conscience as the only inward revealer of God, we have FAITH -in CHRIST as _his perfect and transcendent outward revelation_. We -conceive that Jesus of Nazareth lived and died, not to _persuade_ the -Father, not to _appease_ the Father, not to make a sanguinary -_purchase_ from the Father, but simply to "_show_ us the Father"; to -leave upon the human heart a new, deep, vivid impression of what God -is in himself, and of what he designs for his creature, man; to -become, in short, the accepted interpreter of heaven and life. And -this he achieved, in the only way of which we can conceive as -practicable, by a new disclosure in his own person of all that is holy -and godlike in character,--startling the human soul with the sudden -apparition of a being diviner far than it had yet beheld, and lifting -its faith at once into quite another and purer region. If it be true, -as we have ventured to affirm, that to every man his God is his -_best_, you can by no means give to his faith a _higher God_, till you -have given to his heart a _better best_,--till you have touched him -with a profounder sense of sanctity and excellence, and purified and -enlarged the perceptions of his conscience. Nor can you do _this_, -except by presenting him with nobler models, with the living form of a -fairer and sublimer goodness, visibly transcending every object of his -previous reverence. No verbal teaching, no didactic rules, can -transform any man's moral taste, and place before his mental view a -lovelier and truer image of perfection: as well might you hope, by -definition, and precept, and book-wisdom, to train an artist with a -soul like Raffaelle, or an eye like Claude. But only give the glorious -model to the mind, _produce_ the most finished excellence and harmony, -and our instinctive sympathy with goodness feels and discerns it -instantly, and, though unable to conceive it inventively beforehand, -recognizes it reverently afterwards. And so Christ, standing in -solitary greatness, and invested with unapproachable sanctity, opens -at once the eye of conscience to perceive and know the pure and holy -God, the Father that dwelt in him and made him so full of truth and -grace. Him that rules in heaven we can in no wise believe to be _less -perfect_ than that which is most divine on earth; of anything _more -perfect_ than the meek yet majestic Jesus, no heart can ever dream. -And, accordingly, ever since he visited our earth with blessing, the -soul of Christendom has worshipped a God resembling him,--a God of -whom he was the image and impersonation;--and, _therefore, not_ the -God of which philosophy dreams,--a mere Infinite physical Force, -without spirituality, without love, chiefly engaged in whirling the -fly-wheel of nature, and sustaining the material order of the heavens, -and weaving in the secret workshop of creation new textures of life -and beauty; _not_ the God of which natural theology speaks, the mere -chief of ingenious mechanicians, more optical, and dynamical, and -architectural, than our most skilful engineers,--a cold intellectual -Being, in the severe immensity and immutability of whose mind all warm -emotions are absorbed and dissolved; _not_ the God of Calvinism, -creating a race with certain foresight of the eternal damnation of the -many, and against the few refusing to relax his frown except at the -spectacle of blood;--but the Infinite Spirit, so holy, so -affectionate, so pitiful, whom Jesus felt to be in him as his -Inspirer; who passes by no wounds of sin or sorrow; who stills the -winds and waves of terror, to the perishing that call on him in faith; -who stops the procession of our grief, and bids bereaved affection -weep no more, but wait upon the voice that even the dead obey; who -scathes the hypocrite with the lightning of conviction, and permits -the penitent to wash his feet with tears; who reckons most his own the -gentlest follower, that rests the head and turns up the trustful eye -on him; and bends that look of piercing love upon the guilty which -best rebukes the guilt. Jesus has given us a faith never held before, -and still too much obscured, in the _affectionateness_ of the Great -Ruler; has made Him our own domestic God, whose ample home encircles -all, leaving not the solitary, the sinner, or the sad without a place -in the mansions of his house; has wrapped us in the Divine immensity -without fear, and bid us claim the warm sun in heaven as our Paternal -hearth, and the vault of the pure sky as our protecting roof. - -We have spoken of Christ's personal representation, in his own character -and practical life, of the spirit of the Divine Mind, and have explained -how in this way we believe that he has "shown us the Father." This, -however, is not all. His _direct teachings_, perfectly in harmony with -his life, confirm and extend its lessons; and we listen, with venerating -faith, to his inimitable exposition of all divine truth. Purity of soul -makes the most wonderful discoveries in heavenly things, and is indeed -the pellucid atmosphere through which the remoter lights of God are -"spiritually discerned." As we have said, the knowledge of him which any -mind (be it of man or of angel) may possess, is just proportioned to its -sanctity: and our Messiah, having the very highest sanctity, was enabled -to speak with the highest and most authoritative knowledge, and was -inspired to be our infallible guide, not perhaps in trivial questions of -literary interpretation, or scientific fact, or historical expectation, -but in all the deep and solemn relations on which our sanctification and -immortal blessedness depend. And both to his person and to his teachings -do the miracles of his life, the tragedy of his crucifixion, and the -glory of his resurrection, articulately call the attention of all ages, -as with the voice of God. In every way we discern in Christ the -transcendent revelation of the Most High. We are told, that this is to -_dishonor Christ_. We think it, however, a more glorious honor to him, -to be thus indissolubly folded within the intimacy of the Father's love, -than to be blasted by the tempest of his wrath; nor could we ever trust -and venerate a God who--like the barbarians in the judgment-hall--could -smite that meek lamb of heaven with one rude blow of vengeance. - - * * * * * - -V. But we hasten to observe, finally, that WE HAVE FAITH in HUMAN -IMMORTALITY, as exemplified in the heavenly life to which Jesus -ascended. To assure us of this great truth, it were enough that Jesus -assumed and taught it; that it was his great postulate, essential to -the development of his own character, and to all his views of the -purposes of life,--an integrant part of his insight into human -responsibility and his version of human duty. For if _he_ did not -teach the reality of God in this matter, sure we are that none else -has ever done so; and most of all, that the sceptics who doubt the -heavenly futurity have no claim to take his place as our instructors. -For if this hope were a delusion, _who_ would the mistaken be? Will -any one tell me, that the voluptuary, who, from abandonment to the -body, cannot imagine the perpetuity of the spirit;--that the selfish, -who, looking at the meanness of his own nature, sees nothing worth -immortalizing;--that the contented Epicurean, who, in prudent quietude -of sense and sympathy, finds adequate satisfaction in this mortal -life;--that the cold speculator, who looks at the fouler side of human -nature, and, showing us on its features the pallor of sensualism or -the hard lines of guilt, deems it less fit for the duration of the -angel than for the extinction of the brute;--that these men are -_right_; while Christ, who walked without despair through the deepest -haunts of sin, with faith that succumbed not to wretchedness and -wrong, but stood up and conquered them; who embraced our whole nature -in his love, and displayed it in its perfectness; who lived and died -in its utmost service, with prayers and tears and blood; to whom our -most binding affections cling almost with worship as the holiest glory -of our world;--that _he_ could be under a delusion _here_?--that when, -sinking in trustful death, he laid his meek head to rest on the bosom -of the Father, he was cast off, and dropped on the cold clod?--that he -sobbed into the Infinite by night with a vain love that met no -answer?--that God rather takes part in his providence with the -mean-souled, the cynic, the morbid, the selfish? There _is_ no greater -impossibility than this, on which evidence can fall back. Nay, we -confess that, even apart from his doctrine, the mere mortal history of -Christ would have settled with us the question of futurity. For the -great essential to this belief is a sufficiently elevated estimate of -human nature: no man will ever deny its immortality who has a deep -impression of its capacity for so great a destiny. And this impression -is so vividly given by the life of Jesus,--he presents an image of the -soul so grand, so divine,--as utterly to dwarf all the dimensions of -its present career, and to necessitate a heaven for its reception. At -all events, it is allowable to feel this, when we see that this -natural sequel was actually and perceptibly appended; that this "Holy -One of God could not see corruption," but rose, above the reach of -mortal ill, to the world where now he welcomes the souls of the -sainted dead. That other life we take to be a scene for the mind's -ampler and ampler development, apart from those animal and selfish -elements which now deform and degrade it by their excess. And this -alone, if there were nothing else, would render it a life of awful -retribution. For to the wicked, what is this loss of "the natural -man," but total bereavement and utter death of joy?--what to the good, -but a glad and sacred birth?--to the one, a Promethean exile on a -mid-rock in the ocean of night, under the bite of a remorse that gnaws -impalpably, felt always, but never seen,--to the other, a welcome to -the loving homes of the blest, amid the sunshine of the everlasting -hills? Yet precisely because we believe in Retribution, do we trust in -Restoration. The very abhorrence with which a man's better mind ever -looks upon his worse, while it inflicts his punishment, begins his -cure: and we can never allow that God will suspend this natural law -impressed by himself on our spiritual constitution, merely in order to -stop the process of moral recovery, and specially enable him to -maintain the eternity of torment and of sin. And so, beyond the dark -close of life rise before us the awful contrasts of retribution; and -in the farther distance, the dim but glorious vision of a purified, -redeemed, and progressive universe of souls. - - * * * * * - -Here, then, are our Five Points of Christianity, considered as a -system of positive religious doctrine, viz.:--1st. The truth of the -Moral Perceptions in man,--not, as the degenerate churches of our day -teach, their pravity and blindness; 2dly. The Moral Perfection of the -character of God,--in opposition to the doctrine of his Arbitrary -Decrees and Absolute Self-will; 3dly. The Natural awakening of the -Divine Spirit within us,--rather than its Preternatural communication -from without; 4thly. Christ, the pure Image and highest Revelation of -the Eternal Father,--not his Victim and his Contrast; 5thly. A -universal Immortality after the model of Christ's heavenly life; an -immortality not of capricious and select salvation, with unimaginable -torment as the general lot, but, for all, a life of spiritual -development, of retribution, of restoration. - -To the _Moral_ doctrine which, in our view, the Gospel conjoins with -this religious system, it is impossible for us at present to advert. -Suffice to say that, with Paul, we exclaim, "not _Law_, but -_Love_":--love to God, to Christ, not simply for what they have done -for us, but chiefly for what they are in themselves;--nothing like the -narrow-hearted gratitude for an exclusive salvation, but a _moral_ -affection awakened by their holiness, rectitude, truth, and mercy,--by -the sublimity and spirituality of their designs, and the sanctity and -fidelity of their execution: love also to man, looking to him not -merely as a sentient being who is to be made _happy_, but as a child -of God, who is to be raised into some likeness to the Divine image; as -a brother spirit, noble in nature, even though sinful in fact, -glorious as an immortal in the eye of God, though disfigured by this -world's hardship or contempt. - -Does any one ask, _where we get_ our system of faith and morals? What -are the principles of reasoning which we apply to nature and Scripture -to extract it thence? The reply would require a volume of exposition. -Suffice it to say, that we think we have full warrant for this belief -from the Scriptures of the New Testament, with which alone we conceive -that Christians have any practical concern; that, in interpreting these -Scriptures, we follow the same rules which we should apply to any other -books; that not even could their instructions make us false to that -sense of right and wrong which God has breathed into us; that if they -taught respecting him anything unjust or unholy, we should not accept -_it_, but reject _them_; and that, as to the points of faith on which we -have dwelt, some receive these truths because they were taught by -Christ; others receive Christ because he taught these truths. - -On this faith we desire to take our stand, with the firmness, but -without the ferocity, of the first Reformers. Opposing churches tell -us, we "are so frigid"! Why, it is the very thing our own hearts had -often said to us; for there is nothing that so promptly rebukes the -coldness of our nature as the warmth of our faith. We do not, however, -much admire this mutual criticism of each other's temperature; and -strongly suspect the reality of that earnestness which prides itself -on its own intensity. We must not propose to assume any artificial -heats, in order to spite and disprove this frequent accusation; but be -resolved, in an age diseased with pretence, to remain realities, to -profess nothing which we do not believe, to withhold nothing whereon -we doubt, to affect nothing which we do not feel, to promise nothing -which we will not do; holding, with Paul, that simplicity and -sincerity are truly the godliest of things. With Heaven's good help, -may we bear our testimony thus; deeming it a small thing to be judged -by man's judgment; and, with such light and heat as God shall put into -our hearts, delivering over our portion of truth to generations that -will give it a more genial welcome. There is greatness in a faith, -when it can win a wide success or make rapid conquest over submissive -minds. There is a higher greatness in a faith that, when God ordains, -can stand up and do without success;--unmoved amid the pitiless storms -of a fanatic age; with foot upon the rock of its own fidelity, and -heart in the serene Infinite above the canopy of cloud and tempest. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[25] Perhaps we should rather say, "they cannot be alien to our -nature." The word _personality_ is used by philosophical writers to -denote that which is _peculiar_, as well as essential, to our -individual self. In this strict sense the moral and spiritual -affections are _impersonal_, according to the doctrine of the context, -which treats them as constituting a participation in the Divine -nature. The metaphysical reader will perhaps perceive here a -resemblance to the theory of Victor Cousin, who maintains that the -_will--the free and voluntary activity_--of the human being is the -specific faculty in which alone consists his _personality_; and that -the intuitive reason by which we have knowledge of the unlimited and -absolute Cause, as well as of ourselves and the universe as related -effects, is independent and impersonal,--a faculty not peculiar to the -subject, but "from the bosom of consciousness extending to the -Infinite, and reaching to the Being of beings." "Reason," observes -this philosopher, "is intimately connected with personality and -sensibility, but it is neither the one nor the other: and precisely -because it is neither the one nor the other, because it is in us -without being ourselves, does it reveal to us that which is not -ourselves,--objects beside the subject itself, and which lie beyond -its sphere." At the opposite pole to this doctrine, which makes the -perceptions of "Reason" a part of the activity of God, lies the system -of Kant and Fichte, which represents God as an ideal formation,--it -may be, therefore, a _fiction_,--arising from the activity of the -"Reason." This faculty is treated by these German philosophers as -merely _subjective and personal_; its perceptions, even when they seem -to go beyond itself, are known only as internal conditions and results -of self-activity; its beliefs, though inevitable to itself, are simply -relative, and have no objective validity. The faiths and affections -which this system regards as purely human, are considered by the other -as divine. The doctrine maintained above, though resembling that of -Kant in one or two of its phrases, far more nearly approaches that of -Cousin in its spirit. It is scarcely necessary to observe that, in -this note, the word "Reason" is used, not as equivalent to -"Understanding," but in the German sense so long rendered familiar to -the English reader by the writings of Mr. Coleridge. It includes, -therefore, (in its two senses of "_Speculative_" and "_Practical_,") -the "Moral Perceptions" and "Primitive Faiths of the Conscience," -spoken of in the text. - - - - -CREED AND HERESIES OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY. - - 1. [Greek: Origenous Philosophoumena e kata pason aireseon - elenchos.] _Origenis Philosophumena sive omnium haeresium - refutatio. E codice Parisino nunc primum edidit_ Emmanuel Miller. - Oxonii: e Typographeo Academico. 1851. - - 2. _Hippolytus and his Age; or the Doctrine and Practice of the - Church of Rome under Commodus and Alexander Severus; and Ancient - and Modern Christianity and Divinity compared._ By CHRISTIAN - CHARLES JOSIAS BUNSEN, D.C.L. In Four Volumes. London. 1852. - - -When a stranger knocks at the gate of the Clarendon Printing-house, -and presents his petition for aid, the University of Oxford maintains -its national character for good-natured opulence,--gives its money and -signs its name, without very close inquiry into the case. The -documents are really so respectable that there cannot be much amiss; -and a venerable institution, well known to be fond of the house, -cannot be expected to go trudging through the back-lanes of history, -and exposing its nostrils in the purlieus of heresy, in order to -identify a literary petitioner, evidently above all common imposture. -So it supplies all his wants upon the spot, dresses him handsomely, -and sends him out into the world as its worthy (though eccentric) -friend, the catechist of Alexandria. The introduction, being left at -the Prussian Legation, falls into the hands of no stay-at-home -benefactor, but of one who knows the by-ways of human life, and has an -ear for the dialects of many a place. M. Bunsen--as Oxford might have -remembered--is not unacquainted with Egypt; and no sooner does he -raise his eyes from the credentials to the person of the stranger, -than he discovers him to be no disciple of the Alexandrine Clement; -recognizes the accent of the West; is reminded of the voice of -Irenaeus; and, finally, being even more familiar with the Tiber than -the Nile, detects a Roman beneath the mask of Origen. We do not in the -least grudge the friend of Niebuhr the honor of a discovery which no -one could turn to more effectual account; but every English scholar -must feel mortified that the _Imprimatur_ of our great Ecclesiastical -University should appear on a title-page manifestly false; that the -first reader should see at a glance what the learned proprietors had -missed; and that their _Editio Princeps_ of a recovered monument of -Church antiquity should be superseded within a year or two of its -publication. They are not principals, it is true, but only secondaries -to the Editor, in the commission of this error: still, a lay -bibliographer might reasonably expect, in resorting for aid to so -renowned and reverend a body, that his own judgment would be kept in -check; and their very consent to issue the work implies _some_ -critical opinion of its value, as derived from age and authorship. -Whether they are called upon to adopt at once M. Bunsen's proposed -title-page, and substitute the name of Hippolytus for that of Origen, -we will not say; but that the present title gives the book to the -wrong author, seems placed beyond the reach of doubt. - -M. Emmanuel Miller, one of the curators of the National Library in -Paris, was the first to make himself acquainted with the contents of -this work, and to appreciate their importance. Among the manuscripts -under his care was one on cotton paper of the fourteenth century, -which had been brought from Mount Athos in 1842, by M. Mynoides Mynas, -a Greek agent employed by the French government to search the -neglected treasures of that celebrated spot. The superscription, "On -all Heresies," was not inviting; but on turning over the leaves, some -lines, unknown before, of Pindar and of another lyric poet, were found -and copied; and the value of these excerpts being ascertained, M. -Miller's attention was directed to the body of the treatise containing -them. The treatise had already been described, in the _Moniteur_ of -the 5th of January, 1844, as a Refutation of all Heresies, in ten -books, but with the first three missing, as well as the conclusion of -the whole; and he soon became aware, that, of the three missing books, -the first already existed, and had been printed under the name of -"Philosophumena," in the editions of Origen's works. Its very title is -found in the manuscript at the end of the fourth book, and denotes -that the portion of the work there concluded completes the sketch of -philosophical systems, which the author prefixes to his account of -ecclesiastical aberrations; and there are mutual references, backwards -and forwards, between the printed book and the manuscript, which leave -no doubt that the latter is a sequel to the former. The Editor, -therefore, has very properly reprinted the "Philosophumena" as the -commencement of the newly recovered work; which thus exhibits a -regular plan, and consists of two parts, viz.: first, four books,--of -which the second and third are lost,--expounding the Pagan -philosophies, especially the Greek, from which, the author contends, -the various heresies of Christendom are mere plagiarisms; then six -books, containing an account, in an order prevailingly historical, of -thirty or thirty-two heresies, supported by extracts from their -standard writings, and wound up in the recapitulary book at the end by -the writer's own profession of faith. Now who is the author? - -Not Origen; for, as Huet had already remarked respecting the -"Philosophumena," the writer speaks of himself in terms implying an -episcopal position; and, in the ninth book, he gives an account of -transactions in Rome, extending over many years, in which he was -evidently an eyewitness and an actor. While the scene is thus laid at -a distance from Origen's sphere, and the date also of the personal -matter runs back into his boyhood, the cast of the theological -doctrine is wholly different from his; for instance, in a certain -"Treatise on the Universe," to which the author refers as his own, and -of which a fragment is preserved, the penal condition of the wicked -after death is said to be immutable;[26] but Origen, it is well known, -taught a doctrine of final restoration. Add to this, that no such work -as the present is attributed to Origen by any ancient witness, and the -case against his name may be regarded as complete. - -The evidence which disappoints this claim narrows also our choice of -others. The personal transactions to which we have referred took place -at Rome, while Zephyrinus and his successor, Callistus, presided over -the Christian community there, that is, during the first twenty years -of the third century. We must, therefore, look for our author among -the metropolitan clergymen of that period. Still closer is the circle -drawn by the fact, that the writer largely borrows from the treatise -of Irenaeus on the same subject; and, though vastly improving on that -foolish production, and copiously contributing fresh materials, -betrays the general affinity of thought which unites the stronger -disciple with the feebler master. - -The problem then being to find a pupil of the Bishop of Lyons among -the ecclesiastics of Rome, at the beginning of the third century, two -names are given in as answering the conditions,--those of Hippolytus, -a suburban clergyman, and of Caius, whose charge lay within the city -itself. In order to vindicate the claim of the first, it has been -necessary for M. Bunsen to prove that his locality is right; and that -the "Portus Romae," of which he was bishop, was not, as Le Moyne and -Cave had groundlessly supposed, the Arabian "Portus Romanus" of the -district of Aden, but the new harbor made, or at least enlarged, by -Trajan, on the northern bank of the Tiber, immediately opposite to -Ostia. That he suffered martyrdom there, and was buried in a cemetery -on the Tiburtine road, is generally admitted, on the evidence of -Prudentius, who has left a poem describing his memorial chapel on that -spot, and of a statue of him, seated in a cathedra, which was dug up -there three hundred years ago, and now stands in the library of the -Vatican. It is certainly perplexing to find Jerome avowing ignorance -of the see over which he presided, if, for a quarter of a century, he -was active at the centre of the Christian world; and not less so to -discover in Rome itself, nay, in a Pope, or his transcriber, at the -end of the fifth century, the impression that his scene of labor had -been in Arabia; and under the influence of these facts it has been -supposed that though, coming to Italy, he had fallen among the martyrs -of the West, he ought to be reckoned among the bishops of the East. On -the whole, however, the reasons preponderate in favor of his -residence, as "Episcopus Portuensis," within the presbytery of Rome. -The title itself is an old one, still always assigned to some -dignitary of the curia, and, no doubt, deriving its origin from the -time when the Northern Harbor of the Tiber--of which in the ninth -century, scarce a trace was left--was a flourishing emporium. The name -of Hippolytus is associated by tradition with the spot; it is given, -our author assures us, to a certain tower, near Fiumicino; and in the -eighth and ninth centuries, a basilica of St. Hippolytus was restored -at Portus by Leo III. and IV. An episcopal palace still remains. By -acute and skilful combinations, effected with evidence scanty as a -whole, and suspicious in every part, M. Bunsen has endeavored to -reproduce the historical image of Hippolytus. His office of "bishop" -implied simply the charge of the single congregation at Portus; the -members of that congregation were the "plebs" committed to his -supervision; the city or village in which they lived was his diocese. -His vicinity to the great capital drew him, however, into a wider -circle of duties. For while Rome itself was divided into several -ecclesiastical districts, each of which had its own clergyman and lay -deacons, the suburban bishops were associated with these officers to -form a committee of management, or presbytery, presided over by the -metropolitan. By his seat at this board, he was kept in living contact -with all the most stirring interests of Christendom, which, wherever -their origin might be, found their way to the imperial city, and more -and more sought their equilibrium there. At a commercial seaport, his -own congregation would largely consist of temporary settlers and -mercantile agents, Greek brokers, Jewish bankers, African importers, -to whom Italy was a lodging-house rather than a home; and by the -continual influx of foreigners he would hear tidings of the remotest -churches, and carry to the clerical meetings in the city the newest -gossip of all the heresies. Possibly this position, with its -opportunities of various intercourse, may have contributed to form in -him the agreeable address, and faculty of eloquent speech, which -tradition ascribes to him; and induced him to commence the practice of -writing with studious care the homilies which were to be delivered in -the congregation. At all events he is the first of whom we distinctly -hear as a great preacher. His period extends, it is supposed, from the -reign of Commodus (180-193) to the first year of Maximin (235-6); and -so brought him into the same presbytery-room with five popes,--Victor -(187-198); Zephyrinus (201-218); Callistus (219-222); Urbanus -(223-230); and Pontianus (230-235); with the last of whom he shared, -in the last year of his life, a cruel exile to Sardinia, and returned -only to fall a victim to fresh informations, and suffer martyrdom by -drowning in a canal. It cannot be denied that, in order to recover -this picture of Hippolytus, and still more in order to fix his -literary position, the materials of evidence have to be dealt with in -somewhat arbitrary fashion, and their _lacunae_ to be filled by -conjecture. Prudentius, for instance, is called as an historical -witness, yet convicted of fable in much of what he says. His poem -declares that at one time Hippolytus had supported Novatus in his -attempt to close the gates of repentance against the _Lapsi_, but had -been reconciled to the catholic doctrine before he died. He must in -this case have joined in the opposition raised by Novatianus (in 251) -to the election of Cornelius to the papacy, and have died in the -Decian persecution, which continued till the year 257. Moreover, the -painting seen by the Spanish versifier on the walls of the memorial -chapel introduces us to so ridiculous a story, as only to show how -completely the martyrological legends had already escaped all the -restraints of history. In this fresco the mythical fate of Hippolytus, -the son of Theseus, is transferred to the Roman presbyter: he is -represented as torn to pieces by horses; while the faithful follow to -pick up his limbs and hair, and sponge away the blood upon the ground. -If the sanctuary exhibiting this scene received the martyr's remains -from their original resting-place as early as the time of -Constantine,--and such is our author's opinion,--into what a state of -degradation had the history of Hippolytus sunk in three quarters of a -century! And if already memorial painting could thus impudently lie, -how can we better trust the statue, admitted to be later still? Yet -this statue, on whose side is a list of the writings of Hippolytus, is -appealed to in determining the martyr's written productions, as the -painted chapel in evidence of facts in his personal career. We fully -admit the success of M. Bunsen in eliciting a possible result from a -mass of intricate and tangled conditions, and presenting us with a -highly interesting personage. But perhaps, as the venerable image of -the good bishop has grown in clearness before his eye, and attracted -his affection more and more, the very vividness of the conception may -have rendered him insensible to the precariousness of the proof. -Ecclesiastical fancy, in its unrestrained career, has torn his -personality to pieces, and left the _disjecta membra_ so rudely -scattered on the strand of history, that we almost doubt the power of -any critical AEsculapius to restore him to the world again. - -At the same board of church councillors with Hippolytus sat another -[Greek: logiotatos aner],[27] the presbyter Caius; and as an urban -clergyman, he would be more constantly there than his suburban -brother, separated by a distance of eighteen miles. To form any living -image of him from the scanty notices of him which begin with Eusebius -and end with Photius, is quite impossible. In one respect only do the -personal characteristics attributed to him distinguish him from the -bishop of Portus. He was a strenuous opponent of the peculiarities -favored by the Christians of Lesser Asia, and especially of the claims -to prophetic gifts, and the appeal to clairvoyant skill, by Montanus -and his followers. With one of these, by name Proclus, he held a -disputation; from which Eusebius has preserved a passage or two, -showing, in conjunction with the title, not very intelligibly assigned -to him, of "Bishop of the Gentiles," that he belonged to the most -advanced anti-Jewish party in the Church, lamented the grossness of -the popular millenarian dreams, vindicated the apostolic dignity of -the Roman against the pretensions of the Eastern Christianity, and -disowned the Epistle to the Hebrews. This feature in the figure of -Caius, though constituting the distinction, does not, however, -necessarily _oppose_ him to Hippolytus, whose attitude towards the -Montanists may not have been very different, but only less positively -marked. Still the suspicions directed against the two men are of an -opposite kind: with Hippolytus, the difficulty is to set him clear of -sympathy with Montanism;[28] with Caius, to prevent his being classed -with its unmeasured opponents, the Alogi.[29] And a report even -reaches us, that among the Chaldean Christians there exists, or did -exist in the fourteenth century, a controversial treatise of -Hippolytus against Caius.[30] - -Between these two men, so similar in position, and not, perhaps, unused -to sharp argument face to face, springs up, at the end of all these -ages, a rival claim to property in the "Refutation of all the Heresies." -The chief counsel for Hippolytus, besides our author, are the eminent -Professors Jacobi, Duncker, and Schneidewin,--all, we believe, belonging -to the Neander school of theology; and as the last two are about to edit -the work anew, and probably to give it its final form, their opinion of -its authorship may be expected to prevail. The other side, however, -advocated by Dr. Fessler, is sustained by perhaps the greatest of living -historical critics, F. C. Baur, representative of the much-abused -Tuebingen school. Into so intricate a question we might be excused for -inviting our readers, had we anything fresh to offer towards its -solution; but the chief impression we have brought from its study is one -of astonishment at the extreme positiveness with which the learned men -on either side affirm their own conclusion. A more equal balance of -evidence we never remember to have met with in any similar research; and -the faint and slender preponderance which alone the scale can ever -exhibit, amusingly contrasts with the triumphant assertion, of both sets -of disputants, that not a reasonable doubt remains. The leading points -of M. Bunsen's case are these. A work "On all Heresies" is attributed to -Hippolytus, and in no instance to Caius, by Eusebius, Jerome, -Epiphanius, and Peter of Alexandria, at the beginning of the fourth -century. Such a book was still extant in the ninth century; for Photius, -the celebrated patriarch of Constantinople, has given us an account of -its contents in the journal and epitome of his studies which he has left -us. On comparing his report with the newly discovered book, the identity -of the two works is established in some important respects: the _number_ -and _concluding term_ of the series of heresies are the same; they both -of them include materials taken from Irenaeus, while reversing his order -of treatment. Further, in the newly found treatise reference is made by -the author to other works of his, in which he has discussed certain -points of early Hebrew chronology in proving the antiquity of the -Abrahamic race. Now, Eusebius was acquainted with a certain "Chronicle" -of Hippolytus, brought down to the first year of Alexander Severus; and -such a chronicle, in a Latin translation, is found in Fabricius's -edition of Hippolytus, only that its list of Roman emperors terminates, -not with the beginning, but with the end, of Severus's reign. It has, -however, in common with our work, a peculiar number of tribes,--viz. -seventy-two, derived from Noah. Thus, the author of the "Heresies" and -of the "Chronicle" would appear to be the same, and, according to -Eusebius, to be Hippolytus. Lastly, both in our new work, and also in a -book called the "Labyrinth," written against some Unitarians of the -second century, reference is made to a treatise "On the Universe," which -the author mentions as his own production. By printing a fragment of -this last in his edition of "Hippolytus," Fabricius has shown to what -name all three should, in his judgment, be set down; and that they -cannot be given to Caius is rendered evident by the occurrence, in the -fragment, of certain Apocalyptic fictions inconsistent with his -rejection of the Book of Revelations. Moreover, the list of works on the -statue of Hippolytus includes a disquisition "Against the Greeks and -against Plato, or _Respecting the Universe_." - -What can be said to weaken so strong a case? Two doubts at once arise -upon it, which we find it by no means easy to set aside. Granted, -Hippolytus wrote a book "On all Heresies"; is it the same which is now -delivered into our hands? One medium of comparison we possess, enabling -us to place the original and the present book, for a short space, side -by side. The very Peter of Alexandria who is one of the early witnesses -called on Hippolytus's behalf has handed down to us a passage or two -(preserved in the Paschal Chronicle) from the book which he attests, -with a distinct reference to the place where they are to be found. We -turn to the right chapter, and the passages are _not there_. Nor is it a -mere want of verbal agreement which we have to regret; the same -topic--the controversy about the time of Easter--is treated; the same -side--that of the Western Church--is taken, in both instances; but the -arguments are different, and so far irreconcilable, that no one who had -command of that which Peter gives would ever resort to the feebler one -which our work contains. With the dauntless ingenuity of German -criticism M. Bunsen makes a virtue of necessity, and endeavors to -convert this unfortunate discrepancy into a fresh proof of identity. He -thinks that, in this and some other parts, our work is but a clumsy -abstract of Hippolytus's original, which the citations of Peter enable -us to recover and complete. This, however, is a plea which, it strikes -us, damages his case as much by success as it could by failure. For if -the book presented to us by the Clarendon Press reflects the original no -better than would appear from this only sample which it is in our power -to test, it may indeed be a degenerate descendant from the pen of -Hippolytus; but all reliable identity is lost, and the traces of his -hand are no longer recoverable. The second doubt is this:--Is the work -which Photius read the same that has now been rescued? Of the few -descriptive marks supplied by the patriarch, there are as many absent -from our work as present in it. The treatise which he read was a -"_little book_" or "_tract_," as Lardner calls it ([Greek: -biblidarion]), a word which can scarcely apply to a volume extending (as -ours would, if complete) to four hundred and twenty octavo pages. M. -Bunsen cuts down this number to two hundred and fifty, by supposing -Photius to have only the last six books, containing the historical -survey, without the groundwork of the philosophical deduction, of the -heresies. The curtailment, if conceded, seems scarcely adequate to its -purpose, and appears to us a very questionable conjecture. The -manuscript, stripped of the first four books, would want the very basis -of the whole argument; and, if such a mutilation were conceivable, it is -impossible that Photius should fail to observe and mention it; for the -fifth book opens, not like an independent treatise, but with a summary -statement of what has been accomplished "_in the four books preceding -this_." Again, Photius mentions the _Dositheans_ as the first set of -heretics discussed; whereas their name does not occur at all, if we -remember right, in our work, and their place is occupied by the -"Ophites." M. Bunsen treats this as a mere inaccuracy of expression on -the part of Photius, who meant, by the name "Dositheans," to indicate -the same "earliest Judaizing schools" that are better described as -"Ophites." The name, however, is so unsuitable to this purpose, that it -would be a strange wilfulness in the learned patriarch to substitute it -for the language of the author he describes. He could not be ignorant -that Dositheus, Simon, Menander, were the three founders of the -Samaritan sect, exponents of the same doctrine, if not even reputed -_avatars_ of the same divine essence;[31] and if he had applied the name -_Dositheans_ to any of the heretics enumerated in our work, it would -assuredly have been to the _followers of Simon_, who stand _fourth_ in -the series of thirty-two, and not to Phrygian serpent-worshippers, who -commence the list. Further, the author whom Photius read stated that his -book was a synopsis of the Lectures of Irenaeus. In our work no such -statement occurs; and the use made of Irenaeus does not agree, either in -quantity or character, with the substance of the assertion. And, lastly, -the patriarch's Hippolytus said "some things which are not quite -correct; for instance, that the Epistle to the Hebrews is not by the -Apostle Paul." In our work there is no such assertion; and when M. -Bunsen suggests that perhaps its place might be in the lost books, he -forgets that, according to his own conjecture, these books were no more -in Photius's hands than in ours, and that he cannot first cut them off -in order to make a [Greek: biblidarion], and then restore them, to -provide a locus for a missing criticism on the Epistle to the Hebrews. -The identity of our "Philosophumena" with the treatise which Photius -read and Hippolytus wrote, appears, therefore, to be extremely -problematical. - -One fixed point, however, is gained in the course of the argument, and -gives an acknowledged position from which the opposite opinions are -willing to set out. Whoever wrote the disquisition "On the Universe" -wrote also our work. This fact rests on the assertion of the author -himself; yet, if the author be Hippolytus, and our "Philosophumena" be -his "Refutation of all Heresies," it is strange that no list of his -writings mentions _both_ books: the catalogues of Eusebius and Jerome -naming the "Heresies" without the essay "On the Universe"; and the -engraving on the statue giving the essay "On the Universe" without the -"Heresies." How can we explain it, that these ecclesiastical writers, in -knowing our work, did not know what is contained in it about the -authorship of the other book; and that this book should have wandered -_anonymously_ about down to the ninth century, side by side with an -acknowledged writing of Hippolytus, which all the while was proclaiming -the solution of the question? We should certainly expect that the book -of avowed authorship would convey the name of Hippolytus to the -companion production for which it claims the same paternity; but, -instead of this, it not only leaves its associate anonymous for six -hundred years, but afterward assumes the modest fit, and becomes -anonymous itself. Even if no previous reader had sense enough to put the -two things together, and pick out the testimony of the one book to the -origin of the other, are we to charge the same stupidity on the erudite -Photius, who had both books in his hand, and has given his report of -both? In his account of Hippolytus's treatise, he nowhere tells us that -it contains a reference to the essay "On the Universe," as being from -the same pen; and that he found no such reference is certain; for he -actually discusses the question, "Who wrote the essay on the Universe?" -without ever mentioning Hippolytus at all. Just such a reference, -however, as he did _not_ find in Hippolytus, he _did_ find in _another_ -work, of which he speaks under the title of "The Labyrinth"; and, -strange to say, it was at the _end_ of the work,[32] precisely where it -stands in our "Philosophumena." Who can resist the suspicion, that the -anonymous "Labyrinth" of Photius is no other than our anonymous -"Philosophumena"? This conviction forced itself upon us on first -weighing the evidence collected by M. Bunsen, in support of his -different conclusion; and we observe that it is the opinion sustained by -the great authority of Baur,[33] who even finds a trace in our work of -the very _title_ given by Photius; the writer observing, at the -beginning of the tenth book, "The _Labyrinth of Heresies_ we have not -broken through by violence, but have resolved by refutation alone with -the force of truth; and now we come to the positive exposition of the -truth." At all events, the difference of title in the case of a work -having probably more names than one, is of no weight in disproof of -identity. With this new designation in our possession, we may return to -search for our book in the records of ecclesiastical antiquity; and we -have not far to go, before we alight on traces affording hopes of a -result. No "Labyrinth," indeed, turns up in the literary history of -earlier centuries than Photius; but a "_Little_ Labyrinth" is mentioned -by Theodoret,[34] as sometimes ascribed to Origen, but as evidently not -his; and from his account of it, confirmed by the matter which he -borrows from it, we learn that it was a controversial book, against a -set of Unitarians in Rome, followers of Theodotus. It so happens that -the very passage from this tract which Theodoret has used appears also, -with others from the same source, in Eusebius, only quoted under another -title,--the book being called a "Work against the Heresy of Artemon" -(who was another teacher of the same school in the same age). The -extracts thus preserved to us are not found in our work; which, -therefore, if it be the "Labyrinth," is a distinct production from the -"Little Labyrinth"; but they are so manifestly from the same pen, -occupied in the same task, as to render it perfectly conceivable that -the two books might receive the same name, with only a diminutive -epithet to distinguish the lesser from the greater. Nor are we left, as -Baur has shown, without a distinct assertion by our "great unknown," -that he had already composed a smaller treatise on the same subject; -for, in the introduction to the "Philosophumena," he says of the -heretics, "We have before given a brief exposition of their opinions, -refuting them in the gross, without presenting them in detail." This -shorter work would naturally treat of the particular forms of error most -immediately present and mischievous before the author's eyes; and if he -dwelt especially on the doctrines of Theodotus and Artemon, it is just -what we should expect from an orthodox Roman. This essay, on a limited -range of heresy, would naturally be issued at first with the special -title by which Eusebius refers to it. But if it led the author to -execute afterwards a much enlarged design, to which, from its intricate -extent, he gave, on its completion, the fanciful designation of "The -Labyrinth," he might naturally carry the name back to the earlier -production, and, to mark the relation between the two, issue this in -future as "The Little Labyrinth." Photius speaks of the tract against -the heresy of Artemon as a separate work from "The Labyrinth,"[35] and -says the same thing of the latter[36] that Theodoret had remarked of the -former, that by some it was ascribed to Origen. The result to which we -are thus led is the following. Our newly found work is not Hippolytus's -[Greek: biblidarion] "On all Heresies," but the book known to Photius as -"The Labyrinth"; the author of which had previously produced two other -works, viz. "The Little Labyrinth" mentioned by Theodoret, and quoted -under another name by Eusebius, and the "Treatise on the Universe," -whose contents Photius reports. Whatever, therefore, fixes the -authorship of any of these, fixes the authorship of all. - -Notwithstanding, however, our threefold chance, we have only a -solitary evidence on this point. Attached to Photius's copy of the -"Treatise on the Universe" was a note, to the effect that the book was -not (as had been imagined) by Josephus, but by Caius, the Roman -presbyter, who also composed the "Labyrinth."[37] In the absence of -other external testimony, this judgment appears entitled to stand, -unless the books themselves disclose some features at variance with -the known character of Caius. - -But, it is said, such variance we do actually find. For while our work -expressly appeals to the Apocalypse as the production of John, we know -from Eusebius that Caius ascribed it to Cerinthus, and, in opposing -himself to Montanism, rejected the millenarian doctrine which is taught -in the Revelations. This argument, we admit, would be decisive if its -allegations were indisputable. It is curious, however, that the one -_locus classicus_,[38] from which is inferred the presbyter's -repudiation of the Apocalypse, is confessedly ambiguous; and the charge -it prefers against Cerinthus may amount to either of these two -propositions; that he had composed the Book of Revelations and palmed it -on the world as the production of the Apostle John; or, that he had -given himself the air of a great Apostle, and published accordingly some -revelations affecting to be imparted, like those of John, by angels. -According to this last interpretation, the work of Cerinthus would be a -book distinct from our Apocalypse, written in imitation of it, and -seeking to share its authority. The contents of the production are -briefly described by Caius; but they present such a mixture of agreement -and disagreement with our canonical book, as to leave the ambiguity -unresolved. They affirm, that after the resurrection will follow an -earthly kingdom of Christ, in which the lower nature of man will, in -Jerusalem, be again in servitude to passion and pleasure; and that the -number of a thousand years are to be spent in the indulgence of sense. -So far as the _place_ and the _duration_ of the kingdom are concerned, -our Apocalypse might here be referred to; but it has nothing answering -to the description of a gross and luxurious millennium. Taking the -passage in conjunction with the similar statement of Theodoret, that -"Cerinthus invented certain revelations, pretending that they were given -in vision to himself," we think it unlikely that our Apocalypse can be -meant; and conceive the indictment to be, that Cerinthus had put forth a -set of apocryphal visions, in which he abused the style and corrupted -the teachings of a great Apostle to the purposes of a sensual -fanaticism. This is a charge which Caius might bring, in consistency -with the fullest acceptance of the Apocalypse as authentic and true. It -was not the doctrine of a reign of Christ on earth, not the millenarian -period assigned to it, to which he objected in Cerinthus; but the coarse -and demoralizing picture given of its employments and delights. In -proportion to his respect for the real Apocalypse and its teachings, -would he be likely to resent such a miserable parody on its lofty -theocratic visions. His opposition to the Montanists in no way pledged -him to renounce the eschatological expectations which they were -distinguished from other Christians not by entertaining, but by -exaggerating. If our work, in its notice of their heresy, passes by in -silence this particular element of the system, and treats their claim to -special gifts of prophecy with less contemptuous emphasis than might be -looked for in the antagonist of Proclus, there is nothing that ought -really to surprise us in this. It does not follow that, because in our -scanty knowledge we have only one idea about an historical personage, -the man himself never had another. Caius did not live in a perpetual -platform disputation with Proclus; and either before that controversy -had waked him up, or after it was well got over, he might naturally -enough dismiss the Montanists with very cursory notice; in the one case, -because they had not yet adequately provoked his antipathy; in the -other, because they had already had enough of it.[39] - -Nothing therefore presents itself in our work which should deter us from -attributing it to Caius; and the more we ponder the evidence, the more -do we incline to believe it his. This result is to us an unwelcome one; -both because we know how strong the presumption must be against a -critical judgment condemned by the masterly genius of M. Bunsen, and -because he has really made us in love with his ecclesiastical hero,--has -put such an innocent and venerable life into that old effigy, that after -wandering with him about the quays of Portus, and entering with -listening fancy into the Basilica[40] where he preached, it is hard to -return him into stone, and think of him only as a dead bishop who made a -bad almanac. Should our readers have contracted no such ideal -attachment, we fear that this discussion of authorship may appear as -trivial as it is tedious. Somebody wrote the "Philosophumena," and -whether we call him Hippolytus or Caius, whether we lodge him on the -Tiber within sight of the _Pharos_, or of the _Milliarium Aureum_, may -seem a thing indifferent, so long as the elements of the personal image -do not materially change. This utilitarian impression is by no means -just, and indeed is at variance with all true historical feeling. But it -is time that we should give it its fair rights, and turn from the name -upon our new book to its substances and significance. - -Many sensible persons are at a loss, we believe, to understand why this -refutation of thirty-two extinct heresies should be regarded with so -much interest. Is it so well done, then? they ask. Far from it: better -books are brought out every year; and such a controversial argument -offered in manuscript to Mr. Longman or Mr. Parker to-morrow, would -hardly be deemed worth the cost of printing. Does it add materially to -our knowledge of the early heresies? Something of this kind it certainly -contributes; but the gain is not large, and will make no essential -change in the conclusions of any competent historical inquirer. Is any -light thrown by it on the authenticity of our canonical books? This can -hardly be expected from a production of the third century; and M. -Bunsen's application of it to this purpose appears to us, for reasons -which we shall assign, extremely precarious. Perhaps it supplies the -want which every student of that period must have felt, and organically -joins ecclesiastical to civil history, so that they no longer remain -apart,--the one as the stage for saints and martyrs, bishops and books, -the other for soldiers and senators, emperors and paramours,--but mingle -in the common life of humanity. When we think how the author was placed, -it is impossible not to go to him with an eager hope of this nature. He -lived at the centre of the vast Roman world, and felt all the pulsations -and paroxysms of that mighty heart. He witnessed the ominous decline of -every traditional maxim and national reverence in favor of imported -superstitions and degenerate barbarities. Under Commodus he saw the -ancient Mars superseded by the Grecian Hercules, and Hercules -represented by an emperor who sunk into a prize-fighter, and the -administration of the empire in the wanton hands of a Phrygian slave, -who was only less brutal than his master. In the midst of pestilence, -which had become chronic in Italy from the time of M. Antoninus, and of -which a Christian bishop could not but know more than others, the city -was still adding to its semblance of splendor and salubrity; and the -magnificent baths and grounds that were opened to the public service at -the Porta Capena, with the multiplied festivities and donatives, -attested how little mere physical attention to the people can arrest the -miseries of a moral degradation. Nor could the Christians of that age be -wholly without insight into the habits of the highest class in Rome, -for, in that great _colluvies_ of heterogeneous faiths, the caprice of -taste, if not some better impulse, determined now and then an inmate of -the palace to favor the religion of Christ; and the favorite mistress of -Commodus, who ruled him while she could, and then had him drugged and -strangled in his sleep, is the very Marcia whom our presbyter describes -as [Greek: philotheos] and at whose intervention the Christian exiles -were released from their banishment in Sardinia. If he was at home when -the excellent Pertinax was murdered, and cared to know what tyrant was -to have the world instead, he was perhaps in the throng that ran to the -Quirinal, and heard the Praetorians shout from their ramparts that the -empire was for sale, and saw the bargain with the foolish senator below, -who bought it with his money, and paid for it with his head. Caius and -his people had reason to tremble when they saw in Septimius Severus not -only the implacable conqueror who suffered no political opponent to -live, but the worshipper of demons, the gloomy and fitful devotee of -astrology and magic, pliant only to sacerdotal hate; and when the young -Origen came to be their guest awhile, and told of the terror in -Alexandria which had joined his father to the band of martyrs, the post -that just then brought the news of the Emperor's death in Britain would -seem to take off a weight of fear; especially as one son at least of the -two inheritors of the empire had in childhood been committed to a -Christian nurse, and been said to shrink and turn away from the savage -spectacles of the amphitheatre. They were doomed to be disappointed, if -they had placed any hope in Caracalla, and to find that what they had -taken in the boy for the nobleness of grace, was but the timidity of -nature; the murder, before his mother's face, of his only brother, and -then of his best counsellor, for refusing to justify the fratricide, -would soon make them ashamed of remembering that he had ever heard the -name of Christ. It would be curious to know how the Christians comported -themselves when the Priest of the Sun became monarch of the world, and -seemed intent on dethroning every divinity to enrich the homage to his -own. The grand temple on the Palatine, which he built for the god of -Emesa, every passer-by must have seen as it rose from its foundations. -And when the black stone was paraded on its chariot through the streets, -and the elder deities were compelled to leave their shrines and attend -in escort to the Eastern idol, or when the nuptials were celebrated -between the Syrian divinity and the goddess of Carthage, and Baal-peor -and Astarte succeeded to the honors of Jove, no Christian presbyter -could fail to witness the gorgeous and humiliating procession,--renewed -as it was year by year,--or to ask himself into what deeper abomination -the city of the Scipios must sink, ere the catastrophe of judgment made -a sudden end. The orgies of Helagabalus were more insulting to the elder -Paganism of Rome than injurious to the new faith, which equally detested -both; and the offended moral feeling of the city reacted perhaps in -favor of the Christian cause, and prepared the way for that more public -teaching of the religion, in buildings avowedly dedicated to the -purpose, which was first permitted in the succeeding reign. The natural -recoil in the imperial family itself from the degradation of the court -tended, perhaps, in the same direction, and drove the astute Mamaea to -seek, amid the universal corruption, for some school of discipline which -might save the young Alexander Severus from the ignominy of her sister's -son. Whether from this motive, or from suspicion of the growing force of -Christianity as a social power, she had sent for Origen, and had an -interview with him at Antioch; and the Roman disciples had reason to -rejoice that her intellectual impressions of their system should have -been derived from such a man, and her political estimate of it formed in -the East, where the crisis of conflict between the dying and the living -faiths was more advanced than in the West, and afforded a less disguised -augury of the result. From their fellow-believers trading with the -Levant, or arriving thence, the pastors of the metropolis would learn -the propitious temper of the young Caesar and his mother; and would feel -no surprise, when he succeeded to the palace of his cousin, that he not -only swept out the ministers of lust and luxury, but in his private -oratory enshrined, among the busts of Pagan benefactors, the images also -of Abraham and of Christ. They could not, however, but observe how -little the morals of the court and the wisdom of the government could -now avail to arrest the progress of decay, and reach in detail the vices -and miseries of a degenerate state. When they passed the door of the -palace, they heard the public crier's voice proclaim, "Let only purity -and innocence enter here"; they visited a Christian tradesman in a -neighboring street, and found him just seized by a nobleman whom he had -dunned for an outstanding debt, charged with magic or poisoning, doomed -to pine in prison till he gave release, and no redress or justice to be -had. The Emperor who, gazing in his chapel on the features of Christ, -recognized a religion human and universal, was the first under whom a -visible badge was put upon the slave, and a distinctive servile dress -adopted; the slave markets were still in consecrated spots, the temple -of Castor and the Via Sacra; and if ever some captive Onesimus, -recommended by letters from the East to the brethren in Rome, was -brought to the metropolis for sale, thither must the deacon or the -pastor go to find how the auction disposes of their charge, and learn -_which_ among the chalked feet it is that are "shod with the preparation -of the Gospel of peace." The commonwealth had never boasted of so many -great jurists as in the age of Papinian and Paulus; but as the science -of Law was perfected, the power of Law declined; and Alexander Severus, -the justest of emperors, was unable to protect Ulpian, the greatest of -civilians, from military assassination in the palace itself, or to -punish the perpetrators of this outrage on popular feeling as well as -public right. The three days' tumult, in which this master of -jurisprudence fell the victim of Praetorian licentiousness, our presbyter -Caius must have witnessed; and countless other momentous scenes, during -a generation painfully affluent in vicissitude, must have passed before -his eyes; and had he but known of what value his reports would be to -this age of ours, he would have said more of the life he saw, and less -of the speculations he denounced. To us it would have been worth -anything to know just what was too close to him to catch his eye;--how -the Christians lived in such a world; what thoughts stirred in them as -they walked the streets and heard the news; what happened and was said -when they met together, and how this could adjust itself with the real -facts of an inconsistent and tyrannical present; and how, as the -corrupted State became ever more incapable of vindicating moral ends, -the rising Church undertook the secret governance of life, and -penetrated with its authority into recesses beyond the reach, not of the -arm of administration only, but of the definitions of the widest code. -But in this respect also our author fails to realize our hopes. He gives -us a book of fancies rather than of facts, and instead of painting -existence, which is transient, and must be caught as it flies, occupies -himself in describing nonsense, which is always to be had. The -enormities of Helagabalus, though staring him in the face, are nothing -to him in comparison with heresy in Lesser Asia, which keeps Easter on a -wrong day. He is shut up within the interior circle of the community of -believers, and gives but a single glimpse beyond; and builds for us no -bridge to abolish the mysterious separation of ecclesiastical and ideal -from civil and real existence in the early ages of our faith. He is not -peculiar in this defect. We all of us live in the midst of history -without knowing it, and ourselves _make_ history without feeling it; and -that which will most clearly paint us in the thought of other times, -which will seem our _power_ to them, our romance and nobleness, with -which, therefore, they will most crave to satiate their eye, is -precisely what is least consciously present to us,--the natural spirit -and daily spring of our common being, through which not the will of man, -but the providence of God, works its appointed ends. At all events, the -insight which we should be best pleased to gain into the life of the -third century is not given even incidentally, except in the scantiest -measure, by the "Philosophumena," which we must rank, in this respect, -below the Apologies, and with the writings of Irenaeus and Epiphanius. -The book is dogmatic and controversial, and the interest attached to it -arises entirely from its being a _register of opinion_, a new witness to -the thoughts about divine things, which the Christianity of its period -owned and disowned. For those who care at all to know the state of -belief a century before the Council of Nice, the work possesses a high -value. But the worth of this sort of information is itself a thing -disputed, at least its _religious_ worth; and will be very differently -estimated, according to the preconception which occupies us as to the -nature of Divine Revelation, and the sources open to us for the -attainment of sacred truth. Here it is that we find M. Bunsen's great -and peculiar strength. His religious philosophy, taken by itself, brings -us occasionally to a pause of doubt. His historical criticism is not -always convincing. But his doctrine of the _relation between_ religion -and history, of the mingling of divine and human elements in the theatre -of time, and of the special agency of Christianity in the spiritual -education of mankind, appears to us profoundly true and beautiful. This -it is that makes him attach so much importance to the creed of the -second and third centuries, and to the new light now thrown upon it; an -importance which, from every ordinary point of view, can scarcely fail -to appear fanciful and exaggerated. - -The Roman Catholic, for instance, entertains a conception about what -sacred truth is, and how it is to be had, which, leaving nothing to -depend on new discoveries, discharges all the richest interest from -any fresh knowledge we may gain of religion in the past. With him -divine truth, so far as it is special to Christendom, is something -wholly foreign to the human mind, intrinsically unrelated to any -faculty we have. In being supernatural, it belongs to another sphere -than that to which our thought is restricted, and is totally withdrawn -from all the movements of our nature. It consists, indeed, in a set of -objective facts from which we are absent, and which no ratiocination -of ours can seize, any more than our ear can tell whether there be -music on Saturn's ring. There is no human consciousness answering to -it; and to resort thither for it is like asking the dreamer or the -blindfold to describe the scene in which he stands, or consulting your -own feelings to learn what is going on in Pekin or Japan. On this -theory, the objects of faith are conceived of as objects of -_perception_, only by senses otherwise constituted than ours; we can -have no surmise about them, till they are announced to us by qualified -percipients, and no comprehension of them even then, but only -reception of them as facts imported for us from abroad. The bearing of -this doctrine of invisible realism on the treatment of ecclesiastical -history is manifest. The inaccessible facts are deposited with the -sacerdotal corporation; with whom alone is vested the duty and the -power of stating and defining them. They are not indeed all stated and -defined in their last amplitude at once; for definition is always an -enclosure of the true by exclusion of the false; and it is only in -proportion as the dreaming perversity of men throws forth one delusive -fancy after another, that the Church draws line after line to shut the -intrusion out. If the creeds seem to enlarge as the centuries pass, it -is not that they have more truth to give, but only more error to -remove. The divine facts were conceived aright and conceived complete -in the minds of Apostles and Evangelists, but they were not -contemplated then as _against_ the follies and contradictions opposed -to them in later times; but as soon as the hour came for this -antagonism to be felt, the infallible perception secured in perpetuity -to the living hierarchy supplied the due verdict of rejection. To the -Catholic, therefore, Christianity was made up and finished, its -treasury was full, in the first generation; its power of development -is only the refusal of deviation; and its intellectual life is tame as -the story of some perfect hero, who does nothing but stand still and -repel temptations. The history of doctrines thus becomes a history of -heresies; the primitive stock of tradition and Scripture must, on the -one hand, be maintained entire in the face of all possible exposures -by critical research; and, on the other, remain in eternal barrenness -and produce no more. Natural knowledge, whether of the world or of -humanity, may grow continually, but the new thoughts it may lead us to -entertain of God are either _not_ new, or not true; and every -pretended enrichment of truth is nothing but evolution of falsehood. -This removal of all variety from religion, this expulsion of life and -change into the negative region of aberration and denial, eviscerates -the past of its devout interest, rests the study of it on contempt -instead of reverence for man; with all its pious air, it simply -betrays history with a kiss, and delivers it over for scribes to -buffet and chief priests to crucify. Short work is made in this way of -any fresh witness, like the author of our book, who turns up -unexpectedly from an early age. Does he speak in agreement with the -hierarchical standards? He only flings another voice into the -_consensus_ of obedient believers. Does he say anything at variance -with the _regula fidei_? Then have we only to see in what class of -heretics he stands. His testimony is either superfluous or misleading. - -The Protestant, of the approved English type, arrives, under guidance -of a different thought, at the same flat and indifferent result. -Though he gives a more subjective character to divine truth than the -Roman Catholic, and brings both the want and the supply of it more -within the attestation of consciousness, he puts its discovery equally -beyond the reach of our ruined faculties, and equally cuts it off from -all relation to philosophy and the natural living exercise of reason -and conscience. He further agrees that his foreign gift of revelation -was imported all at once, and all complete, into our world, within the -Apostolic age; that the conceptions of that time are an authoritative -rule for all succeeding centuries; and that every newer doctrine is to -be regarded as a false accretion, to be flung off into the incompetent -and barren spaces of human speculation. He denies, however, the -twofold vehicle of this precious gift; and, cancelling altogether the -oral tradition and indeterminate Christian consciousness of the early -Church, shuts up the whole contents of religion within the canonical -Scriptures. The guardianship of unwritten tradition being abolished, -and the canon requiring no guardianship at all, the trust deposited -with the hierarchy disappears; and no permanent inspiration, no -authoritative judicial function, in matters of faith, remains. -Whatever Holy Spirit continues in the Church is not a progressively -teaching spirit, which can ever impart thoughts or experiences unknown -to the first believers; but a personally comforting and animating -spirit, whose highest climax of enlightenment is the exact -reproduction of the primitive state of mind. The apprehension of -Divine truth is thus reduced to an affair of verbal interpretation of -documents; and though in this process there is room for the largest -play of subjective feeling, so that different minds, different -nations, different ages, will unconsciously evolve very various -results; these are not to be regarded as possible Divine enrichments -of the faith, but to be brought rigidly to the standard of the -earliest Church, and disowned wherever they include what was absent -there. This view is less mischievous than the Roman Catholic, only -because it is more inconsequent and confused. The canon which you take -as sacred was selected and set in authority by the unwritten -consciousness and tradition which you reject as profane. The Church -existed before its records; expressed its life in ways spreading -indefinitely beyond them; and neither was exempt from human elements -till they were finished, nor lost the Divine spirit when they were -done. So arbitrary a doctrine corrupts the beauty of Scripture, and -deadens the noblest interest of history. If the New Testament is to -serve as an infallible standard, it is thus committed to perfect unity -and self-consistency; and you are obliged to contend that the various -types of doctrine found within its compass--the Messianic conceptions -of Matthew and John, the "Faith" of Paul and James, the eucharistic -conceptions of the first Evangelists and the last, the eschatology of -the Apocalypse and the Epistles--are only different sides of one and -the same belief, colored with the tints and shadings of several minds. -How utterly inadequate such an hypothesis is to the explanation of the -Scriptural phenomena, what a distorted and absurd representation it -gives of the sacred writers, and their mode of thought, is best known -to those who have honestly tried to deal with the fourth Gospel, for -instance, as historically the supplement of the others, and -dogmatically of the Book of Revelation; to suppose the Logos-doctrine -tacitly present in the speeches of Peter; to detect the pre-existence -in Mark, or remove it from John; or to identify the Paraclete with the -gifts of Pentecost. All feeling of living reality is lost from our -picture of the Apostolic time, when its outlines are thus blurred, its -contrasts destroyed, its grouped figures effaced, and the whole melted -away by the persevering drizzle of a watery criticism into a muddy -glory round the place where Christ should be. If, moreover, we are to -find everything in the first age, then the second, and the third, and -all others, must be worse, just in so far as they differ from it; and -the whole course of succeeding thought, the widening and deepening of -the Christian faith and feeling, the swelling of its stream by the -lapse into it of Oriental Gnosis and Hellenic Platonism and the -Western Conscience, must be a ceaseless degeneracy. Thus to the -Bibliolater as to the Romanist, Divine truth _has no history among -men_, unless it be the history of decline, or of recovery purchased by -decline. He also will accordingly care nothing about what the people -of Caius or Hippolytus thought. Is it in the Bible? If so, he knew it -before. Is it not in the Bible? Then he has nothing to do with it but -throw it away. By a fitting retribution, this moping worship of the -letter of a book and the creed of a generation brings it to pass that -both are lost to the mind in a dismal haze of ignorance and -misconception; and if the "Evangelical" believer could be transported -suddenly from Exeter Hall into the company of the twelve in Jerusalem, -or the Proseucha which Paul enters on the banks of the Strymon, or the -room where the Agape is prepared at Rome, we are persuaded that he -would find a scene newer to his expectations than by any other -migration into a known time and place. - -But now let us abolish this isolation from the rest of human existence -of the _incunabula_ of our faith, and throw open that time to free -relation with the whole providence of humanity. Suppose Christianity -to be the influence upon the world of a Divine Person,--in quality -divine, in quantity human,--whose Epiphany was determined at a crisis -of ripe conditions for the rescue, the evolution, the spread of holy -and sanctifying truth. What are those conditions? They consist mainly -in the co-presence, within the embrace of one vast state, of two -opposite races or types of men, both having a partial gift of divine -apprehension, and holding in charge an indispensable element of truth; -both with their spiritual life verging to exhaustion and capable of no -separate effort more; and each unconsciously pining away for want of -the complement of thought which the other only could supply. The -_Hebrew_ brought his intense feeling of the Personality of God; -conceiving this in so concentrated a form as to exclude the proper -notion of infinitude, and render Him only the most powerful Being in -the Universe, its Monarch,--wielding the creatures as his -puppets,--acting historically upon its scenes as objective to Him, and -by the annals of his past agency supplying to the Abrahamic family a -religion of archives and documents. The sovereignty of Jehovah raised -him to an immeasurable height above his creation; dwarfed all other -existence; placed him by _nature_ at a distance from men, and only by -_condescension_ allowing of approximation. And hence his worshippers, -in proportion as they adored his greatness, felt the littleness of all -else; acquired a temper towards their fellow-men, if not severe and -scornful, at least not reverent and tender; and regarded them as -separate in kind from Him, mere dust on the balance or locusts in the -field. The religion of the _Hellenic_ race began at the other -end,--from the midst of human life, its mysteries, its struggles, its -nobleness, its mixture of heroic Free-will and awful Destiny; and -their deepest reverence, their quickest recognition of the Divine, was -directed towards the soul of a man vindicating its grandeur, though it -should be against superhuman powers. In proportion as men were great, -beautiful, and good, did they appear to be as lesser gods, and earth -and heaven to be filled with the same race. Thought, conscience, -admiration in the human mind were not personal accidents separately -originating in each individual; but the sympathetic response of our -common intellect, standing in front of Nature, to the kindred life of -the Divine intellect behind Nature, and ever passing into expression -through it. When this feeling of the Hellenic race became reflective, -and organized itself into philosophy, it represented the universe as -the eternal assumption of form by the Divine thought, which we were -enabled to read off by our essential identity of nature. Hence a whole -series of conceptions quite different from the Hebrew representations; -instead of Creation, Evolution of being; instead of Interposition -from without, Incarnation operating from within; instead of Omnipotent -Will, Universal Thought; assigning as the ideal of man's perfection, -not so much obedience to Law, as similitude of Mind to God; and -tending predominantly not to strength in Morals, but to beauty in Art. -These two opposite tendencies had run their separate course, and -expended their proper history; and were talking wildly, as in the -approaching delirium of death. But they are the two factors of all -religious truth: and to fuse them together, to make it impossible that -either should perish or should remain alone, the Christ was given to -the world, so singularly balanced between them, that neither could -resist his power, but both were drawn into it for the regeneration of -mankind. In the accidents of his lot given to the one race, and only -baffling the visions of prophets to transcend them; in the essence of -his nature, so august and attractive to the other that the faith in -Incarnation was irresistible; presented to the Hebrews by his mortal -birth, and snatched from them by his immortal; stopping by his -holiness the mouth of Law, and carrying it up into the higher region -of Faith and Love; in the Temple wishing the Temple gone, that there -might be open communion, Spirit with Spirit; translating sacrifice -into self-sacrifice;--he had every requisite for conciliating and -blending the separated elements of truth which, for so many ages, had -been converging towards him. But if this was the function -providentially assigned to him, and for which the divine and human -were so blended in him, it is a function which could not be -accomplished in a moment, in a generation, in a century. It is an -_historical_ function, freely demanding time for its theatre; and as -the separate factors had occupied ages in attaining their ripeness for -combination, so must their fusion consume many a lifetime of -effervescing thought, ere the homogeneous truth appeared. The words of -Christ are not in this view the end in which Revelation terminates; -but the means given to us of knowing himself, contributions to the -picture we form of his personality. Nor are the sentiments of his -immediate followers about his office and position in the scheme of -Providence anything more authoritative to us than the incipient -attempts made, when his influence was fresh, to grasp the whole of his -relations while only a part was to be seen. The records of the great -crisis are no doubt of superlative value, as the vehicles by which -alone we understand and feel its power; but their value is lost if -they are to dictate truth to our passive acceptance, instead of -quickening our reason and conscience to find it: they stop in this way -the very development which they were to lead, and disappoint Christ of -the very work he came to achieve. Human elements were inevitably and -fully present in the first age and its Scriptures, as in every other; -and the transitory ingredients they have left, it is a duty to detach -from the eternal truth. And as conditions of finite imperfection -cannot be banished from the central era, neither can the guidance of -the Infinite Spirit be denied, whether among the Hebrew, the Hellenic, -or the Christian people, in the ages before and after. In that new -development of human consciousness and knowledge in regard to God, -which we call Christianity, _all_ the requisite conditions--viz. the -factors taken up, the Person who blends them, and the continuous -product they evolve--include Divine Inspiration as well as Human -Reflection,--the living presence and communion of the Eternal with the -Transitory Mind, of the perfectly Good with the good in the Imperfect. -To disengage the one from the other, to treasure up the true and holy -that is born of God, and let fall the false and wrong that is infused -by man, is possible only to Reason and Conscience, is indeed the -perpetual work in which they live; the denial of which is not merely -Atheism, but Devil-worship,--not the bare negation, but the positive -reversal, of religion,--the virtual affirmation that God indeed -_exists_, but exists as _Un_-reason and _Un_-good. No mechanical, no -chronological separation can be effected of the Divine from the Human, -the Revealed from the Unrevealed, in faith; there is no person, no -book, no age, no Church, in which both do not meet, and require to be -disentangled the one from the other; but the perseverance of God's -living and self-harmonious Spirit throughout the discordant errors of -dying generations enables the men most apt and faithful to his voice -to know more and more what his reality is, and drop the semblances by -which it is disguised. The effect of this view on our estimate of -ecclesiastical literature is evident. As, according to it, the -Apostolic period is not exempted from critical judgment, so neither -are succeeding times to be without their claim on religious reverence. -The canonical books of the New Testament fall back into the general -mass of literature recording the earliest knowledge and consciousness -of the disciples, neither detached, as a mysterious whole, from other -productions of their time, nor excluding the greatest diversities of -value among themselves. They exhibit the first struggling efforts--not -always concurrent in their direction--of an awakening spiritual life, -to interpret a recent Divine manifestation, and to solve by it the -problem of the world's Providence. Their very freshness and proximity -to the great figure of Christ was by no means an unmixed advantage to -these efforts; and they were not so complete and successful as to -supersede their continuance in the next and following generations, -which lay under no incompetency for their prosecution, and are as -likely, so far as antecedent probability goes, to have enriched and -improved, as to have impoverished and spoiled, the earlier doctrine of -Christ's relation to God and to mankind. The chasm thus disappears -between the Apostolic age and its successor; the products of the first -are not to be accepted simply because they are there, nor those of the -second rejected because they are absent from the first; nor is -everything to be admitted on showing that it stands in both, and even -had a tenure long enough to become the prescriptive occupant of the -Church. The Catholic is right in clinging to the continuous thread of -Divine Inspiration binding the centuries of Christendom together; and -in maintaining that the expression of true doctrine grows fuller with -time. He is wrong in making the Spirit over to an hierarchical -corporation; and in treating the ostensible growth of doctrine as the -mere negation of heresies. The Protestant is right in rescuing from -the haze of uncertain tradition the real historical ground of his -religion, and setting it in the focus of an intense reverence; and in -rejecting whatever cannot be adjusted with the clear facts and -essential Spirit of that primitive Gospel. He is wrong in his -insulation of that time as a sole authoritative age of golden days, in -which the faith had neither error nor defect, and from which it must -be copied, with daguerreotype exactitude, into every disciple's mind. -Keep the positive elements, destroy the negative limitations of both -these systems, and the true conception of Christianity emerges. As a -system of self-conscious doctrine, it is a religious Philosophy, -starting from the historical appearance of Christ as an expression of -God in human life, and always detained around this one object as its -centre; and in its development consulting not the idiosyncrasies and -conceits of private and personal reflection, but the devout -consciousness and spiritual _consensus_ of all Christian ages and all -holy men. All religion is the product of an action of the Infinite -mind upon the finite: in the _Christian_ religion that action takes -place upon souls engaged in the contemplation of Christ as the -manifestation of God's moral nature. This given object remaining the -same, there is room for indefinite expansion and variety; and every -developed form is to be tried, not by its date, but by the tests of -truth relevant to religious philosophy. - -How far M. Bunsen would recognize his own doctrine in this exposition -we cannot say; but without intending in the least to make him -responsible for it, we think it does not essentially deviate from his -scheme of thought. The philosophical aphorisms in which he has -embodied his speculative faith follow an order which we should have -spoiled, had we, for our present purpose, so brought them together as -to make them speak for themselves. And though they display the same -astonishing command of our language, in which the author never fails, -the cast of the thoughts is so Teutonic, that few English readers, it -is to be feared, will appreciate their depth and richness. The -complaint, which we have heard and seen, that they are wholly -unintelligible, is indeed purely ridiculous, except that it sadly -illustrates the extent to which reflection, and even feeling, on such -subjects has ceased in England. M. Bunsen, we can assure our readers, -knows what he means, and lucidly states what he means; and those who -miss his meaning have for the most part no slight loss. The following -sentences, which the greatest sufferer from philosophobia may drink in -without convulsions, will explain his idea of Revelation, in its -bearing upon the use of written records. The mere "Natural Religion" -of the Deist, he observes, was-- - -"The negative reaction against the equally untenable, unphilosophical, -and irrational notion, that revelation was nothing but an external -historical act. Such a notion entirely loses sight of the infinite or -eternal factor of revelation, founded both in the nature of the -infinite and that of the finite mind, of God and man. - -"This heterodox notion became still more obnoxious, by its imagining -something higher in the manifestation of God's will and being than the -human mind, which is the divinely-appointed organ of divine -manifestation, and in a double manner; ideally in mankind, as object, -historically in the individual man, as instrument. - -"The notion of a merely historical revelation by written records is as -unhistorical as it is unintellectual and materialistic. It necessarily -leads to untruth in philosophy, to unreality in religious thought, and -to Fetichism in worship. It misunderstands the process necessarily -implied in every historical representation. The form of expressing the -manifestation of God in the mind, as if God was himself using human -speech to man, and was thus himself finite and a man, is a form -inherent in the nature of human thought as embodied in language, its -own rational expression. It was originally never meant to be -understood materialistically, because the religious consciousness -which produced it was essentially spiritual; and, indeed, it can only -be thus misunderstood by those who make it a rule and criterion of -faith, never to connect any thought whatever with what they are -expected to believe as divinely true. - -"Every religion is positive. It is, therefore, justly called a -religion '_made manifest_' (offenbart), or, as the English term has -it, _revealed_; that is to say, it supposes an action of the infinite -mind, or God, upon the finite mind, or man, by which God, in his -relation to man, becomes manifest or visible. This can be mediate, -through the manifestation of God in the Universe of Nature; or a -direct, immediate action, through the religious consciousness. - -"This second action is called _revealed_, in the strictest sense. The -more a religion manifests of the real substance and nature of God, and -of his relation to the universe and to man, the more it deserves the -name of a divine manifestation, or of Revelation. But no religion -which exists could exist without something of truth, revealed to man, -through the creation, and through his mind. - -"Such a direct communication of the Divine mind as is called -Revelation has necessarily two factors, which are unitedly working in -producing it. The one is the infinite factor, or the direct -manifestation of eternal truth to the mind, by the power which that -mind has of perceiving it; for human perception is the correlate of -divine manifestation. There could be no revelation of God if there was -not the corresponding faculty in the human mind to receive it, as -there is no manifestation of light where there is no eye to see it. - -"This infinite factor is, of course, not historical; it is inherent in -every individual soul, only with an immense difference in the degree. - -"The action of the Infinite upon the mind, is _the_ miracle of history -and of religion, equal to the miracle of creation. - -"Miracle, in its highest sense, is therefore essentially and -undoubtedly an operation of the Divine mind upon the human mind. By -that action the human mind becomes inspired with a new life, which -cannot be explained by any precedent of the selfish (natural) life, -but is its absolute contrary. This miracle requires no proof; the -existence and action of religious life is its proof, as the world is -the proof of creation. - -"The second factor of revelation is the finite or external. This -means of divine manifestation is, in the first place, a universal one, -the Universe or Nature. But, in a more special sense, it is a -historical manifestation of divine truth through the life and teaching -of higher minds among men. These men of God are eminent individuals, -who communicate something of eternal truth to their brethren; and, as -far as they themselves are true, they have in them the conviction, -that what they say and teach of things divine is an objective truth. -They therefore firmly believe that it is independent of their -individual personal opinion and impression, and will last, and not -perish, as their personal existence upon earth must. - -"The difference between Christ and other men of God is analogous to -that between the manifestation of a part, and of the totality and -substance, of the divine mind."--Vol. II. p. 60, _seq._ - -The newly-found work, like other productions of the same period, can -have only a disturbing interest for the Roman Catholic and Orthodox -Protestant. For, in conjunction with previous evidence, it shows that -the unbroken unity of teaching is altogether a fiction; that what -afterwards became heresy was, in the latter part of the second -century, held in the church of the primacy itself, and by successors -of St. Peter; that the clergy of Rome, so far from owning the -apostolic authority of their chief, could resist him as heterodox; and -that the contents of the Catholic system, far from appearing as an -invariable whole from the first, were a gradual synthesis of elements -flowing in from new channels of influence brought into connection with -the faith; and as against the approved type of Protestant, it shows -that his favorite scheme of dogma was still in a very unripe state, -and that further back it had been still more so; so that if he binds -himself to the earliest creed, he may probably have to accept a -profession which he hardly regards as Christian at all. But from the -third point of view, which assumes that development is an inherent -necessity in a revelation, and may add to its truth, instead of -subtracting from it, the monuments of Christian literature from the -secondary period have a positive interest, free from all uneasiness -and alarm. They arrest for us, in the midst, the advance of -theological belief towards the form ultimately recognized in the -Church, and expressed in the established creeds; they render visible -the beautiful features and expanded look of the faith, when its Judaic -blood had been cooled by the waters of an Hellenic baptism; and though -they leave many undetermined problems as to the successive steps by -which the original Hebrew type of the Gospel in Jerusalem was -metamorphosed into the Nicene and hierarchical Christianity, they fix -some intermediate points, and make us profoundly conscious of the -greatness of the change. - -The author of the "Philosophumena," for instance, would be stopped at -the threshold of every sect in our own country, and excluded as -heterodox. He crosses the lines of our theological definitions, and -trespasses on forbidden ground, in every possible doctrinal direction. -Cardinal Wiseman would have nothing to say to him; for he is -insubordinate to the "Vicar of Christ," and profanely insists that a -pope may be deposed by his own council of presbyters. The Bishop of -Exeter would refuse him institution; for his Trinity is imperfect, and -he allows no Personality to the Holy Ghost. The Archbishop of Dublin -might probably think him a little hard upon Sabellius; but, if he -would quietly sign the Articles, (which, however, he could by no means -do,) might abstain from retaliation, and let him pass. At Manchester, -Canon Stowell would keep him in hot water for his respectable opinion -of human nature, and his lofty doctrine of free-will. In Edinburgh, -Dr. Candlish would not listen to a man who had nothing to say of -reliance on the imputed merits of Christ. The sapient board at New -College, St. John's Wood, would expel him for his loose notions of -Inspiration. And the Unitarians would find him too transcendental, -make no common sense out of his notions of Incarnation, and recommend -him to try Germany. This fact, that a bishop of the second and third -centuries would be ecclesiastically not a stranger only, but an -outcast among us, is most startling; and ought surely to open the eyes -of modern Christians to the false and dangerous position into which -their churches have been brought by narrow-heartedness and -insincerity. It will not be M. Bunsen's fault if our Churchmen remain -insensible to the national peril and disgrace of maintaining -unreformed a system long known to have no heart of modern reality, and -now seen to have as little ground of ancient authority. Again and -again he raises his voice of earnest and affectionate warning. As a -foreigner domesticated among us, as a scholar of wide historical view, -as a philosophical statesman who, amid the diplomacy of the hour, -descends to the springs of perennial life in nations, as a Christian -who profoundly trusts the reality of religion, and cannot be dazzled -by the pretence, he sees, with a rare clearness and breadth, both the -capabilities and the dangers of our social and spiritual condition. He -sees that God has given to the English people a moral massiveness and -veracity of character which presents the grandest basis of noble -faith; while learned selfishness and aristocratic apathy uphold in the -Church creeds which only stupidity can sign without mental -reservations,--a Liturgy that catches the scruple of the intellectual -without touching the enthusiasm of the popular heart,--a laity without -function,--a clergy without unity,--and a hierarchy without power. He -sees that our insular position has imparted to us a distinctive -nationality of feeling, supplying copious elements for coalescence in -a common religion; while obstinate conservatism has permitted our -Christianity to become our great divisive power, and to disintegrate -us through and through. He respects our free institutions, which -sustain the health of our political life; but beside them he finds an -ecclesiastical system either imposed by a dead and inflexible -necessity, or left unguided to a whimsical voluntaryism, which -separates the combinations of faith from the relations of -neighborhood, of municipality, of country. With noble and -richly-endowed universities at the exclusive disposal of the Church, -he finds the theological and philosophical sciences so shamefully -neglected, that Christian faith notoriously does not hold its -intellectual ground, and in its retreat does nothing to reach a -firmer position; but only protests its resolution to stand still, and -raise a din against the critic or metaphysic host that drives it back. -Is there no one in this great and honest country that has trust enough -in God and truth, foresight enough of ruin from falsehood and -pretence, to lay the first hand to the work of renovation? Is -statesmanship so infected with negligent contempt of mankind, that no -high-minded politician can be found to care for the highest discipline -of the people, and reorganize the institutions in which their -conscience, their reason, their upward aspirations, should find life? -Has the Church no prophet with faith enough to fling aside creed and -college, and fire within him to burn away mediaeval pedantries, and -demand an altar of veracity, that may bring us together for common -work and "common prayer"? Or is it to be left to the _strong men_, -exulting in their strength, and storming with the furor of honest -discontent, to settle these matters with the sledge-hammer of their -indignation? Miserable hypocrisy! to open the lips and lift the eyes -to heaven, while beckoning with the finger of apathy to these pioneers -of Necessity! Would that some might be found to lay to heart our -author's warning and counsel in the following sentences:-- - -"While we exclude all suggestions of despair, as being equally -unworthy of a man and of a Christian, we establish two safe -principles. The first is, that, in all congregational and -ecclesiastical institutions, Christian freedom, within limits -conformable to Scripture, constitutes the first requisite for a vital -restoration. The second fundamental principle is, that every Church -must hold fast what she already possesses, in so far as it presents -itself to her consciousness as true and efficacious. In virtue of the -first condition, she will combine Reason and Scripture in due -proportions; by virtue of the second, she will distinguish between -Spirit and Letter, between Idea and Form. No external clerical forms -and mediaeval reflexes of bygone social and intellectual conditions can -save us, nor can sectarian schisms and isolation from national life. -Neither can learned speculations, and still less the incomparably more -arrogant dreams of the unlearned. Scientific consciousness must dive -into real life, and refresh itself in the feelings of the people, and -that no one will be able to do without having made himself thoroughly -conversant with the sufferings and the sorrows of the lowest classes -of society. For out of the feeling of these sufferings and sorrows, as -being to a great degree the most extensive and most deep-seated -product of evil,--that is, of selfishness,--arose, eighteen hundred -years ago, the divine birth of Christianity. The new birth, however, -requires new pangs of labor, and not only on the part of individuals, -but of the whole nation, in so far as she bears within her the germs -of future life, and possesses the strength to bring forth. Every -nation must set about the work herself, not, indeed, as her own -especial exclusive concern, but as the interest of all mankind. Every -people has the vocation to coin for itself the divine form of -Humanity, in the Church as well as in the State; its life depends on -this being done, not its reputation merely; it is the condition of -existence, not merely of prosperity. - -"Is it not time, in truth, to withdraw the veil from our misery? to -point to the clouds which rise from all quarters, to the noxious -vapors which have already well-nigh suffocated us? to tear off the -mask from hypocrisy, and destroy that sham which is undermining all -real ground beneath our feet? to point out the dangers which surround, -nay, threaten already to engulf us? Is the state of things -satisfactory in a Christian sense, where so much that is unchristian -predominates, and where Christianity has scarcely begun here and there -to penetrate the surface of the common life? Shall we be satisfied -with the increased outward respect paid to Christianity and the -Church? Shall we take it as a sign of renewed life, that the names of -God and Christ have become the fashion, and are used as a party badge? -Can a society be said to be in a healthy condition, in which material -and selfish interests in individuals, as well as in the masses, gain -every day more and more the upper hand? in which so many thinking and -educated men are attached to Christianity only by outward forms, -maintained either by despotic power, or by a not less despotic, -half-superstitious, half-hypocritical custom? when so many churches -are empty, and satisfy but few, or display more and more outward -ceremonials and vicarious rites? when a godless schism has sprung up -between spirit and form, or has even been preached up as a means of -rescue? when gross ignorance or confused knowledge, cold indifference -or the fanaticism of superstition, prevails as to the understanding of -Holy Scripture, as to the history, nay, the fundamental ideas of -Christianity? when force invokes religion in order to command, and -demagogues appeal to the religious element in order to destroy? when, -after all their severe chastisements and bloody lessons, most -statesmen base their wisdom only on the contempt of mankind? and when -the prophets of the people preach a liberty, the basis of which is -selfishness, the object libertinism, and the wages are vice? And this -in an age the events of which show more and more fatal symptoms, and -in which a cry of ardent longing pervades the people, re-echoed by a -thousand voices!"--III. XV. - -Sorry, however, as we should be to see our Roman presbyter -disconsolately wandering from fold to fold in modern England, and -dismissed as a black sheep from all, we should not like to find him -metamorphosed into chief shepherd either, and invested with the -guidance of our ecclesiastical affairs. Though he is above imitating -the feeble railing of Irenaeus at the heresies, he deals with them in -the true clerical style; often missing their real meaning, he does not -spare them his bad word; and fancies he has killed them before he has -even caught them. He has an evident relish also for a tale of scandal, -as a make-weight against a theological opponent. In the "Little -Labyrinth," he had told us a story about a Unitarian minister, who, -for accepting his schismatical office, had been horsewhipped by angels -all night; so that he crawled in the morning to the metropolitan, and -gave in his penitential recantation. And now, in the larger work, the -author flies at higher game, and makes out that Pope Callistus was an -incorrigible scamp; originally a slave in the household of a wealthy -Christian master, Carpophorus, whose confidence he abused in every -possible way. First, having been intrusted with the management of a -bank in the _Piscina publica_, he swindled and ruined the depositors, -and decamped, with the intention of sailing from Portus, but was found -on board ship; and, though he jumped into the sea to avoid capture, -was picked up, and condemned by his master to the hand-mill. Next, -being allowed to go out, on the plea of collecting some debts which -would enable him to pay a dividend to the depositors, he created a -riot in a Jews' synagogue, and, being brought before the prefect, was -sentenced to be flogged and transported to Sardinia. Thence he escaped -by passing himself off among a number of Christians, released from -their exile through the influence of the Emperor's concubine, Marcia, -and on the recommendation of Victor, the Pope. As he was not included -in the list of pardons, he no sooner made his appearance in Rome than -his master sent him off to live on a monthly allowance at Antium. On -the death of Carpophorus, he seems to have attained his freedom by -bequest; and his fertility of resource having made him useful to the -new Pope Zephyrinus, he acquired influence enough to succeed him in -the Primacy. We must confess that the evident _gusto_ with which our -presbyter tells this scandal, the _animus_ with which he accuses -Zephyrinus also of stupidity and venality, and the predominance in his -narrative of theological antipathy over moral disgust, leave a painful -impression on the reader respecting the spirit then at work in the -Apostolic See. And though his scheme of belief, especially in relation -to the person of Christ, was more rational than the definitions of -more modern creeds, yet we fear that he would be not less nice about -its shape, and intolerant of those who move about in freer folds of -thought, than a divine of the Canterbury cloisters or the Edinburgh -platform. His quarrel with the two popes whom he abuses shows pretty -clearly the stage of development which the Christian theology had then -reached. On this matter we must say a few words. - -Whatever may have been the precise order of combination which brought -the Hebrew and Hellenic ideas of God into union, there can be no -doubt about the two _termini_ of the process. It started from the -monarchical conception of Jehovah, as a Unity without plurality; and -it issued in the Athanasian Trinity, with its three hypostases in one -essence. Of these, the Father expressed the Absolute existence, the -Son the Objective manifestation, the Holy Spirit the Subjective -revelation of God. In the presbyter's creed, the third term was not -yet incorporated, but still floated freely, diffused and impersonal. -Leaving this out of view, we may observe, in the remaining part of the -doctrine, two principal difficulties to be surmounted, arising from -the double medium of divine objective manifestation,--Nature, always -proceeding,--and Christ, historically transient. The first problem is, -How to pass at all out of the Infinite existence into Finite -phenomena, and conceive the relation between the Father and the Son; -the second, How to pass from Eternal manifestation through all -phenomena into temporary appearance in an Individual, so as to -conceive the relation between the Son and the Galilean Christ. Thus, -excluding all reference to the Holy Spirit, there were, in fact, -_four_ objects of thought, whose relations to one another were to be -adjusted; viz. the Father, the Son evolving all things, the Christ or -divine individualization in the Gospel, and Jesus of Nazareth, the -human being with whose life this individualization concurred. Among -all these there were, so to speak, two clearly distinct Wills to -dispose of; that of the man Jesus at the lowest extremity, and that of -the Supreme God, which the Jew, at least, would fix at the upper. -These two Wills act, in the whole development of doctrine on this -subject, as the secret centres of Personality; and the remaining -elements obtain or miss a hypostatic character according as they are -drawn or not into coalescence with the one or the other. The -volitional point of the Divine Agency being once determined, it may be -regarded as enclosed between the _Thought_, or intellectual essence -out of which it comes, and the _Execution_ by which it is realized; or -it may be left undistinguished from these, and may be made to coincide -with either. According to these variable conditions arise the several -modes of doctrine in reference to the Divine element in God's -Objective manifestation. The differences, for instance, between our -presbyter's doctrine and Origen's, will be found to depend on the -different points which they seize as the seat of divine volition, and -the germ of their logical development. Our author, exemplifying the -Hebrew tendency, seeks his initiative up at the fountain-head, and -puts himself back before the first act of creation; he starts from the -One God, with whom nothing was co-present, and fixes in Him the seat -of the primeval Will. There, however, it would remain, a mere -potentiality, did not the Eternal Mind, by reflection in itself, pass -into self-consciousness, and give objectivity to its own thought. This -primary expression of his essence, in which it enters into relation, -but relation only to itself, is the _Logos_, or _Son_ of God, the -agent in the production of all things. The potentiality is thus -reserved to the Father; the effectuation is given to the Son; who, -coming in at a point lower down than the seat of Will, and simply -bridging over the interval that leads to accomplishment, is felt -without the essential condition of a numerically distinct subsistence; -and has either the instrumental and subordinate personality of a -dependent being, or is imperfectly hypostatized.[41] In this -impersonal character does the Logos manifest the Divine thought in the -visible universe; in the minds of godly men, which are the source of -law; in the glance of prophets, which catches and interprets the -divine significance of all times; and first assumes a full personality -in the Incarnation. Having left the primary Will behind in the -Father's essence, the Logos remains but an inchoate hypostasis, till -alighting, in the human nature, on another centre of volition. As if -our author were half conscious, in reaching this point, of relief from -an antecedent uneasiness, he now holds fast to the personality which -has been realized, represents it as not dissolved by the death on the -cross, but taken up into heaven, and abiding for ever. It is, in this -view, the two extreme terms that supply the hypostatizing power; of -the others, the Logos has no personality but by looking back to the -Father; nor the Christ, but by going forward to the Son of Mary. This -shows the yet powerful influence of the Judaic Monarchianism, and the -embarrassment of a mind, setting out from that type of faith, to -provide any plurality within the essence of God. Origen, on the other -hand, yielded to the Hellenic feeling, and, instead of going back to -any absolute commencement, looked for his Divine centre and -starting-point further down; and took thence whatever upward glance -was needful to complete his view. As the Greek reverence was not -touched but by the Divine embodied in concrete life and form, so the -Alexandrine catechist instinctively fixed upon the SON, the objective -Thought of God, proceeding, not once upon a time or ever _first_, but -_eternally_, from Him, as the initiative position for his doctrine. -Here was placed the clearest and intensest focus of Will; and only in -this ever-evolving efficient were the full conditions of personality -realized. The Father was conceived more pantheistically, as the -universal [Greek: nous], the intellectual background, whence issued -the acting nature of the Son. In meditating on them in their -conjunction, Origen would think of the relation between _thought_ and -_volition_; our author, of that between _volition_ and _execution_. -Both doctrines show the imperfect fusion of Hebrew and Hellenic -elements, and illustrate the characteristic effect of an excessive -proportion of each. Where the Hebrew element prevails, the personality -of the Son is endangered; where the Hellenic, the personality of the -Father. Even our presbyter's doctrine of the Son, however, gave too -strong an impersonation to Him for the party in Rome who sided with -Zephyrinus and Callistus. These popes accused him, it seems, of being -a _Ditheist_; and themselves maintained that the terms Father and Son -denoted only different sides and relations of one and the same -Being,--nay, not only of the same Being, but of the same [Greek: -prosopon]; and that the spirit that dwelt in Christ was the Father, -of whom all things are full. For this opinion the two popes are -angrily dealt with by our author, and charged with being half -Sabellian, half humanitarian. His rancor justifies the suspicion, -that, though he represents the party which triumphed at Rome, his -opponents had been numerous and powerful, as, indeed, their election -to the primacy would of itself show, and that even his own imperfect -dogma was superinduced, not without a protracted struggle, upon an -earlier faith yet remote from the Nicene standard. - -And this brings us at once to a question of historical research, -which, though far too intricate and extensive to be discussed here, we -feel bound to notice, as far as it is affected by the newly discovered -work. How long did it take for the Christian faith to assume the -leading features of its orthodox and catholic form, and especially to -work itself clear of Judaism? It is an acknowledged fact, that the -earliest disciples, including at the lowest estimate all the converts -of the first seven years from the ascension, not only were born -Hebrews, but did not regard their baptism as in any way withdrawing -them from the pale of their national religion; that, on the contrary, -they claimed to be the only true Jews, differing from others simply by -their belief in a personally appointed, instead of a vaguely promised -Messiah; that they aimed at no more than to bring over their own race -to this conviction, and persuade them that the national destinies were -about to be consummated, and, so far from relaxing the obligations of -their Law, adhered with peculiar rigor to its ritual and its -exclusiveness. So long as none but the twelve Apostles had charge of -its diffusion, Christianity was only a particular mode of Judaism, and -its whole discussion a [Greek: zetesis ton Ioudaion]. It is further -admitted, that the first inroad upon this narrowness was made by St. -Paul, who insisted on the universality of Christ's function, and the -abrogation of the Mosaic Law in favor of inward faith, as the -condition of union with God. Nor, again, is it denied that this freer -view met with great resistance, and that its conflict with the other, -apparent throughout the Pauline Epistles, formed the most animating -feature of the Apostolic age. During that period, two distinct -parties, and two separate lines of development and growth, may be -traced; one following out in morals the _legal_ idea into asceticism, -voluntary poverty, and physical purity, and in faith the _monarchian_ -idea into theocratic and millenarian expectations; the other, -proceeding from the notion of _faith_ to substitute an ideal Christ -for the historical, a new religion for an old law, the free embrace of -divine reconciliation for the anxious strain of self-mortifying -obedience. But how long did this struggle and separation continue? -According to the prevalent belief, it was all over in a few years; -and, by the happy harmony and concurrence of the Apostles, was -determined in favor of the generous Pauline doctrine; so that St. John -lived to see the Hebrew Christians sink into a mere Ebionitish sect -outside the pale, and their stiff Unitarian theology disowned in favor -of the higher teachings of his Gospel. Against this assumption of so -easy a victory over the Jewish tendency, several striking testimonies -have often been urged. Tertullian, in a well-known passage of his -treatise against Praxeas, describes the dislike with which the -unlearned majority of believers regard the Trinitarian distinctions in -the Godhead, and the zeal with which they cry out for holding to "the -Monarchy."[42] In the time of Pope Zephyrinus, as we learn from -Eusebius, a body of Unitarians in Rome, followers of Artemon, defended -their doctrine by the conservative plea of antiquity and general -consent; affirming that it was no other than the uninterrupted creed -of the Roman Church down to the time of Victor, the preceding pope; -and that the higher doctrine of the Person of Christ was quite a -recent innovation.[43] Nor are we without ecclesiastical literature, -of even a later date, that by its theological tone gives witness to -the same effect. The "Clementine Recognitions," written somewhere -between 212 and 230, occupy a dogmatic position, higher indeed than -the disciples of Artemon, but only in the direction of Arius, and, to -save the Unity of God, deny the Deity of Christ.[44] Relying on such -evidence as this, Priestley, in his "History of Early Opinions," and -his controversy with Bishop Horsley, maintained that the creed of the -Church for the first two centuries was Unitarian. But this position -was attended with many difficulties, so long as the present canonical -Scriptures were allowed to have been in the hands of the Christians of -that period, and recognized as authorities; for the narratives of the -miraculous conception, the writings of Paul, and the Gospel of John, -are irreconcilable with the schemes of belief attributed to the early -Unitarians. Moreover, if for two centuries the Church had interpreted -its authoritative documents in one way, and formed on this its -services and expositions, it is not easy to conceive the rapid -revolution into another. During a period of free and floating -tradition, there is manifest room for the growth of essentially -different modes of faith; but after the reception of a definite set of -sacred books, the scope for change is much contracted. To treat the -doctrine of the Logos as an innovation, yet ascribe the fourth Gospel -to the beloved disciple; to suppose that justification by works was -the generally received notion among people who guided themselves by -the authority of Paul,--involves us in irremediable contradictions. -Avoiding these at least, possibly not without the risk of others, the -celebrated theologians of Tuebingen have maintained a bolder thesis -than that of Priestley, including it indeed, but with it also a vast -deal more. Their theory runs as follows. The opposition which St. -Paul's teaching excited, and of which his letters preserve so many -traces, was neither so insignificant nor so short-lived as is commonly -supposed; but was encouraged and led by the other Apostles, especially -James and John and Peter, who never heartily recognized the volunteer -Apostle; and was so completely successful, that he died without having -made any considerable impression on the Judaic Christianity sanctioned -from Jerusalem. Accordingly, the earliest Christian literature was -Ebionitish; and no production was in higher esteem than the "Gospel -of the Hebrews," which, after being long current, with several -variations of form, at last settled down into our Gospel of Matthew. -In almost all the writings known to us, even in Roman circles of the -second century,--the Shepherd of Hermas, the Memorials of Hegesippus, -the works of Justin,--some character or other of Ebionitism is -present,--millenarian doctrine, admiration of celibacy and of -abstinence from meat and wine, denunciation of riches, emphatic -assertion of the _Messiahship_ of Jesus, and treatment of the -miraculous conception as at least an open question. The labors of -Paul, however, had left a seed which had been buried, but not killed; -and from the first, a small party had cherished his freer principles, -and sought to win acceptance for them; and as the progress of time -increased the proportion of provincial and Gentile converts, and the -Jewish wars of Titus and Hadrian destroyed the possibility of Mosaic -obedience and the reasonableness of Hebrew hopes, the Pauline element -rose in magnitude and importance. Thus the two courses of opposite -development ran parallel with each other, and gradually found their -interest in mutual recognition and concession. Hence, a series of -writings proceeding from either side, first of conciliatory -approximation only, next of complete neutrality and equipoise, in -which sometimes the figures of Peter and Paul themselves are presented -with studiously balanced honor, at others their characteristic ideas -are adjusted by compromise. The Clementine Homilies, the Apostolic -Constitutions, the Epistle of James, the Second Epistle of Clement, -the Gospel of Mark, the Recognitions, the Second Epistle of Peter, -constitute the series proceeding from the Ebionitish side; while from -the Pauline came the First Epistle of Peter, the Preaching of Peter, -the writings of Luke, the First Epistle of Clement, the Epistle to the -Philippians, the Pastoral Epistles, Polycarp's, and the Ignatians. -These productions, however, springing from the practical instinct of -the West, deal with the ecclesiastical more than with the doctrinal -phase of antagonism between the two directions; and end with -establishing in Rome a Catholic Church, founded on the united -sepulchres of Peter and Paul, and combining the sacerdotalism of the -Old Testament with the universality of the New Gentile Gospel. -Meanwhile, a similar course, with local modifications, was run by the -Church of Asia Minor. Rome, with its political aptitude, having taken -in hand the questions of discipline and organization, the speculative -genius of the Asiatic Greek addressed itself simultaneously to the -development and determination of doctrine. Here the Epistle to the -Galatians marks, as a starting-point, the same original struggle -between the contrasted elements which the Epistle to the Romans -betrays in Italy; while the Gospel of John closes the dogmatic strife -of development with an accepted Trinity for faith, just as the -Ignatian Epistles wind up the contests of the West with a recognized -hierarchy for government. And between these extremes the East presents -to us, first, the intensely Judaical Apocalypse; next, with increasing -reaction in the Pauline direction, the rudiments of the Logos idea in -the Epistles to the Hebrews, Colossians, and Ephesians; and as -Montanism, in the midst of which these arose, had already made -familiar the conception of the Paraclete, all the conditions were -present for combination into the Johannine doctrine of the Trinity; -and then it was, in the second quarter of the second century, that the -fourth Gospel appeared. The speculative theology thus native to Lesser -Asia was adopted for shelter and growth by the kindred Hellenism of -Egypt, and gave rise to the school of Alexandria. In the whole of this -theory great use is made of Montanism: it spans, as it were, the -interval between the parallel movements of Italy and Asia; and is the -common medium of thought in which they both take place. Singularly -uniting in itself the rigor, the narrowness, the ascetic superstitions -of its Hebrew basis, with a Phrygian prophetic enthusiasm and an -Hellenic theosophy, it imported the latter into the doctrine, the -former into the discipline, of the Church. The Roman Catholic system -betrays its Jewish or Montanist origin in its legalism, its penances, -its celibacy, its monachism, its ecstatic phenomena, its physical -supernaturalism, its exaggerated appreciation of martyrdom. - -Such, in barest outline, is the theory which M. Bunsen characterizes -as the "Tuebingen romance." Its leading principle is, that the -antagonism between the Petrine and Pauline, the Hebrew and the -Hellenic Gospel, which has its origin and authentic expression in the -Epistles to the Galatians, Romans, and Corinthians, continued into the -second century; determined the evolution of doctrine and usage; -stamped itself upon the ecclesiastical literature; and ended in the -compromise and reconciliation of the Catholic Church. It is evident -that, in the working out of this principle, the New Testament canon is -made to give way. With the exception of the greater Pauline Epistles -and the Apocalypse, both of which are held fast as genuine productions -of the Apostles whose names they bear, and the first Gospel, which is -allowed to have at least the groundwork in the primitive tradition, -the received books are all set loose from the dates and names usually -assigned to them, and arranged, in common with other products of the -time, according to the relation they bear to the Ebionitish or to the -Pauline school, and the particular stage they seem to mark in the -history of either. This proceeding, however, is not an original -violence resorted to for the exigencies of the theory; but, for the -most part, a mere appropriation to its use of conclusions reached by -antecedent theologians on independent grounds. The Epistle to the -Philippians is the only work, if we mistake not, on the authenticity -of which doubt has been thrown for the first time,--in our opinion, on -very inadequate grounds. In this, as in many other details of the -hypothetical history, there is not a little of that straining of real -evidence and subtle fabrication of unreal, which German criticism -seems unable to avoid. But the acerbity displayed by the North German -theologians towards the Tuebingen critics appears to us unwarranted and -humiliating; and we certainly wish that M. Bunsen, whose prompt -admiration of excellence so nobly distinguishes him from Ewald, could -have expressed his dissent from Baur and Schwegler in a tone still -further removed from the Goettingen pitch. At least, we do not find the -positive assertion that the Tuebingen theory is finally demolished by -the "Philosophumena" at all borne out by the evidence; and are -inclined to think that the case is very little altered by the new -elements now contributed to its discussion. The critical offence which -he thinks is now detected and exposed, is the ascription of a late -origin to the fourth Gospel,[45] and the treatment of it as the -perfected product, instead of the misused source, of the Montanist -conceptions of the Logos and the Paraclete. It cannot, however, be -denied, that, in the previous absence of any external testimony to the -existence of this Gospel earlier than the year 170,[46] the internal -difficulties are sufficiently serious to redeem the doubt of its -authenticity from the character of rashness or perversity. The -irreconcilable opposition between its whole mode of thought and that -of the Apocalypse is confessed by M. Bunsen himself, when he suggests -that the proem on the Logos was directed against Cerinthus,--the very -person whose sentiments the Apocalypse was supposed to express, and to -whom, accordingly, it was ascribed by those who rejected it. _One_ of -the two books must resign, then, the name of the beloved disciple; -and, of the two, we need hardly say that the Apocalypse is -incomparably the better authenticated. Moreover, the traditions which -unite the names of James and John, as the authorities followed by the -Church of Lesser Asia, render it hard to conceive that their doctrines -can have taken precisely opposite directions; and that, while James -represented the Judaic Christianity of the deepest dye, John can have -produced the standard and conclusive work on the other side. In -particular, the well-known fact, that the Asiatic Christians justified -their Jewish mode of keeping Easter by the double plea, (1.) that -James and John always did so, (2.) that Christ himself had done so -before he suffered, seems incompatible with any knowledge of the -fourth Gospel, which denies that Jesus ate the passover before he -suffered, and makes his own death to _be_ the passover. How could this -Quartodeciman controversy live a day among a people possessing and -acknowledging John's Gospel, which so bears upon it as to give a -distinct contradiction to the view of the other Gospels, and to -pronounce in Asia Minor itself an unambiguous verdict in favor of the -West? These are grave difficulties, which, after all the ingenuity, -even of Bleek, remain, we fear, unrelieved; and in their presence we -cannot feel the justice of M. Bunsen's sentence, that Baur's opinion -is "the most unhappy of philological conjectures." Everything -conjectural, however, must give way before real historical testimony; -and, if new evidence is actually contained in the "Philosophumena," -every true critic, of Tuebingen or elsewhere, will be thankful for -light to dissipate the doubt. Now, it is said that our Roman bishop, -in treating of the heresy of Basilides, supplies passages from the -writings of this heresiarch which include quotations from the fourth -Gospel; and thus prove its existence as early as the year 130. This -argument, as stated by M. Bunsen, appeared to us quite conclusive, and -we hoped, that a decided step had been gained towards the settlement -of the question. Great was our disappointment, on reading the account -in the original, to find no evidence that any extract from Basilides -was before us at all. A general description of the system bearing his -name is given; but with no mention of any work of his, no profession -that the words are his, and even so little individual reference to -him, that the exposition is introduced as being a report of what -"Basilides and Isidorus, and the whole troop of these people, falsely -say" ([Greek: katapseudetai], sing.). Then follows the account of the -dogmas of the sect, with the word [Greek: phesin] inserted from time -to time, to indicate that the writer is still reporting the -sentiments of others. The _singular_ form of this word implies nothing -at all; it occurs immediately after the word [Greek: katapseudetai], -and has the same avowedly plural subject. The statement, therefore, -within which are contained the Scripture citations, is a merely -general one of the opinions of a sect which continued to subsist till -a much later time than the lowest date ever assigned for the -composition of the fourth Gospel. If the actual words of any writings -current among these heretics are given, they are the words of an -author or authors wholly unknown, and to refer them to Basilides in -particular is a mere arbitrary act of will. The change from the -singular to the plural forms of citation in the midst of one and the -same sentence, and the disregard of concord between verb and subject, -show that no inference can be drawn from so loose a system of -grammatical usage. All that can be affirmed is, that our author had in -his hand _some_ production of the Basilidian [Greek: choros], in which -the fourth Gospel was quoted; but this affords no chronological datum -that can be of the smallest use.[47] The same remark applies to the -use of John's Gospel by the Ophites. That they did use it is evident; -that they existed as far back as the time of Peter and Paul is -certainly probable; yet it does not follow that the fourth Gospel was -then extant. For they continued in existence through two or three -centuries, dating, as Baur has shown, from a time anterior not only to -the Christian heresies, but to Christianity itself, and extending down -to Origen's time; and to what part of this long period the writings -belonged which the author of the "Philosophumena" employed, we are -absolutely unable to determine. We do not know why M. Bunsen has not -appealed also to a quotation from the Gospel which occurs (p. 194) in -an account of the Valentinian system. If, as he affirms (I. 63), this -account were really in "_Valentinus's own words_," the citation would -be of particular value in the controversy. For it has always been -urged by the Tuebingen critics as a highly significant fact, that while -the _followers_ of Valentinus showed an especial eagerness to appeal -to the Gospel of John, and one of the earliest, Heracleon, wrote a -commentary upon it, no trace could be found of its use by the -heresiarch himself. From this circumstance, they have inferred that -the Gospel was not available for him, and first appeared after his -time. A single clause cited by him from the Gospel would demolish this -argument at once. But the assertion that we have here "full eight -pages of Valentinus's own words" appears to us quite groundless. No -such thing is affirmed by the writer of the eight pages. He promises -to tell us how the strict adherents to the original principle of the -sect expounded their doctrine ([Greek: hos ekeinoi didaskousi]); and -then passes over, as usual, to the singular [Greek: phesi], returning, -however, from time to time, to the plural forms,--[Greek: thelousi, -legousi], &c.,--and thus leaving no pretext for the assumption that -Valentinus is before us in person. The later Gnostics indisputably -resorted to the Gospel of John with especial zeal and preference; and -if their predecessors, Basilides and Valentinus, were acquainted with -the book, it is surprising that no trace of their familiarity with it -has been found; and that the former should have sought to authenticate -the secret doctrine he professed to have received by the name of -Matthew or Matthias instead of John. It deserves remark, that the -citations preserved by our author are made, like those of Justin -Martyr, as from an anonymous writing, without mentioning the name of -the Evangelist; a circumstance less surprising in reference to the -Synoptics alone, which present only varieties of the same fundamental -tradition, than when the fourth Gospel, so evidently the independent -production of a single mind, is thrown into the group. The Epistles of -Paul and the books of the Old Testament are frequently quoted by name; -and why this practice should invariably cease whenever the historical -work of an Apostle was in the hand, it is not easy to explain. The -Apocalypse is mentioned not without his name.[48] - -For these reasons we are of opinion that the question about the date and -authenticity of the fourth Gospel is wholly unaffected by the -newly-discovered work. On this side, no new facilities are gained for -confuting the Tuebingen theory. The most positive and startling fact -against it is presented from another direction. We know that the system -of Theodotus, which was Unitarian, was condemned by Victor in the last -decade of the second century.[49] Now Victor was the very pope to the -end of whose period, according to the followers of Artemon, their -monarchian faith was upheld in the Roman Church, and in the time of -whose successor was the first importation of the higher doctrine of the -Logos. On this complaint of the Artemonites, Baur and Schwegler lay -great stress; but is it not refuted by Victor's orthodox act of -expelling a Unitarian? Undoubtedly it would be so, _if_ Theodotus were -excommunicated precisely for his belief in the uni-personality of God. -But his scheme included many articles; and we know nothing of the -ground taken in the proceedings against him. There was one question, -however, which, however indifferent to us, was evidently very near to -the feelings of the early Church, and on which Theodotus separated -himself from the prevailing conceptions of his time,--viz. At what date -did the Christ, the Divine principle, become united with Jesus, the -human being? "At his baptism," replied Theodotus.[50] "Before his -birth," said the general voice of the Christians. We are disposed to -think _this_ was the obnoxious tenet which Victor construed into heresy; -and if so, the strife had no bearing upon the doctrine of the -personality of the Logos, which the pope and the heretic might both have -rejected. Of the Unitarianism of that time, it was no essential feature -to postpone till the baptism the heavenly element in Christ. We remember -no reason for supposing that the Artemonites did so, though Theodotus -did; and if they knew that the objection which had been fatal to him did -not apply to them, their claim of ancient and orthodox sanction for what -they held in common with him was not answered by pointing to his -condemnation for what was special to himself. But is there, it will be -asked, any evidence that the Roman Church attached importance to this -particular ingredient of the Theodotian scheme, so that their bishop -might feel impelled to visit it with ecclesiastical censure? We believe -there is, and _that_ too in the "Philosophumena." In the author's -confession of faith occurs a passage which produces at first a strange -impression upon a modern reader, and appears like a violence done to the -Gospel history. It affirms that Christ _passed through every stage of -human life_, that he might serve as the model to all. Nor is this idea a -personal whim of the writer; but is borrowed from his master, Irenaeus, -who gives it in more detail, and winds it up with the assertion, that -Christ _lived to be fifty years old_.[51] Irenaeus thus falsifies the -history to make good the moral; our presbyter, by respecting the -history, apparently invalidates the moral: for it can scarcely be said -of a life closed after thirty-one or thirty-two years, that it supplies -a rule [Greek: pasa helikie]; at least it would seem more natural to -apologize for its premature termination, than to lay stress on its -absolute completeness. The truth is, there was a certain, obnoxious -tenet behind, which these writers were anxious to contradict, and which -their assertion exactly meets,--viz. the very tenet of Theodotus, that -the Divine nature did not unite itself with the Saviour till his -baptism. Irenaeus and his pupil could not endure this limitation of what -was highest in Christ to the interval between his first public preaching -and his crucifixion. They thought that in this way it was reduced to a -mere official investiture, not integral to his being, but externally -superinduced; and that such a conception deprived it of all its moral -significance. The union of the Logos with our nature was not a provision -for temporary inspiration or a forensic redemption; but was intended to -mould a life and shape a personal existence, according to the immaculate -ideal of humanity. To accomplish this intention it was necessary that -the Logos should never be absent from any part of his earthly being; but -should have claimed his person from the first, and by preoccupation have -neutralized the action of the natural (or psychic) element, throughout -all the years of his continuance among men. The anxiety of Irenaeus's -school to put this interpretation on the manifestation of the Logos, -their determination to distinguish it, on the one hand, from the -_mediate_ communication of prophets as an _immediate_ presentation -([Greek: autopsei phanerothenai]), and, on the other, from the -_transient_ occupancy of a ready-made man, as a _permanent_ and -thorough-going incarnation ([Greek: sarkothenai] in opposition to -[Greek: phantasia] or [Greek: trope]), is apparent in their whole -language on this subject. In the Son, we are carried to the fresh -fountain-head of every kind of perfection, and find the unspoiled ideal -of heavenly and terrestrial natures. In one of the fragments of -Hippolytus, published by Mai, and noticed in M. Bunsen's Appendix, this -notion is conveyed by the remark, that He is first-born of God's own -essence, that he may have precedence of angels; first-born of a virgin, -that he may be a fresh-created Adam; first-born of death, that he might -become the first fruits of our resurrection.[52] This doctrine it is, we -apprehend, which amplifies itself into the Irenaean statement, that the -divine and ideal function of Christ coalesced with the historical -throughout, so that to infants he was a consecrating infant; to little -children, a consecrating child; to youth, a consecrating model of youth; -and to elders, a still consecrating rule, not only by disclosure of -truth, but by exhibiting the true type of their perfection.[53] The -teaching of Theodotus, that the heavenly [Greek: eikon] remained at a -distance till the baptism, was directly contradictory of this favorite -notion; and might well produce hostile excitement, and provoke -condemnation, in a church where the Irenaean influence is known to have -been powerful. The attitude that Victor assumed towards the Theodotians -is thus perfectly compatible with Monarchian opinions, and with an -attitude equally hostile, in the opposite direction, towards the -advancing Trinitarian claims of a distinct personality for the Logos. -Though only the one hostility is recorded of Victor, the other is -ascribed, as we have seen, to his immediate successors, Zephyrinus and -Callistus, who maintained that it was no other person than the Father -that dwelt as the Logos in the Son. The facts taken together, and -spreading as they do over the periods of three popes, afford undeniable -traces of a struggle at the turn of the second century, between a -prevalent but threatened Monarchianism, and a new doctrine of the Divine -Personality of the Son. - -After all, why is M. Bunsen so anxious to disprove the late appearance -of the fourth Gospel? Did he value it chiefly as a biographical sketch, -and depend upon it for concrete facts, a first-hand authentication of -its contents would be of primary moment. But his interest in it is -evidently speculative rather than historical, and centres upon its -doctrinal thought, not on its narrative attestation; and especially -singles out the proem as a condensed and perfect expression of Christian -ontology. The book speaks to him, and finds him, out of its mystic -spiritual depths; sanctifies his own philosophy; glorifies with an ideal -haze the greatest reality of history; blends with melting tints the -tenderness of the human, and the sublimity of the divine life; and -presents the Holy Spirit as immanent in the souls of the faithful and -the destinies of humanity. But its enunciation of great truths, its -penetration to the still sanctuary of devout consciousness, will not -cease to be facts, or become doubtful as merits, or be changed in their -endearing power, by an alteration in the superscription or the date. -These religious and philosophical features converse directly with Reason -and Conscience, and have the same significance, whatever their critical -history may be; and are not the less rich as inspirations from having -passed for interpretation through more minds than one. There is neither -common sense nor piety, as M. Bunsen himself, we feel certain, will -allow, in the assumption that Revelation is necessarily most perfect at -its source, and can only grow earthy and turbid as it flows. Were it -something entirely foreign to the mind, capable of holding no thought in -solution, but inevitably spoiled by every abrasion it effects of -philosophy and feeling, this mechanical view would be correct. But if it -be the intenser presence, the quickened perception of a Being absent -from none; if it be the infinite original of which philosophy is the -finite reflection; if thus it speaks, not in the unknown tongue of -isolated ecstasy, but in the expressive music of our common -consciousness and secret prayer;--then is it so little unnatural, so -related to the constitution of our faculties, that the mind's continuous -reaction on it may bring it more clearly out; and, after being detained -at first amid sluggish levels and unwholesome growths which mar its -divine transparency, it may percolate through finer media, drop its -accidental admixtures, and take up in each stratum of thought some -elements given it by native affinity, and become more purely the spring -of life in its descent than in its source. If, before the fourth Gospel -was written, the figure of Christ, less close to the eye, was seen more -in its relations to humanity and to God; if his deep hints, working in -the experience of more than one generation, had expanded their -marvellous contents; if, in a prolonged contact of his religion with -Hellenism, elements had disclosed themselves of irresistible sympathy, -and the first sharp boundary drawn by Jewish hands had melted away; if -his concrete history itself was now subordinate to its ideal -interpretation;--the book will present us still with a Christianity, not -impoverished, but enriched. In proportion as its thoughts speak for -themselves by their depth and beauty, may all anxiety cease about their -external legitimation; their credentials become eternal instead of -individual; and where the Father himself thus beareth witness, Christ -needeth not the testimony of man. It cannot be, therefore, any religious -issue that depends on the date of this Christian record; it cannot -_make_ truth, it can only awaken the mind to discern it; and whether it -has this power or not, the mind can only report according to its -consciousness of quickening light or stagnant darkness. The interest of -this question cannot surely be more than a _critical_ interest, to one -who can feel and speak in this noble strain:-- - -"No divine authority is given to any set of men to make truth for -mankind. The supreme judge is the Spirit in the Church, that is to -say, in the universal body of men professing Christ. The universal -conscience is God's highest interpreter. If Christ speaks truth, his -words must speak to the human reason and conscience, whenever and -wherever they are preached: let them, therefore, be preached. If the -Gospels contained inspired wisdom, they must themselves inspire with -heavenly thoughts the conscientious inquirer and the serious thinker: -let them, therefore, freely be made the object of inquiry and of -thought. Scripture, to be believed true with full conviction, must be -at one with reason: let it, therefore, be treated rationally. By -taking this course, we shall not lose strength; but we shall gain a -strength which no church ever had. There is strength in Christian -discipline, if freely accepted by those who are to submit to it; there -is strength in spiritual authority, if freely acknowledged by those -who care for Christ; there is strength unto death in the enthusiasm of -an unenlightened people, if sincere, and connected with lofty moral -ideas. But there is no strength to be compared with that of a faith -which identifies moral and intellectual conviction with religious -belief, with that of an authority instituted by such a faith, and of a -Christian life based upon it, and striving to Christianize this world -of ours, for which Christianity was proclaimed. Let those who are -sincere, but timid, look into their conscience, and ask themselves -whether their timidity proceeds from faith, or whether it does not -rather betray a want of faith. Europe is in a critical state, -politically, ecclesiastically, socially. Where is the power able to -reclaim a world, which, if it be faithless, is become so under -untenable and ineffective ordinances,--which, if it is in a state of -confusion, has become confused by those who have spiritually guided -it? Armies may subdue liberty; but armies cannot conquer ideas: much -less can Jesuits and Jesuitical principles restore religion, or -superstition revive faith. I deny the prevalence of a destructive and -irreligious spirit in the hearts of the immense majority of the -people. I believe that the world wants, not less, but more religion. -But however this be, I am firmly convinced that God governs the world, -and that he governs it by the eternal ideas of truth and justice -engraved on our conscience and reason; and I am sure that nations, who -have conquered, or are conquering, civil liberty for themselves, will -sooner or later as certainly demand liberty of religious thought, and -that those whose fathers have victoriously acquired religious liberty -will not fail to demand civil and political liberty also. With these -ideas, and with the present irresistible power of communicating ideas, -what can save us except religion, and therefore Christianity? But then -it must be a Christianity based upon that which is eternally God's -own, and is as indestructible and as invincible as he is himself: it -must be based upon Reason and Conscience, I mean reason spontaneously -embracing the faith in Christ, and Christian faith feeling itself at -one with reason and with the history of the world. Civilized Europe, -as it is at present, will fall; or it will be pacified by this -liberty, this reason, this faith. To prove that the cause of -Protestantism in the nineteenth century is identical with the cause of -Christianity, it is only necessary to attend to this fact; that they -both must sink and fall, until they stand upon their indestructible -ground, which, in my inmost conviction, is the real, genuine, original -ground upon which Christ placed it. Let us, then, give up all notions -of finding any other basis, all attempts to prop up faith by effete -forms and outward things: let us cease to combat reason, whenever it -contradicts conventional forms and formularies. We must take the -ground pointed out by the Gospel, as well as by the history of -Christianity. We may then hope to realize what Christ died for, to see -the Church fulfil the high destinies of Christianity, and God's will -manifested by Christ to mankind, so as to make the kingdoms of this -earth the kingdoms of the Most High."--p. 172. - -We have given our readers no conception of the variety and richness of -M. Bunsen's work; having scarcely passed beyond the limits of the -first volume. It was impossible to pass by, without examination, the -recovered monument of early Christianity, whence his materials and -suggestions are primarily drawn; and it is equally impossible to pass -beyond it, without entering on a field too wide to be surveyed. We can -only record that, in the remaining volumes, which are, in fact, a -series of separate productions, the early doctrine of the Eucharist is -investigated, and the progress of its corruptions strikingly traced; -the primitive system of ecclesiastical rules or canons, and the -"Church-and-House Book," or manual of instruction and piety in use -among the ante-Nicene Christians, are carefully and laboriously -restored; and genuine Liturgies of the first centuries are reproduced. -In this arduous work of recovery, there is necessarily much need of -critical tact, not to say much room for critical conjecture. But the -one our author exercises with great felicity; and the other he takes -all possible pains to reduce to its lowest amount by careful -comparison of Syrian, Coptic, and Abyssinian texts. The general result -is a truly interesting set of sketches for a picture of the early -Church; which rises before us with no priestly pretensions, no -scholastic creeds, no bibliolatry, dry and dead; but certainly with an -aspect of genuine piety and affection, and with an air of mild -authority over the whole of life, which are the more winning from the -frightful corruption and dissolving civilization of the Old World -around. That our author should be fascinated with the image he has -re-created, and long to see it brought to life, in place of that body -of death on which we hang the pomps and titles of our nominal -Christianity, is not astonishing. But a greater change is -needed--though a far less will be denied--than a return to the type of -faith and worship in the second century. To destroy the fatal chasm -between profession and conviction, and bring men to live fresh out of -a real reverence instead of against a pretended or a fancied one, a -greater latitude and flexibility must be given to the forms of -spiritual culture than was needed in the ancient world. The unity of -system which was once possible is unseasonable amid our growing -varieties of condition and culture; and the methods which were natural -among a people closely thrown together and constructing their life -around the Church as a centre, would be highly artificial in a state -of society in which the family is the real unit, and the congregation -a precarious aggregate, of existence. Nothing, however, can be finer -or more generous than the spirit of our author's suggestions of -reform; and we earnestly thank him for a profusion of pregnant -thoughts and faithful warnings, the application of one half of which -would change the fate of our churches,--the destiny of our -nation,--the courses of the world. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[26] [Greek: tois men eu praxasi dikaios ten aidiou apolausin -paraschontos, tais de ton phaulon erastais ten aionion kolasin aponei -mantos. Kai toutois men to pyr asbeston diamenei kai ateleuteton, skolex -de tis empyros, me teleuton, mede soma diaphtheiron, apausto de odyne ek -somatos ekbrasson paramenei. Toutous ouch ypnos anapausei, ou nyx -paregoresei ou thanatos tes kolaseos apolysei, ou paraklesis syngenon -mesiteusanton onesei.] S. Hippol. adv. Graecos. Fabricii Hipp. Op. p. -222. - -[27] Euseb. H. E., VI. 20. - -[28] Attributed to him by Neander, Kirch. Geschichte, I. iii. 1150; -and Schwegler, Montanismus, p. 224. - -[29] Storr places him at their head, Zweck der Evang. Geschichte, p. 63; -and Eichhorn associates him with them, Einleitung in das N. T., II. 414. - -[30] See the notice of the Nestorian Ebed Jesu, in Asseman's Bibl. -Orient. III. i. ap. Gieseler, k. 9, Sec. 63. - -[31] On their relation, and the doctrine connected with their names, -see Baur's "Christl. Gnosis," p. 310. - -[32] Phot. Biblioth., cod. 48. [Greek: hos kai autos] (i. e. [Greek: -Gaios]) [Greek: en to telei tou labyrinthou diemartyrato, heautou -einai ton peri tes tou pantos ousias logon]. - -[33] Theologische Jahrbuecher, 12er Band, I. 1853, p. 154. - -[34] Haeret. Fab. II. c. 5. [Greek: Kata tes touton ho smikros -synegraphe labyrinthos, hon tines Origenous hypolambanousi poiema . -all ho charakter elenchei tous legontas.] - -[35] He also describes its exact relation to the other, when he calls -it a _special_ work ([Greek: i d i o s]) in comparison with "The -Labyrinth" as a general one: [Greek: syntaxai de kai heteron logon -idios kata tes Artemonos aireseos]. Cod. 48. - -[36] Ibid. [Greek: hosper kai ton Labyrinthon tines epegrapsan -Origenous.] - -[37] Biblioth. cod. 48; Lardner's "Credibility," Part II. ch. xxxii.; -Bunsen's Hippolytus, I. p. 150. - -[38] Euseb. H. E., III. 28. [Greek: alla kai Kerinthos, ho di -apokalypseon hos hypo apostolou megalou gegrammenon teratologias emin -hos di angelon auto dedeigmenas pseudomenos epeisagei, legon, meta ten -anastasin epigeion einai to batileion tou Christou, kai palin -epithymiais kai hedonais en Hierousalem ten sarka politeuomenen -douleuein. kai echthros hyparchon tais graphais tou theou arithmon -chiliontaetias en gamo heortes thelon planan legei ginesthai.] The -passage, preserving its obscurities, seems to run thus: "Cerinthus -too, through the medium of revelations written as if by a great -Apostle, has palmed off upon us marvellous accounts, pretending to -have been shown him by angels; to the effect that, after the -resurrection, the kingdom of Christ will be an earthly one, and that -the flesh will again be at the head of affairs, and serve in Jerusalem -the lusts and pleasures of sense. And with wilful misguidance he says, -setting himself in opposition to the Scriptures of God, that a period -of a thousand years will be spent in nuptial festivities." On this -much-controverted passage, Lardner (Cred., P. II. ch. xxxii.) suspends -his judgment, rather inclining to doubt whether our Apocalypse is -referred to; Hug (Einl. Sec. 176), Paulus (Hist. Cerinth., P. I. Sec. 30), -with Twells and Hartwig (whose criticisms we have not seen), deny that -the Apocalypse is meant; while Eichhorn (Einl. in das N. T., VI. v. Sec. -194. 2), De Wette (Lehrbuch der Einl. in d. N. T., Sec. 192 a), Luecke -(Commentar ueb. d. Schriften des Ev. Johannes, Offenb. Sec. 33), and -Schwegler (Das nachapost. Zeitalter, 2er B. p. 218), take the other -side. It must be confessed also, that, till the rise of the present -discussion about the "Philosophoumena," Baur agreed with these last -writers. (See his Christl. Lehre v. d. Dreieinigkeit, 1er B. p. 283.) -He now urges, however, that, in a case already so doubtful, the -discovery of a lost book, which we have good reason to ascribe to -Caius, necessarily brings in new evidence, and may turn the scale -between two balanced interpretations. (Theol. Jahrb., p. 157.) - -[39] Baur explains the slight treatment of the Montanist heresy in the -"Philosophumena" by the intention which Caius already had of writing a -special book against them: and contends that this intention is -announced expressly in the words (p. 276), [Greek: peri touton authis -leptomeresteron ekthesomai . pollois gar aphorme kakon gegenetai he -touton airesis]. These words, however, do not refer, as the connection -evidently shows, to the Montanists generally; but only to a certain -class of them who fell in with the patripassian doctrine of Noctus. -The Noctian scheme Caius was going to discuss further on in this very -book: and it is evidently to this later chapter, not to any separate -work against Montanism, that he alludes. - -[40] The word is perhaps not allowable in speaking of the earliest -time (the reign of Alexander Severus) assignable for the erection of -separate buildings appropriate to Christian worship. - -[41] To Hippolytus and the writers of his period, Dorner ascribes the -latter, preponderantly over the former, side of this alternative; -while Haenell charges their view with Sabellianism. See Dorner's -"Entwickelungsgeschichte der Lehre von der Person Christi," I. p. 611, -_seq._ - -[42] "Tert. adv. Prax.," c. 3. - -[43] Euseb. H. E., V. 28. - -[44] See Adolph Schliemann's "Clementinen, nebst den verwandten -Schriften und der Ebionitismus," Cap. III. ii. Sec.Sec. 8, 9. - -[45] M. Bunsen must have some authority which has escaped our memory for -attributing to "the whole school of Tuebingen" the opinion "that the -fourth Gospel was written about the year 165 or 170." (I. v.) We cannot -call to mind any criticism which assigns so late a date. Schwegler uses -various expressions to mark the time to which he refers; e. g. "about -the middle of the second century" (Nachapost. Zeitalter, II. 354, and -Montanismus, p. 214); "intermediate between the Apologists and Irenaeus" -(II. 369); "previous to the last third of the second century" (II. 348); -"in the second quarter of the second century" (II. 345). Zeller also -fixes on the year 150 as the time when the Gospel may probably have -first appeared. (Zeller's Jahrb., 1845, p. 646.) - -[46] The earliest testimony is that of Apollinaris, of Hierapolis in -Phrygia, preserved in the "Paschal Chronicle," probably about A. D. -170-175. - -[47] We will give, from this very section on Basilides, and its -subsequent recapitulation, three examples of the irregular mode of -citation to which we refer: (_a_) of the singular verb with plural -subject expressed; (_b_) of plural verb with singular subject expressed; -(_c_) of the mixture of singular and plural subjects in the same -sentence, so that the affirmation belongs indeterminately to either. - -(_a_) [Greek: Idomen oun pos kataphanos Basileides homou kai Isidoros -kai pas ho touton choros, ouch haplos katapseudetai monou Matthaiou, -alla gar kai tou Soteros autou. En, phesin, hote en ouden, k. t. -l.]--p. 230. - -(_b_) [Greek: Basileides de kai autos legei einai theon ouk onta, -pepoiemenon kosmon ex ouk onton, ... e hos oon taou echon en heauto ten -ton chromaton poikilen plethyn, kai touto einai phasi to tou kosmou -sperma, k. t. l.]--p. 320. - -(_c_) [Greek: kai dedoike tas kata probolen ton gegonoton ousias ho -Basileides ... alla eipe, phesi, kai egeneto, kai touto estin ho -legousin oi andres outoi, to lechthen hypo Moseos, "Genetheto phos, -kai egeneto phos." Pothen, phesi, gegone to phos; ... Gegone, phesin, -ex ouk onton to sperma tou kosmou, ho logos ho lechtheis genetheto -phos, kai touto, phesin, esti to legomenon en tois Euangeliois. "En to -phos to alethinon, ho photzei panta anthropon erchomenon eis ton -kosmon.]"--p. 232. Now can any one decide whether this comment on the -"Let there be light, and there was light," with its applications to -John i. 9, proceeds from "Basilides" or from "these men"? - -[48] Page 528. - -[49] Euseb. H. E., V. 28. - -[50] "Philosophumena," p. 258. - -[51] Iren. Lib. II. c. 39. - -[52] I. p. 341. - -[53] The words of the author of the "Philosophumena" are these: -[Greek: Toutun egnomen ek parthenou soma aneilephota kai ton palaion -anthropon dia kaines plaseos pephorekota, en bio dia pases helikias -elelythota, ina pase helikia autos nomos genethe kai skopon ton idion -anthropon pasin anthropois epideixe paron, kai di autou elenxe hoti -meden epoiesen ho theos poneron.]--p. 337. - - - - -THE CREED OF CHRISTENDOM. - - 1. _The Creed of Christendom; its Foundations and Superstructure._ - By WILLIAM RATHBONE GREG. London: Chapman. 1851. - - 2. _St. Paul's Epistles to the Corinthians; an Attempt to convey - their Spirit and Significance._ By JOHN HAMILTON THOM. London: - Chapman. 1851. - - -These two books are placed together without the least intention to -intimate a resemblance between them, or to represent either author as -sharing in the conclusions of the other. They are, indeed, concerned -with opposite sides of the same subject; viewed, moreover, from the -separate stations of the layman and the divine; and are the expression -of strongly contrasted modes of thought. Mr. Greg deals principally -with the external vehicle of the primitive Christianity; Mr. Thom with -its internal essence. The one seeks in vain for any outward title in -the records to suppress the operations of natural reason; the other -clears away from the interior every interference with the free action -of conscience and affection. The one, in the name of science, -demolishes the outworks of ecclesiastical logic with which the shrine -of faith has been dangerously guarded: the other, in the name of -Christ, expels both priest and dogma from the sanctuary itself. The -one, selecting deep truths from the words of Jesus, would construct -religion into a philosophy; the other, with eye upon His person as an -image of perfect goodness, would develop it from a sentiment. As all -opposites, however, are embraced in the circumference of the same -circle, so are these works complements of each other. Mr. Greg, in -common with the Catholics and the Unitarians, evidently looks for the -strength of Christianity in the Gospels; Mr. Thom, with the majority -of Protestants, in the Epistles. For want of some mediating harmony -between the two, each perhaps requires some correction: the historical -picture of Christ saved by the former is but a pale and meagre -outline; while the Pauline ideal presented by the latter is a glow of -rich but undefined coloring. Mr. Greg, who, in spite of particular -errors, manifests a large knowledge and a masterly judgment in his -criticism of the Evangelists, appears to have, in his own sympathies, -no way of access to a mind like that of Paul, and to be much at fault -in estimating the place of the Apostle both as a witness and a power -in the organization of Christian tradition and doctrine. Had the -acuteness and severity of his understanding been a little more -qualified by such reflective depth and moral tenderness as Mr. Thom -brings to the work of interpretation, his religion, we fancy, would -have retained a less slender remnant of the primitive Christianity. - -Measured by the standard of common Protestantism, there can be no -doubt that the second of these books would be condemned for heresy, -and the first for unbelief. These ugly words, however, have been too -often applied to what is fullest of truth and faith, to express more -than a departure, which weak men feel to be irritating, from a -favorite type of thought. They have lost their effect on all who are -competent to meditate on the great problems of religion, and are fast -taking their place in the scandalous vocabulary of professional -polemics. It is a thing offensive to _just_ men when divines, who have -succeeded in smothering, or been too dull to entertain, doubts which -rend the soul of genius and faithfulness, and insist on a veracious -answer, meet them, not with sympathy, still less with mastery, but -with the commonplaces of incompetent pity and holy malediction. And -the offence is doubled in the eyes of _instructed_ men, who know the -state to which Biblical criticism has brought the theology of the -Reformation. It is notorious that, in the revolt from Rome, the -Scriptures--like a dictator suddenly created for the perils of a -crisis--were forced into a position where it was impossible for them -permanently to repose; that they cannot be treated as infallible -oracles of either fact or doctrine, and were never meant to bear the -weight of such unnatural claims; that the authority once concentrated -in them, and held even _against_ the reason and conscience, must now -be distributed, and ask their concurrence. These are not questionable -positions, but so irresistibly established, that learning of the -highest order would no more listen to an argument against them, than -Herschel or Airy to a disquisition against the rotation of the earth. -When a clergyman, therefore, treats them with horror, and denounces -them as infidelity, he produces no conviction, except that he himself -is either ill-informed or insincere. Professional reproaches against a -book so manly and modest, so evidently truth-loving, so high-minded -and devout, as this of Mr. Greg's, are but a melancholy imbecility. We -may hold to many things which he resigns; we may think him wrong in -the date of a Gospel or the construction of a miracle; we may even -dissent from his estimate of the grounds of immortal hope and the ways -of eternal Providence: but we do not envy, and cannot understand, the -religion which can feel no thankful communion with thought so -elevated, and trust so sound and real. No candid reader of the "Creed -of Christendom" can close the book without the secret acknowledgment -that it is a model of honest investigation and clear exposition; that -it is conceived in the true spirit of serious and faithful research; -and that whatever the author wants of being an ecclesiastical -Christian is plainly not essential to the noble guidance of life, and -the devout earnestness of the affections. - -It is highly honorable to an English layman, amid the pressure of -affairs, to take up a class of critical inquiries, which the clergy seem -to have abandoned for a narrower and more passionate polemic. It is a -remarkable characteristic of the present age, that, when the most -startling attacks are made upon the very foundations of existing -churches, nobody repels them. Nothing is offered to break their effect, -except the inertia of the mass that rests upon the base assailed. For -every great sceptical work of the last century there was some score of -reputable answers; but half a dozen books of the same tendency have -appeared within a few years, all of which have been copiously reviewed, -have spread excitement over a wide surface, and set an immense amount of -theological hair on end, but not one of which has received any adequate -reply. Yet the slightest of these productions would favorably compare, -in all the requisites for successful persuasion,--in learning, in -temper, in acuteness,--with the best of the last age, excepting only the -philosophical disquisitions of Hume and the ecclesiastical chapters of -Gibbon. The first in time,--Hennell's "Inquiry into the Origin of -Christianity,"--though the most open to refutation, was permitted to -pass through an unmolested existence; and its influence, considerable in -itself, and increased by the sweet and truthful character of the author, -is still traceable in the pages of Mr. Greg. To the effect of Strauss's -extraordinary work, the good Neander's _Leben Jesu_ offers but a mild -resistance, and is itself, through the extent of its concessions, an -open proclamation that the problems of theology can never be restored to -the state in which all churches assume them to be. Parker was -excommunicated by his sect; but his "Discourse of Matters pertaining to -Religion" has walked the course unchallenged, and displayed the splendor -of its gifts, within the entire lines of the English language. Newman, -Foxton, and Greg have since entered their names on the _index -expurgatorius_ of Orthodoxy; but they also will be simply excluded from -the sacred circle of readers bound over not to think; and, beyond this, -will make their converts undisturbed, and accumulate fresh charges of -threatening power in the intellectual atmosphere which surrounds the -Church. Whence this pusillanimous apathy? Is it forgotten that creeds -always assailed and never defended are sure to perish? Or is it felt -that the defence, to be sound and strong, must be so partial--so limited -to points of detail--as to promise a mere diversion, instead of a -repulse, and be more dangerous than the attitude of passiveness? Or does -the Church resignedly give up her hold on the class of earnest, -intellectual men who cannot degrade religion into a second-hand -tradition, but must "know what they worship"? Certain it is that her -whole activity has long abandoned this class, and addressed itself -exclusively to the narrower and lower order of mind, whose vision is -bounded by the periphery of a given creed, and whose life is satisfied -with the squabbles and the gossip of articles forced into neighborhood, -but no longer on speaking terms. If the efficacy of "holy orders" is -called in question, streams of sacerdotal refutation flow from the -press; but if the inspiration of the twelve Apostles is denied, it is a -thing that neither bishop nor priest will care to vindicate. If a word -of mistake is uttered about the drops of water on the face of a baptized -baby, it conjures up a storm that rolls from diocese to diocese; but if -you say that pure religion has no rite or sacrament at all, the -ecclesiastic atmosphere remains still as a Quaker's silent meeting. The -deepest interest is felt about the origin of liturgies, and the history -of articles, but nobody heeds the most staggering evidence that three of -the Gospels are second-hand aggregations of hearsay reports, and the -fourth of questionable authenticity. You deny the self-consistency of -the Church of England and call it a compromise; and the sudden rustle of -gowns and sleeves proclaims a great sensation. You analyze the accounts -of Christ's resurrection; you ask whether they are not discrepant; you -point out that, apparently, the oldest record (Mark's) contained, in its -original form, no account of the event at all, and that the others bear -seeming traces of distinct and incompatible traditions. You cry aloud -for help in this perplexity, and hold yourselves ready to follow any -vestiges of truth; and, except that the creeds are still muttered every -Sunday, all the oracles are dumb. If you want to find the true magic -pass into heaven, scores of rival professors press round you with -obtrusive supply: if you ask in your sorrow, Who can tell me whether -there be a heaven at all? every soul will keep aloof and leave you -alone. All men that bring from God a fresh, deep nature, all in whom -religious wants live with eager power, and who yet are too clear of soul -to unthink a thought and falsify a truth, receive in these days no help -and no response. The Church feels its interest, as an _educated_ -corporation, to consist in overlaying and covering up the foundations of -faith with huge piles of curious learning, history, and art, which, by -affording endless occupation, may detain men from search after the -living rock, or notice of the undermining flood. And, as an -_established_ corporation, she relies on the lazy conservatism of mental -possession; on the dislike felt by the comfortable classes towards the -trouble of thought and the disturbance of feeling, and their usual -willingness to hand over these operations to the prayer-book and the -priest. We are grateful to Mr. Greg for shaking this ignoble and -precarious reliance, which he notices in these admirable sentences. - -"A more genuine and important objection to the consequences of our -views is felt by indolent minds on their own account. They shrink from -the toil of working out truth for themselves out of the materials -which Providence has placed before them. They long for the precious -metal, but loathe the rude ore out of which it has to be extricated by -the laborious alchemy of thought. A ready-made creed is the paradise -of their lazy dreams. A string of authoritative, dogmatic propositions -comprises the whole mental wealth which they desire. The volume of -nature--the volume of history--the volume of life--appall and terrify -them. Such men are the materials out of whom good catholics of all -sects are made. They form the uninquiring and submissive flocks which -rejoice the hearts of all priesthoods. Let such cling to the faith of -their forefathers, if they can. But men whose minds are cast in a -nobler mould, and are instinct with a diviner life,--who love truth -more than rest, and the peace of Heaven rather than the peace of -Eden,--to whom 'a loftier being brings severer cares,'-- - - 'Who know man does not live by joy alone, - But by the presence of the power of God,'-- - -such must cast behind them the hope of any repose or tranquillity, -save that which is the last reward of long agonies of thought; they -must relinquish all prospect of any heaven, save that of which -tribulation is the avenue and portal; they must gird up their loins -and trim their lamp for a work which cannot be put by, and which must -not be negligently done. 'He,' says Zschokke, 'who does not like -living in the _furnished lodgings of tradition_, must build his own -house, his own system of thought and faith for himself.'"--p. 242. - -The work of Mr. Greg derives its interest, not from anything in it -that will be new to the studious theologian, but from the freshness -and force with which it presents the results of the author's reading -and reflection on both the claims and the contents of Scripture. -Adopting the ordinary notion of "inspiration," as equivalent to a -supernaturally provided "infallibility," he reviews and condemns the -reasonings by which this attribute has been associated with the Bible; -and decides that the mere discovery of a statement in the Scriptures -is no sufficient reason for our implicit reception of it. Having -cleared away this obstacle to all intelligent criticism, he pursues -his way, chiefly under the guidance of De Wette, through the earlier -literature of the Hebrews; and adds another to the many exposures of -the humiliating attempts, on the part of English divines, to reconcile -the cosmogony of Genesis with modern science; attempts which we should -call obsolete, did we not remember that Buckland and Whewell are both -living, and have not yet attained the episcopal bench. Mr. Greg adopts -the views of which Baur is the best known recent expositor, but which -Lessing long ago traced out, as to the gradual formation of the Hebrew -monotheism; and shows the striking contrast between the family Jehovah -of the Patriarchs and the universal God of the later Prophets. -Whatever be the origin of the doctrine of a Messiah, and under -whatever varieties it appeared, it never pointed, the author -conceives, to such a person as Jesus of Nazareth, or such a product as -the Christian Church; and it is only by perverse interpretations, -unendurable out of the field of theology, that any passages in the Old -Testament can be made out to prefigure the events in the New. In the -argument, therefore, between the early missionaries of the Gospel and -the unconvinced Jews, Mr. Greg maintains that the latter were the more -faithful to their sacred books. The phenomena of the first three -Gospels are next examined sufficiently to explain the several -hypotheses respecting the order and materials of their composition. -The author rests on Schleiermacher's conclusion, that a number of -fragmentary records of incident and discourse formed the groundwork, -partly common, partly exclusive, of the triple Evangile. He thus -removes us, in this portion of the Scriptures, from first-hand -testimony altogether; and throws upon internal criticism the task of -discriminating between the original and reliable elements on the one -hand, and those on the other which did not escape the accidents of -floating tradition and the coloring of later ideas. This delicate task -the author attempts; and manifests throughout an acquaintance with the -methods and models of the higher criticism, fully qualifying him to -form the independent judgment which he sums up in these words:-- - -"In conclusion, then, it appears certain that in all the synoptical -Gospels we have events related that did not really occur, and words -ascribed to Jesus which Jesus did not utter; and that many of these -words and events are of great significance. In the great majority of -these instances, however, this incorrectness does not imply any want -of honesty on the part of the Evangelists, but merely indicates that -they adopted and embodied, without much scrutiny or critical acumen, -whatever probable and honorable narratives they found current in the -Christian community."--p. 137. - -The peculiarities of the fourth Gospel are next dealt with: its apparent -polemic reference to the gnosis of the first and second centuries; its -absence of demoniacs and parables; the length, the mysticism, the dogma -of its discourses, and their uniformity of complexion with the -historian's own narrative and reflections; the narrowness of its -charity, and the apocryphal appearance of its "first miracle." Without -questioning the probability that within the contents of this Gospel is -secreted a nucleus of facts, Mr. Greg thinks the book so clearly imbued -throughout with the writer's idiosyncrasy, as to be inferior in -historical value to the Synoptics; and the discourses of Jesus, in -particular, must be regarded as free compositions by the Evangelist. In -our author's management of this subject there seems to us to be an -unfavorable change. The style of thought peculiar to John, as well as -that characteristic of Paul, lies out of the latitude native to him; and -with every intention to be just in his appreciation, he fails, we think, -to reach the point of sympathy from which the fourth Gospel should be -judged. The realism of his mind makes him a better critic of the hard -Judaical element of the Christian Scriptures, with its objective -distinctness and its moral beauty, than of the more ideal Gentile -ingredients, where a subjective dialectic traces forms of thought in the -intense fires of spiritual consciousness. - -In a separate discussion of the question of miracles they are restored -to the subordinate position, as compared with moral evidence, assigned -to them by the early Protestant divines. Adopting the position of -Locke, that "the miracles are to be judged by the doctrines, and not -the doctrines by the miracles," he can admit with the less pain his -conviction, that, even in the instance of the resurrection of Jesus, -the historical evidence is too conflicting and uncertain to bear the -supernatural weight imposed upon it. He admits, indeed, that Jesus -_may_ have risen from the dead; the Apostles manifestly believed it; -and that the marked change in their character and conduct, from -despair to triumph, affords the strongest evidence of the sustaining -energy of this belief. But, in our ignorance of the grounds of this -belief, (the Gospels and book of Acts containing no correct or -first-hand report of the facts,) it is impossible, he conceives, to -form any rational estimate of their adequacy. In Mr. Greg's decision -on this important point, we see the effect of his entrance on the -problem of Christianity from the historical end. If, instead of -addressing himself first to the Gospels which lie most remote from the -source of the religion, and represent the latest and most constituted -form of the primitive tradition, he had begun with the earliest -remains of Christian literature, and traced the doctrine of the -resurrection from the Epistles of Paul into the story of the -Evangelists, we think he would have arrived at a different conclusion. -In dismissing the testimony of Paul as "of little weight," he throws -away the main evidence of the whole case. We can understand the critic -who, having put the miraculous entirely aside, as logically -inadmissible, makes light of the Pauline statements on this matter, -and appeals to their writer's openness to impressions of the -supernatural in proof of a certain vitiating unsoundness of mind. But -one who, like our author, regards this _a priori_ incredulity as an -unphilosophical prejudice, and upon whose list of real causes, never -precluded from possible action, supernatural power finds a place, -cannot consistently condemn another for believing in concrete -instances what he himself allows in the general; and put the Apostle -out of court, on the plea that we have no evidence but _his assertion_ -of his intercourse with the risen Christ. Is not _his assertion_ the -only evidence possible of a subjective miracle? and is there any -ground for restricting supernatural agency to an objective direction? -No doubt, facts presented to external perception have the advantage of -being open to more witnesses than one; and if it be deliberately laid -down as a canon, that in no case can any anomalous event be admitted -on one man's declaration, we allow the consistency of refusing a -hearing to the Apostle. But such a rule would only be an example of -the futility of all attempts to reduce moral evidence to mathematical -expression. Facts of the most extraordinary nature have always been, -and will always be, received on solitary attestation; and if so, it -makes no logical difference whether they be called "objective," or -"subjective." A man has faculties for apprehending what passes within -him, as well as what passes without; nor do we know any ground for -trusting the latter which does not hold equally good for the former. -If it be said that the reporter of a miracle not only announces what -he sees or feels,--which we may accept on his veracity,--but proclaims -its supernatural source,--which we may repudiate from distrust of his -judgment,--the remark is perfectly just, only that it applies alike to -_all_ testimony, and not exclusively to miraculous reports. Our -disposition to receive the evidence of a witness assumed to be -veracious, depends on our having the same preconceptions of causation -with himself. In the ordinary affairs of life, this common ground is -sure to exist, and therefore remains a mere latent condition of -belief. But the slowness to admit a miracle arises from the failure of -this common ground; and if the hearer reserved in the background of -his mind, and in equal readiness for action, the same supernatural -power to which the witness's assertion refers, he would feel no more -temptation to incredulity than in listening to some matter of course. -The reluctance to believe, is proof that his store of causation is -limited to the natural sphere; and every phenomenon irreducible to -this drops away from all hold upon his mind. As there is no such thing -as a fact perceived without a judgment formed, so is there no belief -in the attestation of a fact without reliance on the soundness of a -judgment; and that reliance depends on the hearer having the same list -of causes in his mind as the witness. If, then, Mr. Greg holds, with -Paul, that the power exists whence a subjective miracle might issue, -and if from the nature of the case such miracle must remain a matter -of personal consciousness, why reject the Apostle's report of his -experience? In choosing from among the causes which both parties -admit, it cannot be denied that Paul alights upon that which, _if -there_, gives the easiest and most certain explanation; and to find a -satisfactory origin for his impressions and conduct in natural -agencies is so difficult, that critics would never attempt it, but to -escape the acknowledgment of miracle. On his own principles we do not -see how our author could excuse himself to the Apostle for rejecting -his testimony; which does but communicate, in the only conceivable -way, that which is allowed to be possible enough, and which best -clears up the mystery of an astonishing revolution in personal -character, and in the convictions of an earnest and powerful mind. - -The whole question of miracles, however, loses its anxious importance -with those who, like our author, would still, amid their constant -occurrence, look to other sources for the credentials of moral and -religious truth. If anything is positively and incontrovertibly known -respecting the Apostles,--and in proportion as we trust the synoptical -Gospels must we allow Mr. Greg to extend the remark to their -Master,--it is this: that whatever powers they exercised, and whatever -communications they received, were inadequate to preserve them from -serious error; and from delivering to the world, as a substantive part -of their message, a most solemn expectation which was not to be -fulfilled. This fact, no longer denied by any reputable theologian, -alone shows that, even in the presence of the highest Christian -authority, the natural criteria of reason and conscience cannot be -dispensed with. In the application of these to the teachings and life -of Christ, our author finds, if not any truths of supernatural -dictation, at least the highest object of veneration and affection yet -given to this world. - -"Now on this subject," he says, "we hope our confession of faith will -be acceptable to all save the narrowly orthodox. It is difficult, -without exhausting superlatives, even to unexpressive and wearisome -satiety, to do justice to our intense love, reverence, and admiration -for the character and teachings of Jesus. We regard him, not as the -perfection of the intellectual or philosophic mind, but as the -perfection of the spiritual character,--as surpassing all men of all -times in the closeness and depth of his communion with the Father. In -reading his sayings, we feel that we are holding converse with the -wisest, purest, noblest Being that ever clothed thought in the poor -language of humanity. In studying his life, we feel that we are -following the footsteps of the highest ideal yet presented to us upon -earth. 'Blessed be God that so much manliness has been lived out, and -stands there yet, a lasting monument to mark how high the tides of -divine life have risen in the world of man!'"--p. 227. - -We differ altogether from our author in his notion of inspiration, and -his reduction of Christianity within the limits of human resource. But -we must say, that while there is such an estimate as this of what -Jesus Christ _was_, it is a matter of subordinate moment what is -thought about the mode in which he _became so_. - -By a process of "Christian Eclecticism," Mr. Greg draws forth from the -Gospels the elements which he regards as characteristic of the -religion of Jesus; distinguishing those which make it the purest of -faiths from others which appear to him irreconcilable with a just -philosophy. The doctrine of a future life is reserved for a separate -discussion; the general result of which we know not how to describe, -otherwise than by saying that the author discards all the evidence and -yet retains the conclusion. All the arguments, metaphysical and moral, -for human immortality, he condemns as absolutely worthless; he -confesses that he has no new ones to propose; he affirms that all -appearances, without exception, proclaim the permanence of death, the -absence of any spiritual essence in man, and the absolute sway of the -laws of organization; yet, on the report of that very "soul" within -him, whose existence nature disowns, he holds the doctrine of a future -existence by the irresistible tenure of a first truth. We do not -wonder that the rigor with which Mr. Greg has pushed his principles -through other subjects of thought should relent at this point, and -refuse to cast the sublimest of human hopes over the brink of -darkness. We respect, as a holy abstinence, his refusal to silence the -pleadings of the inner voice. But we admire his faith more than his -philosophy; and are astonished that he does not suspect the soundness -of a scientific method which lands him in results he cannot hold. No -scepticism is so fatal,--for none has so wide a sweep,--as that which -despairs of the self-reconciliation of human nature; which flings -among our faculties the reproach of irretrievable contradiction; which -sets up first truths against deductions, conscience against science, -faith against logic. Ever since Kant balanced his Antinomies, and -employed the gravitation of _Practical_ reason to turn the irresolute -scales of the _Speculative_, this unwholesome practice has been -spreading, of assuming an ultimate discordance between co-existing -powers of the mind. In the language of rhetoric or poetry, in the -discussion of popular notions on morals and religion, it would be -hypercritical to complain of the antitheses of understanding and -feeling,--sense and soul. But to an exact thinker it must be apparent -that an ambidextrous intellect is no intellect at all; and that, were -this all our endowment, the life of the wisest would be but a chase -after mocking shadows of thought. The following words of our author, -with all their tranquil appearance, describe a state of things which, -were it real, might well strike us with dismay:-- - -"There are three points especially of religious belief, regarding -which intuition (or instinct) and logic are at variance,--the efficacy -of prayer, man's free-will, and a future existence. If believed, they -must be believed, the last without the countenance, the two former in -spite of the hostility of logic."--p. 303. - -This is absolute Pyrrhonism, and though said in the interest of -religion, is subversive alike of knowledge and of faith. The pretended -"logic" can be good for very little, which comes out with so suicidal an -achievement as the _disproof of first truths_. The condition under which -alone logic can exist as a science is the unity in the human mind of the -laws of belief,--a condition which would be violated if any first truth -contradicted another in itself, or in its deductions. The moment, -therefore, such a contradiction turns up, a consistent thinker will -either regard it as a mere semblance, and proceed to re-examine his -premises, and test his reasoning; or he will treat it as real; and then -it throws contempt on logic altogether, and relegates it into -impossibility. In neither case can his reliance incline to the logical -side. Mr. Greg, however, sticks to his logic whenever, as in the two -cases mentioned in the foregoing extract, it loudly _negatives_ a point -of religious belief; and abandons it only where it restricts itself to -cold and dumb discouragement. A bolder distrust of _his_ logic, and a -firmer faith in the logic of nature, would perhaps have harmonized the -differing voices of the intellect and the soul, blending them in a faith -neither afraid to think nor ashamed to pray. - -Had our author been as familiar with the Catholic and Arminian -divines, as with the literature of inductive science and Calvinistic -theology, he would have known that there is a philosophy from which -the religious intuitions encounter no repugnance; and would, at least, -have noticed its offer of mediation between Faith and Reason. He is, -however, entirely shut up within the formulas of a different school, -which press with their resistance on his religious feeling in every -direction, and produce a conflict which he can neither appease nor -terminate. With an intellect entirely overridden by the ideas of Law -and Necessity, no man can escape the force of the common objections to -any doctrine of prayer, or of forgiveness of sin; and if those ideas -possess universal validity, the very discussion of such doctrines is, -in the last degree, idle and absurd. But what if some mediaeval -schoolman, or some impugner of the Baconian orthodoxy, were to suggest -that, though Law is coextensive with outward nature, Nature is not -coextensive with God, and that beyond the range where his agency is -bound by the pledge of predetermined rules lies an infinite margin, -where his spirit is free? And what if, in aggravation of his heresy, -he were to contend that Man also, as counterpart of God, belongs not -wholly to the realm of nature, but transcends it by a certain -endowment of free power in his spirit? Having made these assumptions, -on the ground that they were more agreeable to "intuitive" feeling, -and not less so to external evidence, than the one-sidedness of their -opposites, might he not suggest that room is now found for a doctrine -of prayer? Not that any event bespoken and planted in the sphere of -nature can be turned aside by the urgency of desire and devotion; not -that the slightest swerving is to be expected from the usages of -creation, or of the mind; wherever law is established--without us or -within us--there let it be absolute as the everlasting faithfulness. -But God has not spent himself wholly in the courses of custom, and -mortgaged his infinite resources to nature; nor has he closed up with -rules every avenue through which his fresh energy might find entrance -into life; but has left in the human soul a theatre whose scenery is -not all pre-arranged, and whose drama is ever open to new -developments. Between the free centre of the soul in man, and the free -margin of the activity of God, what hinders the existence of a real -and living communion, the interchange of look and answer, of thought -and counterthought? If, in response to human aspiration, a higher mood -is infused into the mind; if, in consolation of penitence or sorrow, a -gleam of gentle hope steals in; and if these should be themselves the -vivifying touch of divine sympathy and pity, what law is prejudiced? -what faith is broken? what province of nature has any title to -complain? And so, too, (might our mediaeval friend continue,) with -respect to the doctrine of forgiveness. If men are under moral -obligation, and God is a being of moral perfection, he must regard -their unfaithfulness with disapproval. Of his sentiments, the clear -trace will be found in the various sufferings which constitute the -natural punishment of wrong. These are incorporated in the very -structure of the world and the constitution of life; and to -persistence in their infliction, the Supreme Ruler is committed by the -assurance of his constancy. They fasten on the guilty a chain which no -pardon will strike off, but which he will drag till it is worn away. -_Not all_ the divine sentiment, however, is embodied in the physical -consequences. Besides this determinate expression of his thought, -written out on the finite world, there is an unexpressed element -remaining behind, in his infinite nature: on the visible side of the -veil is the suggestive manifestation; on the invisible, is the very -affection manifested. There is a personal alienation, a forfeiture of -approach and sympathy, which would survive though creation were to -perish and carry its punishments away; and would still cast its black -shadow into empty space. This reserved sentiment, and this alone, is -affected by repentance. But it is no small thing for the heart of -shame to know this. The estrangement lasts no longer than the guilty -temper and the unsoftened conscience; and when, through its sorrow, -the mind is clear and pure, the sunshine of divine affection will -burst it again. In this the free Spirit of God is different from his -bound action in nature. Long after he himself has forgiven and -embraced again, necessity--the creature of his legislation--will -continue to wield the lash, and measure out with no relenting the -remainder of the penalty incurred; and he that yet drags his burden -and visibly limps upon his sin, may all the while have a heart at rest -with God. And thus is retribution--the reaping as we have sown--in no -contradiction with forgiveness,--the personal restoration. - -How far such modes of thought as these would help to reconcile the -conflicting claims,--and how they would stand related to Mr. Greg's -terrible friend, "Logic," we do not pretend to decide. We refer to -them only as possible means of escaping--at least of postponing--his -desolating doctrine, that intuitions may tell lies; and in support of -our statement, that his theoretic view lies entirely within the circle -of a particular school,--a school, moreover, so little able to satisfy -his aspirations, that he is obliged to patch up a compromise between -his nature and his culture. The curious amalgamation which has taken -place in England, of the metaphysics of Calvin with the physics of -Bacon, has produced, in a large class, a philosophical tendency, with -which the distinctive sentiments of Christianity very uneasily -combine. The effacing of all lines separating the natural and moral, -the limitation of God to the realm of nature, and the subjugation of -all things to predestination, are among the chief features of this -tendency, and the chief obstacles to any concurrence between the -intellectual and the spiritual religion of the age. - -If some of the elements in the early Christianity are too hastily -cancelled by our author, there is one sentiment whose inapplicability -to the present day he exposes with an irresistible force;--that -depreciating estimate of life which, however natural to Apostles -"impressed with the conviction that the world was falling to pieces," -is wholly misplaced among those for whose office and work this earthly -scene is the appointed place. The exhortations of the Apostles, -"granting the premises, were natural and wise." - -"But for divines in this day--when the profession of Christianity is -attended with no peril, when its practice, even, demands no sacrifice, -save that preference of duty to enjoyment which is the first law of -cultivated humanity--to repeat the language, profess the feelings, -inculcate the notions, of men who lived in daily dread of such awful -martyrdom, and under the excitement of such a mighty misconception; to -cry down the world, with its profound beauty, its thrilling interests, -its glorious works, its noble and holy affections; to exhort their -hearers, Sunday after Sunday, to detach their heart from the earthly -life, as inane, fleeting, and unworthy, and fix it upon heaven, as the -only sphere deserving the love of the loving or the meditation of the -wise,--appears to us, we confess, frightful insincerity, the enactment -of a wicked and gigantic lie. The exhortation is delivered and listened -to as a thing of course; and an hour afterwards the preacher, who has -thus usurped and profaned the language of an Apostle who wrote with the -fagot and the cross full in view, is sitting comfortably with his hearer -over his claret; they are fondling their children, discussing public -affairs or private plans in life, with passionate interest, and yet can -look at each other without a smile or a blush for the sad and -meaningless farce they have been acting!... Everything tends to prove -that this life is, not perhaps, not probably, our only sphere, but still -an _integral_ one, and _the_ one with which we are here meant to be -concerned. The present is our scene of action,--the future is for -speculation and for trust. We firmly believe that man was sent upon the -earth to live in it, to enjoy it, to study it, to love it, to embellish -it,--to make the most of it, in short. It is his country, on which he -should lavish his affections and his efforts. _Spartam nactus es--hanc -exorna_. It should be to him a house, not a tent,--a home, not only a -school. If, when this house and this home are taken from him, -Providence, in its wisdom and its bounty, provides him with another, let -him be deeply grateful for the gift,--let him transfer to that future, -_when it has become his present_, his exertions, his researches, and his -love. But let him rest assured that he is sent into this world, not to -be constantly hankering after, dreaming of, preparing for, another, -which may or may not be in store for him, but to do his duty and fulfil -his destiny on earth,--to do all that lies in his power to improve it, -to render it a scene of elevated happiness to himself, to those around -him, to those who are to come after him. So will he avoid those -tormenting contests with nature,--those struggles to suppress affections -which God has implanted, sanctioned, and endowed with irresistible -supremacy,--those agonies of remorse when he finds that God is too -strong for him,--which now embitter the lives of so many earnest and -sincere souls; so will he best prepare for that future which we hope -for, if it come; so will he best have occupied the present, if the -present be his all. To demand that we love heaven more than earth, that -the unseen should hold a higher place in our affections than the seen -and familiar, is to ask that which cannot be obtained without subduing -nature, and inducing a morbid condition of the soul. The very law of our -being is love of life, and all its interests and adornments."--pp. 271, -272. - -With all that is admirable in our author's book, he contemplates the -whole subject from a point of view which exhibits it in very imperfect -lights. He professes to treat of "The Creed of Christendom." Yet, in -examining only the canonical Scriptures and the primitive belief, he -totally ignores the "Creed" of the greater part of "Christendom," -namely, of the Catholic Church. For it is only Protestants that -identify Christianity with the letter of the New Testament, and settle -everything by appeal to its contents. According to the older -doctrine, Christianity is not a Divine Philosophy recorded in certain -books, but a Divine Institution committed to certain men. The -Christian Scriptures are not its _source_, but its first _product_; -not its charter and definition, but its earliest act and the -expression of its incipient thought. They exhibit the young attempts -of the new agency, as it was getting to work upon the minds of men and -trying to penetrate the resisting mass of terrestrial affairs. They -are thus but the beginning of a record which is prolonged through all -subsequent times, the opening page in the proceedings of a Church in -perpetuity; and are not separated from the continuous sacred -literature of Christendom, as insulated fragments of Divine authority. -The supernatural element which they contain did not die out with their -generation, but has never ceased to flow through succeeding centuries. -Nor did the heavenly purpose--precipitated upon earthly materials and -media--disclose itself most conspicuously at first; but rather cleared -itself as it advanced and enriched its energy with better instruments. -The sublimest things would even lie secreted in the unconscious heart -of the new influence, and only with the slowness of noble growths push -towards the light; for the noise and obtrusiveness of the human is -ever apt to overwhelm the retiring silence of the divine. The -disciples, who, when events were before their eyes, and great words -fell upon their ears, "understood not these things at the time," are -types of all men and all ages; whose religion, coming out in the -event, is known to others better than to themselves. A faith, -therefore, should be judged less by its first form than by its last; -and at all events be studied, not as it _once_ appeared, but in the -entire retrospect of its existence. - -No doubt this doctrine of development is made subservient, in the -Romish system, to monstrous sacerdotal claims. A priestly hierarchy -pretends to the exclusive custody, and the gradual unfolding, of God's -sacred gift. But sweep away this holy corporation; throw its treasury -open, and let its vested right, of paying out the truth, be flung into -the free air of history; gather together no Sacred College but the -collected ages; appeal to no high Pontiff but the Providence of -God;--and there remains a far juster and sublimer view of the place -and function of a pure Gospel in the world, than the narrow Protestant -conception. Christianity becomes thus, not the Creed of its Founders, -but the Religion of Christendom, to be estimated only in comparison -with the faiths of other groups of the great human family; and the -superhuman in it will consist in this,--the providential introduction -among the affairs of this world of a divine influence, which shall -gradually reach to untried depths in the hearts of men, and become the -organizing centre of a new moral and spiritual life. It is a power -appointed--an inspiration given--to fetch by reverence a true religion -out of man, and not, by dictation, to put one into him. - -For this end, it would not even be necessary that the bearers of the -divine element should be personally initiated into the counsels whose -ministers they are. _Philosophy_ must know what it teaches; but -_Inspiration_, in giving the intensest light to others, may have a -dark side turned towards itself. There is no irreverence in saying -this, and no novelty: on the contrary, the idea has ever been familiar -to the most fervent men and ages, of Prophets who prepared a future -veiled from their own eyes, and saintly servants of heaven, who drew -to themselves a trust, and wielded a power, which their ever-upward -look never permitted them to guess. Nay, to no one was this conception -less strange, than to the very man who, in his turn, must now have it -applied to himself. With the Apostle Paul it was a favorite notion, -that the entire plan of the Divine government had been a profound -secret during the ages of its progress, and was opening into clear -view only at the hour of its catastrophe. Not only was there _more in -it_ than had been surmised, but something utterly _at variance_ with -all expectation. Its whole conception had remained unsuspected from -first to last; undiscerned by the vision of seers, and unapproached by -the guesses of the wise. Never absent from the mind of God, and never -pausing in its course of execution, it had yet evaded the notice of -all observers; and winding its way through the throng of nations and -the labyrinth of centuries, the great Thought had passed in disguise, -using all men and known of none. Nor was it only the pagan eye that, -for want of special revelation, had been detained in darkness, or -beguiled with the scenery of dreams. The very people whose life was -the main channel of the Divine purpose did not feel the tide of -tendency which they conveyed; the patriarchs who fed their flocks near -its fountains, the lawgiver who founded a state upon its banks, the -priests whose temple poured blood into its waters, and the prophets at -whose prayer the clouds of heaven dropped fresh purity into the -stream,--all were unconscious of its course; assigning it to regions -it should never visit, and missing the point where it should be lost -in the sea. Nay, Paul seems to bring down this edge of darkness to a -later time; to include within it even the ministry of Christ and the -Galilean Apostles; to imply that even they were unconscious -instruments of a scheme beyond the range of their immediate thought; -and that not till Jesus had passed into the light of heaven did the -time come for revealing, through the man of Tarsus, the significance -of Messiah's earthly visit, and its place in the great scheme of -things. Paul, in claiming this as his own special function, certainly -implies that, previous to his call, no one was in condition to -interpret the secret counsels of God in the historic development of -his providence. He feels this to be no reflection on his predecessors, -no cause of elevation in himself; steward as he is of a mighty -mystery, he is less than the least of all saints. He simply stands at -the crisis when a conception is permitted to the world, which even -"the angels have vainly desired to look into"; and though he may _see_ -more, he _is_ infinitely less than the Prophets and the Messiah whose -place it is given him to explain. He is but the interpreter, they are -the grand agencies interpreted. He is but the discerning eye, they are -the glorious objects on which it is fixed. - -In seeking, therefore, for the _divine element_ in older -dispensations, the Apostle would assuredly _not_ consult the projects -and beliefs of their founders and ministers. In his view, the very -scheme of God was to work through these without their knowing what -they were about; to let them aim at one thing while he was directing -them to another; to pour through their life and soul an energy which -should indeed fire their will and flow from their lips in _their own_ -best purposes, but steal quietly behind them for _his_; so that what -was primary with them was perhaps evanescent with him; while that -which was incidental, and dropped from them unawares, was the seed of -an eternal good. What Moses planned, what David sung, what Isaiah led -the people to expect, was not what Heaven had at heart to execute. -Even in quest of God's thought in the _Christian_ dispensation, Paul -does not refer to the doctrines, the precepts, the miracles of Jesus -during his ministry in Palestine,--to the memorials of his life, or -the testimony of his companions. He assumes that, at so early a date, -the time had not yet come for the truth to appear, and that it was -vain to look for it in the preconceptions of the uncrucified and -unexalted Christ; who was the religion, not in revelation, but in -disguise. If, therefore, any one had argued against the Apostle thus: -"Why tell us to discard the law? your Master said he came to fulfil -it. How do you venture to preach to the Gentiles, when Jesus declared -his mission limited to the lost sheep of the house of Israel? No -vestiges of your doctrine of free grace can be found in the parables, -or of redeeming faith in the Sermon on the Mount";--he would have -boldly replied, that this proves nothing against truths that are newer -than the life, because expounded by the death, of Christ; that God -reveals by action, not by teaching; that no servant of his can -understand his own office till it is past; and that only those who -look back upon it through the interpretation of events, can read -aright the divine idea which it enfolds. - -This view it was that made the Apostle so bold an innovator, and -filled his Epistles with a system so different from that of the -synoptical Gospels as almost to constitute a different religion. He -had seized the profound and sublime idea that, when men are inspired, -the inspiration occupies, not their conscious thought and will, but -their unconscious nature; laying a silent beauty on their affections, -secreting a holy wisdom in their life, and, through the sorrows of -faithfulness, tempting their steps to some surprise of glory. That -which they deliberately think, that which they anxiously elaborate, -that which they propose to do, is ever the product of their human -reason and volition, and cannot escape the admixture of personal -fallibility. But their free spontaneous nature speaks unawares, like a -sweet murmuring from angels' dreams. What they think without knowing -it, what they say without thinking it, what they do without saying it, -all the native pressures of their love and aspiration, these are the -hiding-place of God, wherein abiding, he leaves their simplicity pure -and their liberty untouched. The current of their reasoning and action -is determined by human conditions and material resistances; but the -fountain in the living rock has waters that are divine. If this be -true, then must we search for the heavenly element in the latencies -rather than the prominencies of their life; in what they _were_, -rather than in what they _thought to do_; in the beliefs they felt -without announcing; in the objects they accomplished, but never -planned. We must wait for their agency in history, and from the fruit -return to find the seed. - -It is not peculiar to Mr. Greg that, in estimating Christianity, he has -neglected, and even reversed, this principle. All who have treated of it -from the Protestant point of view have done the same. They have assumed -that the religion was to be most clearly discerned at its commencement; -that the divine thought it contained would be, not evolved, but obscured -by time, and might be better detected in ideal shape at the beginning of -the ages, than realized at the end; that its agents and inaugurators -must have been fully cognizant of its whole scope and contents, and set -them in the open ground of their speech and practical career. In the -minds of all Protestants the Christian religion is identified -exclusively with the ideas of the first century, with the creed of the -Apostles, with the teachings of Christ. The New Testament is its sole -depository, in whose books there is nothing for which it is not -answerable. The consequence is a perpetual struggle between untenable -dogma and unprofitable scepticism. The whole structure of faith becomes -precarious. If Luke and Matthew should disagree about a date or a -pedigree; if Mark should report a questionable miracle; if John should -mingle with his tenderness and depth some words of passionate -intolerance; if Peter should misapply a psalm, and Paul indite mistaken -prophecies; above all, if Jesus should appear to believe in demonology, -and not to have foreseen the futurities of his Church,--these detected -specks are felt like a total eclipse; affrighted faith hides its face -from them and shrieks; and he who points them out, though only to show -how pure the orb that spreads behind, is denounced as a prophet of evil. -The peaceful and holy centre of religion is shaken by storms of angry -erudition. Devout ingenuity or indevout acuteness spend themselves in -vitiating the impartial course of historical criticism; neither of them -reflecting, that, if the topics in dispute are open to reasonable doubt, -they cannot be matter of _revelation_, and may be calmly looked at as -objects of natural thought. It is a thing alike dangerous and unbecoming -that religion should be narrowed to a miserable literary partisanship, -bound up with a disputed set of critical conclusions, unable to deliver -its title-deeds from a court of perpetual chancery, whose decisions are -never final. The time seems to have arrived for freeing the Protestant -Christianity from its superstitious adhesion to the mere _letter_ of the -Gospel, and trusting more generously to that permanent inspiration, -those ever-living sources of truth within the soul, of which Gospel and -Epistle, the speeches of Apostles and the insight of Christ, are the -pre-eminent, rather than the lonely, examples. The _primitive_ Gospel is -not in its form, but only in its spirit, the _everlasting_ Gospel. It is -concerned, and, if we look to _quantity_ alone, _chiefly_ concerned, -with questions that have ceased to exist, and interests that no longer -agitate. It often reasons from principles we do not own, and is tinged -with feelings which we cannot share. Often do the most docile and open -hearts resort to it with reverent hopes which it does not realize, and -close it with a sigh of self-reproach or disappointment. With the deep -secrets of the conscience, the sublime hopes, the tender fears, the -infinite wonderings of the religious life, it deals less altogether than -had been desired; and in touching them does not always glorify and -satisfy the heart. We are apt to long for some nearer reflection, some -more immediate help, of our existence in this present hour and this -English land, where our enemies are not Pharisees and Sadducees, or our -controversies about Beelzebub and his demons; but where we would fain -know how to train our children, to subdue our sins, to ennoble our lot, -to think truly of our dead. The merchant, the scholar, the statesman, -the heads of a family, the owner of an estate, occupy a moral sphere, -the problems and anxieties of which, it must be owned, Evangelists and -Apostles do not approach. Scarcely can it be said that general rules are -given, which include these particular cases. For the Christian -Scriptures are singularly sparing of general rules. They are eminently -personal, national, local. They tell us of Martha and Mary, of Nicodemus -and Nathaniel, but give few maxims of human nature, or large formulas of -human life: so that their spiritual guidance first becomes available -when its essence has been translated from the special to the universal, -and again brought down from the universal to the modern application. -They are felt to be an inadequate measure of our living Christianity, -and to leave untouched many earnest thoughts that aspire and pray within -the mind. One divine gift, indeed, they impart to us,--the gracious and -holy image of Christ himself. Yet, somehow, even that sacred form -appears with more disencumbered beauty, and in clearer light, when -regarded at a little distance in the pure spaces of our thought, than -when seen close at hand on the historic canvas. It is not that the ideal -figure is a subjective fiction of our own, more perfect than the real. -Every lineament, every gesture, all the simple majesty, all the deep -expressiveness, we conceive to be justified and demanded by the actual -portraiture: our least hesitating veneration sees nothing that is not -there. But the original artists' sympathy we feel to have been somewhat -different from ours. They have labored to exhibit aspects that move us -little; and only faintly marked the traces that to us are most divine. -The view is often broken, the official dress turned into a disguise. The -local groups are in the way; the possessed and the perverse obtrude -themselves in front with too much noise; and the refracting cloud of -prophecy and tradition is continually thrown between. So that the image -has a distincter glory to the meditating mind than to the reading eye. - -All this, oftener perhaps felt than confessed, is perfectly natural -and innocent. It betrays the instinctive analysis by which our own -affections separate the divine from the human. Paul was right in his -principle, that in history _the divine element lies hid_; is missed at -the time, even by those who are its vehicle; and does not parade -itself in what they consciously design, but lurks in what they -unconsciously execute. It comes forth at "the end of the ages,"--the -retrospect of fifty generations instead of the foresight of one. This -doctrine is true of individuals, in proportion as they are great and -good. They labor at what is most difficult to them, and make it their -end; but their appointed power lies in what is easiest. They chiefly -prize the beliefs and the virtues most painfully won; but their -highest truth dwells in the trusts they cannot help, and their purest -influence in the graces they never willed, or knew to be their own. -And it is true in history; Paul himself signally illustrating the rule -which he had applied to earlier times. He had found, as he supposed, -the Providence of the Past, which all had missed, from Moses to -Christ; but in his turn he missed, as we perceive, the Providence of -the Future, from himself to us. The kind of agency which he -anticipated for Christ bears no resemblance to that which his religion -has actually exercised. The only fault we can find with Mr. Thom's -admirable exposition is, that he attributes to the Apostle too -distinct an apprehension of Christ as an impersonation of _moral -perfection_; and supposes the purpose of the Pauline Christianity to -have been the establishment, as sole condition of discipleship, of -reverential sympathy with the type of character realized in the -Galilean life of Jesus. He says:-- - -"In contrast with such teachers" (the Ritual and the Dogmatic), "St. -Paul, in our present chapter (1 Corinthians ii.), refers both to the -_matter_ and the _manner_ of his own ministration of the Gospel. He -did not teach it as a _Rhetorician_, to attract admiration to himself, -and give more lively impressions of Paul the Orator than of Christ the -Redeemer from sin, nor as a _Philosopher_, to raise doubtful questions -on metaphysical subjects, and become the leader of a speculative -school; but as the Apostle of Jesus Christ, he proclaimed to the -hearts of men the practical and life-giving Gospel, that 'God was in -Christ reconciling the world unto himself'; that by the universal -Saviour all distinctions were for ever destroyed, and the whole family -of God to grow into the common likeness of that well-beloved Son,--for -that now neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, -but the renewal of the affections after the image of the Lord. Where -could an entrance be found for party divisions in a doctrine that -professed nothing, that aimed at nothing, except to awaken the -consciousness of sin within the heart, and, through trust in the God -of holiness and love revealed in Jesus, to lead it to repentance and -life? All who felt this love of Christ constraining them, cleansing -their souls by the divine image that had taken possession of their -affections, and, through the mercy it proclaimed, encouraging their -penitence to look for pardon from their God, must, of necessity, be -one communion; for this Gospel sentiment and hope could create no -divisions amongst those who had it,--and those who had it not were -outside the Christian pale, and, so far, could make no schisms within -it. Now, whence comes this Gospel sentiment, this new principle of -life? Were there any who had the exclusive power of communicating it? -Did it require to be introduced by any intricate reasonings, by any -subtle dialectics, which only the Masters in philosophy had at their -command? Not so, says St. Paul;--it is a spiritual feeling, excited -by moral sympathy, as soon as Christ is offered to the hearts that are -susceptible of the sentiment;--and in whatever bosom there is not -enough of the Spirit of God to cause that moral attraction to take -place, neither philosophy nor outward forms, nor aught else but the -divine image of goodness kept before the heart, can awaken the -slumbering sensibilities which are the very faculties of spiritual -apprehension, and which, as soon as they are alive, behold in Christ -the solution of their own struggling and imperfect existence, their -ideal and their rest. In regard to a sentiment so spiritual, a -sympathy with the image of God, where is the possibility of -introducing party divisions, and violating Christian unity? There can -be but two parties,--those that _have_ the sentiment, and those that -have it not. All Christians constitute the one,--and as for the other, -in relation to Christian unity, they are not in question. Such is the -argument of St. Paul in this second chapter."--p. 30. - -It may be quite true that the essential power of Christianity resides -in the image, ever present to the heart of Christendom, of a God -resembling Christ, and loving those who aspire to approach him through -the same resemblance. But we cannot find any traces of such a -conception in the writings of Paul. The "faith" on which he -exclusively insisted would be very incorrectly defined, we conceive, -as a reverence of Christ's character as morally like God. If we may -judge from the negative evidence of his letters, he appears to have -had no insight into the interior of his Master's earthly life, and no -great concern about it. There is an entire absence of any _moral_ -picture of Jesus, who is presented in the Apostolic writings as an -object, not of retrospective veneration, but of expectant reliance; -not of admiring trust for personal qualities realized in a past -career, but of hope grounded on his official destiny in the future. -_One_ beauty of his character is, indeed, appealed to in the Pauline -writings, viz. his humility and self-renunciation;[54] but even this -is recognized, not on historical, but on theocratic grounds; it is -illustrated, not by anything in his life, but by the fact of his -death, conceived as a voluntary postponement of his theocratic -prerogatives, and an abrogation of his exclusive nationality. He was a -"spiritual" object to the Apostle of the Gentiles, not from perception -of the inner marks and graces of his spirit, but from his being -invisible and immortal, reserved in heaven under external escape from -the conditions of earthly life. Mr. Thom's doctrine is a happy -development of modern truth from ancient error; but regarded as a mere -interpretation, it perhaps sets down to the Apostle's account a just -moral appreciation of the past, instead of an erroneous conception of -the Providence of the future. The religion of Christ has assuredly -turned out a very different phenomenon from anything that was -anticipated at its origin. It was announced as a Kingdom; as the king -did not come, it became a Republic. It was conceived as a State; it -grew up into a Faith. It was proclaimed as the world's end; it proved -to be a fresh beginning. It was to consummate the Law and the -Prophets; and it confounded both. It was to cover Pagan nations with -shame and destruction; it embalmed their literature, and was -transformed by their philosophy. It was to deliver over the earth to -the pure and severe Monotheism of the Hebrews; which, however, it so -relaxed as to provoke Islam into existence to proclaim again the -monarchy of God. Its subjects were to be gathered from the Jews and -half-castes of the Eastern Synagogue; and its most signal glories have -been among the Teutonic nations, and the then unsuspected continents -of the West. In every element of its internal power, in every -direction of its external action, it has burst all the proportions, -left behind all the expectations, with which it was born; and how can -we continue to try it by the standard of its origin? Are we to say, -that, having promised one thing and become another, it is not of God? -That might be well, if it had _fallen short_ of its own -professions,--disappointed us of dreams it had awakened of glory and -delight. But if it has been _far better than its word_; if, instead of -winding up the world's affairs, it has given them a new career; if -for Messiah's tame millennium we have the grand and struggling life of -Christendom, and for his closed books of judgment the yet open page of -human history; if for the earthly throne and sceptre of Christ, -sweeping away the treasures of past civilization, we have his heavenly -image and spirit, presiding over the re-birth of art, the awakening of -thought, the direction of law, and the organism of nations; if from -the dignity of outward sovereignty he has been raised to that of Lord -of the living conscience, not superseding the soul, but exercising it -with sorrow and aspiration; then, surely, in so outstripping itself, -the religion should win a more exceeding measure of trust and -affection. Had it only realized its first assurances, we should have -thought it divine; since it has so much surpassed them, we must esteem -it diviner. There is no reason for the common assumption that a -religion must be purest in its infancy. It is no less surrounded then, -than at each subsequent time, with human conditions, and transmitted -through human faculties; and when delivered to the world, embodied in -action or in speech, necessarily presents itself as a mixed product of -divine insight and of human thought,--of the living present and the -decaying past; a flash of heavenly fire on the outspread fuel upon the -altar of tradition. So it is with the Scriptures of the New Testament; -which are not the heavenly source, but the first earthly result and -expression of Christianity, and which present the perishable -conditions as well as the indestructible life of the religion. Only by -the course of time and Providence can these be disengaged from one -another, and the accidents of place and nation fall away. If there -dwell in the midst a divine productive element, the further it passes -from the moment of its nativity, the clearer and more august will it -appear. It is like the seed dropped at first on an unprepared and -unexpectant ground; which in its earliest development yields but a -struggling and scanty growth, but each season, as another generation -of leaves falls from the boughs, becomes the source, through richer -nutriment, of fuller forms; till at length, when it has spread the -foliage of ages, making its own soil, and deepening the luxuriance of -its own roots, a forest in all its glory covers the land, and waves in -magnificence over continents once bare of life and beauty. So is it -with the germ of divine truth cast upon the inhospitable conditions of -history; it is small and feeble in its earlier day; but when it has -provided the aliment of its own growth, and shed its reproductive -treasures on the congenial mind of generations and races, it starts -into the proportions of a Christendom, and becomes the shade and -shelter of a world. - -Much, therefore, as we value all attempts to illustrate the first -records of Christianity, and to detach what was purely human and -transient in its original form, we think that the religion itself -cannot acknowledge the competency of such investigations to decide -upon its claims. From a verdict on its _first_ works, it has a right -to appeal for judgment upon _the whole_. It is the religion, not of -John and Paul alone, but of Christendom; without a comparative -estimate of whose moral and social genius, it can by no means be -appreciated. The weakness and inadequacy of all narrower methods of -defence will in the end drive the clergy to occupy this larger basis -of operations. And the change will be not more favorable to the logic -of their cause than to the charity of their disposition. So long as -the Scriptures alone are taken as the standard, no more than one -creed, at most, can be regarded as concurrent with the Christian -faith. But when the entire existence of the religion through eighteen -centuries is adopted as the measure, the very interests of advocacy -themselves require that the best construction rather than the worst be -put upon the errors and eccentricities of all churches within the -compass of Christendom. The evidences would, in that case, be -destroyed by exclusiveness, and widened in their foundations by -comprehensiveness of temper; and the firmness of every disciple's -faith and the energy of his zeal would become assurances, not of his -limitation of mind, but of his largeness of heart. Instead of endless -divisions, multiplied in the search after unity, we might hope to see -the lines of separation become ever fainter; and every test of -Christianity withdrawn except that of moral sympathy with the spirit -of Christ; a test which, as God alone can apply it, man cannot abuse; -and according to which many that, in the ecclesiastic roll, have been -first, shall be last, and the last first. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[54] See Philippians ii. 5-11. - - - - -THE ETHICS OF CHRISTENDOM. - - _The Temporal Benefits of Christianity exemplified in its - Influence on the Social, Intellectual, Civil, and Political - Condition of Mankind, from its first Promulgation to the present - Day._ By ROBERT BLAKEY. London. 1849. - - _Small Books on Great Subjects._ Edited by a few Well-Wishers to - Knowledge. No. 19. _On the State of Man subsequent to the - Promulgation of Christianity._ London. 1851. - - _The Connection of Morality with Religion; a Sermon, preached in - the Cathedral of St. Patrick, at an Ordination held by the Lord - Archbishop of Dublin, Sunday, September 21, 1851._ By WILLIAM - FITZGERALD, A.M., Vicar of St. Ann's, and Professor of Moral - Philosophy in the University of Dublin. London. 1851. - - -Of these works, the third treats theoretically, the others practically, -of the relation of Christianity to human nature. The preacher seeks in -the natural conscience for the moral ground and receptacle of -revelation; while the historians trace its moral operation in society -and life. Were both tasks perfectly performed, we should be furnished -with a complete image of the religion at once in its idea and its -expression; should be able definitely to compare its promise with its -achievements and to submit it, as a whole, to philosophical -appreciation. But the two halves of the subject are exhibited with very -unequal success. It is much easier to show the intended than the actual -influence of the Christian faith upon the character of its -disciples,--to determine by _a priori_ methods what it _must be_, than -by an _a posteriori_ induction to estimate what it _has been_, and is. -Mr. Fitzgerald, as becomes a professor of ethical science, has well -contended that the religion which he recommends from the pulpit is -neither indifferent nor supercilious towards the morals which he teaches -from the University chair,--but assumes their obligation, appeals to -their authority, and, in its mode of reconciling the human will with the -Divine, raises them into eternal sanctities. It addresses itself to man -as a being already conscious of responsibility; and simply proposes to -restore reason and conscience to that supremacy _in fact_ which _of -right_ they can never lose. How far has this aim been visibly realized? -Are the traces of a Divine renovation clear upon the face of -Christendom? Is there the difference between ancient Greece and modern -England, or between the empire and the papacy of Rome, which might be -expected between an unregenerate world and a regenerate? The historical -answer to these questions is attempted by Mr. Blakey, with perhaps -adequate resources of knowledge, but with so imperfect an apprehension -of the requisites of his argument, that his book, though often -instructive in detail, is altogether ineffective as a whole. He is -content to select and enumerate the most salient and favorable points in -the transition from ancient to modern civilization, and to set them down -to the credit of Christianity; without care to disengage the action of -concurrent causes, or to balance the account by reference to more -questionable effects. A much finer analysis is needed, in order to draw -from history its real testimony on this great matter; and nothing can -well be more arbitrary, than to stroll through some fifteen centuries, -and, gathering up none but the most picturesque and beneficent -phenomena, weave them into a glory to crown the faith with which they -co-exist. In Christendom, all the great and good things that are done at -all will of course be done by Christians, and will contain such share of -the religious element as may belong to the character of the actor or the -age; but before you can avail yourself of them in Christian -Apologetics, it must be shown that, under any other faith, no social -causes would have remained adequate either to produce them or to provide -any worthy equivalent. Because Charlemagne, after baptizing the Saxons -in their own blood, displayed a better zeal by establishing cathedral -and conventual schools, _therefore_ to put the horn-book of the liberal -arts into the hand of his religion, while leaving the wet sword to stain -his own; because chivalry blended in its vow "_fear of God_" with "love -of the ladies," _therefore_ to trace all loyalty and courtesy to the -doctrine of the Church; because the mediaeval schoolmen imported into -every science the canons of Divinity, and decided between Realism and -Nominalism on eucharistic principles, _therefore_ to give the priesthood -all the honors of modern philosophy and intellectual liberty,--is, to -say the least, very vulnerable logic and very superficial history. Of a -far superior order is the little book "On the State of Man subsequent to -the Promulgation of Christianity." In a previous treatise, "On the State -of Man _before_ the Promulgation of Christianity," the author had passed -under rapid review the ancient systems of civilization,--stationary, -progressive, aggressive; and having seized on their characteristic -features, he now brings with him determinate points of comparison into -his survey of the post-Apostolic times. The view which he spreads -beneath your eye of the world, as it lay ready to afford a channel for -the Christian faith, is remarkable for breadth and truth. Conducting -you, with the wide picture in your mind, to the pure head-spring in -Galilee, and keeping close to the stream as it descends and opens from -these sequestered heights, he enables you to see, reach by reach, where -it fertilizes and where it destroys; the new fields of life it enters, -the old landmarks of habit it overwhelms. The author is not more -familiar with the Christian Apologists and Fathers, than with the later -Latin and revived Greek literature from Trajan to Aurelian; and by -skilfully noting the moments when Pagan and Christian life not only -stood in silent co-presence, but came into active contact, he brings out -into clear relief the new type of character which formed itself within -the communities of disciples. That type is so strikingly original, its -features so conspicuously express an order of passions and ideas strange -alike to the Hellenic and the Italian races, as to betray the creative -action of some vast moral power unborrowed from the established -civilization. When the free Roman breaks the bread of communion with -slaves,--when the slippery Syrian forswears lying and theft,--when the -heedless Greek changes his eagerness of the moment into a living for -eternity,--when a people ignorant of Stoic maxims display a contempt of -torture and death sublimer than the ideal of the Porch,--an influence is -plainly at work which has penetrated to hitherto unawakened depths of -the human soul. The phenomenon is the more impressive, when regard is -had to the materials from which the early Christian communities were -gathered. It cannot be imagined that they were composed of elements -particularly choice; and, indeed, amid the universal corruption of -morals and exhaustion of wholesome life, it is difficult to conceive -how, if the Christian doctrine had enforced a rigorous selection, -instead of indiscriminately inviting innocence and guilt, any decent -elements could have been collected. Without adopting Gibbon's -contemptuous estimate of the body of primitive believers, we cannot -doubt that it comprised very mixed ingredients; we know that it -contained great numbers of the servile class, and very few whose station -and culture gave them access to the higher ideas familiar to the schools -of philosophy: yet from these unpromising sources arose a society, -which, in severity of morals, in intensity of affection, in heroism of -endurance, reversed the habits of the world to which they belonged. It -seems to us an idle question for sceptical criticism to raise, whether -the religion of Christ comprised in its teachings any ethical element -absolutely new. If genius had conceived it all before, life had not -produced it till now; and the more you affirm the philosophers' -competency to think it, the more do you convict them of inability to -realize it. But in morals scarcely _can_ there be clear intellectual -conception of principles not yet embodied in living character. As in the -highest works of art, the thing seen is far other than the thing -imagined and described; not doctrines, but persons, are here the only -expression of the truth; and till they appear, ethical forms are but as -the human clay without the vital fire. In the _statement_ of thought, -the early Christians, not excepting the Scripture writers, are rude and -unskilled; and a taste formed from the study of Plato and Seneca may be -offended by the rusticity of Mark, and the abruptness of Paul. But -whoever can rise above the level of a merely intellectual critique, and -embrace, with our anonymous author, the _whole_ phenomenon of the first -centuries of our era, will see a glow of self-denying faith, and a deep -movement of conscience, affording manifest announcement of a new edition -of human nature. - -That edition has now been extant for many centuries; and is variously -legible in the literature, the institutions, the private manners of -Christendom. The Christian ideal of human life lies as an open book -before us; yet as a book so various in its versions, and so overlaid -with comments, that the fresh flavor of its language, and even the finer -essence of its thought, are in danger of being lost. The actual -Christianity of each successive age, and each contemporary nation, is -the express result, not only in its dogma, but in its life, of two -component terms,--a given _matter_, and a given _faculty_ of faith. -However full and constant the former may be in itself, the latter is -perpetually variable with the knowledge and passions of the time, and -the special genius of individual leaders; nor can this variation of -insight in the mind fail to neutralize some portion of truth, and to -give disproportionate magnitude to others. The data supplied by -inspiration itself form no exception to this rule. Delivered into the -charge of the human soul, they fall into the moulds of its recipient -nature, take their immediate form from the laws of its life, and are -reacted on from its independent activity. The _immutable_ custody of -anything by a finite thinking subject, involves the most evident -contradiction; the very contact with human intelligence reduces -universal truth to partial, the permanent to the variable, the secure to -the contingent. It is only in the essential Unity of Reason and -Conscience in every age, that we find the means of correcting the -aberrations and verifying the insight of all particular men. Not that we -are to conceive of the human race collectively as one large person, of -which individual minds are vital organs, and which has a necessary -growth and development, entitling each century to boast of advance -beyond its predecessors. We know of no spiritual units, of no -personalities, except each single and separate will; nor do we find -anything in their mutual relation which necessarily determines them to -uninterrupted improvement, and excludes the encroachment of degeneracy -and falsehood. Indeed, no sorrier product is there of human conceit and -ignorance than the cant of "progress," which assumes that every newest -phase of thought is wisest. But if all men are endowed with radically -the same faculties, however various in their intensities and -proportions, there is a court of appeal in permanent sitting, where the -normal laws of intellectual and moral apprehension are administered -against all provincial prejudices and transient verdicts of error. In -the long run, the healthy perceptions of good eyes will outvote the -discoloring effects of all ophthalmic epidemics, how obstinate and wide -soever they may be. And the moral vision of mankind will no less -vindicate its natural rights, by returning again and again into clear -discernments, and settled admirations, and discharging the illusory -forms and false tints of each separate age. To deny the ethical -competency of the mind for this office,--to say that there is no power -given for deciding what, among the claimants on reverence, is really -noble, true, and good,--is, with all its pietistic pretences, an act of -the profoundest scepticism, washing away, as a quicksand, the only rock -on which any faith can be built. It is to treat the durable source of -truth as evanescent and uncertain, and shut out the possibility of all -religion. On the other hand, to set up and idolize the life and thought -of any one time as an unquestionable rule for all times, and stereotype -it for unmodified reproduction, is to treat the evanescent as the -durable, and build on whatever stands above the water, heedless whether -it be the quicksand or the rock. Yet, strange to say, this particular -superstition, and that general unbelief,--an apparent antithesis of -error,--usually meet in the same mind, and constitute together the chief -theology of most visible churches. Having deposed and insulted the -eternal sanctities, they coax and flatter the letter of Scripture to -accept the vacant throne, and exchange the holy modesty of its -administration for a universal empire of pretence. They drain off the -springs of inspiration at their fountain-head, and turn all history into -a plain of sand, that they may magnify their Hebrew reservoir as the -world's sole supply; forgetting that, when cut off from the running -waters, the choicest store loses its fresh virtues, and the fairest -lake, shut up without exit, turns into a Dead Sea. In contradiction of -both errors, we shall assume that transitory elements cannot fail to mix -themselves with the expression of the purest inspiration,--the horizon -of human relations and expressible things around even the divinest soul -being limited; and that, as the inspiration tries itself upon age after -age, bringing into distinct consciousness now one side of truth and now -another, it becomes more and more possible to find its essence and -eliminate its accidents, to save its catholic beauties apart from its -sectional distortions. The Christian ideal of life is not to be looked -for in what is special to the Crusader or the Quaker,--to Puritan or -Cavalier,--to Platonists of the second century or Aristotelians of the -twelfth,--to Aquinas or Luther,--to John or Paul; but in such sentiment -as was common to them all, and attached to them as citizens of -Christendom. When this element is disengaged from all that encumbers it, -it will be found pervading and animating still whatever is noblest in -our modern life; while all that is narrow, and weak, and unworthy in the -moral doctrine of our age, springs from a forced attempt to perpetuate -the accidental modes of the Apostolic period. - -Every one is sensible of a change in the whole climate of thought and -feeling, the moment he crosses any part of the boundary which divides -Christian civilization from Heathendom; yet of nothing is it more -difficult to render any compendious account. It is easy to enumerate in -detail the phenomena which are modified or disappear; just as on -entering a new physical region the travelling naturalist may register -the new species of plants and animals, that, one after another, present -themselves to his research. But these do not paint the scene before even -the learned eye; they are the separate out-comings of a great -life-thrill, into whose current their roots penetrate; the landscape, as -a whole, speaks differently to the mind, and the whole heaven and earth -seem pregnant with a thought unfelt before. To read off that thought, -requires an apprehension the converse of the analytic vision of science. -The same difficulty occurs when we endeavor to seize the latent -principle of a natural realm of history. Such principle, however, there -must be. Beneath all the moving tides of Christian thought there lie -still depths that supply them all, and a centre of equilibrium around -which they sweep. We believe that the fundamental idea of Christendom -may be described to be _the ascent through Conscience into communion -with God_. Other religions have lent their sanctions to morality, and -announced the Divine commands to the human will; but only as the laws of -an outward monarch within whose sovereignty we lie, and who, ruling in -virtue of his almightiness, has a right to obedience, ordain as he will. -Other religions, again, have aimed at a union with God. But the -conditions of this union, dictated by misleading conceptions of the -Divine nature, have missed on every side the true level of human dignity -and peace. Manichaeism, deifying the antithesis of matter, takes the path -of ascetic suppression of the body. The Indian Pantheist, imagining the -Divine Abyss as the realm of night and infinite negation, strives to -hold in the breath and sink into self-annulment. Plato, seeing in God -the essence of thought, demands science and beauty, not less than -goodness, as the needful notes of harmony with him, and appoints the -approach to heaven by academic ways. The modern Quietists, worshipping a -Being too much the reflection of their own tenderness, have lost -themselves in soft affections, relaxing to the nerves of duty, and -unseemly in the face of eternal law. Christianity alone has neither -crushed the soul by mere submission, like Mohammedanism; nor melted it -away in the tides of infinite being, like Pantheistic faiths; but has -saved the good of both, by establishing the union with God through a -free act of the individual soul. Assigning to him a transcendent moral -nature, sensitive to the same distinctions, conservative of the same -solemnities, which awe and kindle us, it singles out the conscience as -the field where we are to meet him,--where the bridge will be found of -transit between the human and the divine. No fear or servility remains -with an obedience consisting, not in mystic acts and artificial habits, -but in the free play of natural goodness; and rendered, not in homage to -a Supreme Autocrat, but in sympathy with a Mind itself the infinite -impersonation of all the sanctities. Nor are any dizzy and perilous -flights incurred by a devotion which meets its great Inspirer in no -foreign heaven, but in the higher walks of this home life, and misses -him only in what is mean and low. The place assigned in Christianity to -the _moral_ sentiments and affections has no parallel in any other -religion. The whole faith is as an unutterable sigh after an ideal -perfection. Holiness eternal in heaven, incarnate on earth, and to be -realized in men,--this is the circle of conceptions in which it moves. -Its very name for the Inspiration which mediates all its work, expresses -the same thing. It is not simply an [Greek: enthousiasmos],--not [Greek: -mania],--not [Greek: bakcheia],--but the [Greek: pneuma hagion]. The -Daemon of Socrates--the least heathenish of heathen men--was but an -intellectual guide, and checked his erring judgment; the Holy Spirit -guards the vigils of duty, and succors the disciple's tempted will. This -profound sense of interior amity with God through faithfulness to our -highest possibility, appears in the Christian Scriptures under two -forms,--the positive and the negative,--each the complement of the -other. In the Gospel, Jesus himself, as befits the saintly mind lifted -above the strife of passion, describes the _aspiration after goodness_ -as the native guidance of the soul to her source and refuge. In the -Epistles, Paul, pouring forth the confessions of a fiery nature, -proclaims the _sense of sin_ to be the contracted hinderance that bars -the ascent, and against which the wings of the struggling will beat only -to grow faint. These representations are evidently but the two sides of -the same doctrine seen from the heavenly and from the earthly position. -Whether we are told what the good heart will find, or what the guilty -must lose, the lesson equally recognizes the Divine authority of -conscience. The benediction and the curse are but the bright and the -dark hemisphere of one perfect truth. The Apostle, standing in the -shadow of the world's night, and regarding its averted face, dwells on -the gloom of alienation,--the "foolish heart that is darkened,"--the -"reprobate mind" from which God is hid. Christ, conscious of the holy -light, and knowing how it penetrates the folds of willing natures, and -wakes what else would sleep, speaks rather of the glory that is not -denied, and utters that deepest of blessings,--"The pure in heart shall -see God." To this bright side also the Pauline view in the end comes -round. For though in him we miss that recognition of a natural human -goodness which gives such grace and sweetness to many of the parables; -though in his scheme the human will has not only betrayed its trust, but -hopelessly crippled its powers; yet he does not leave it in the collapse -of paralysis, with the hard saying that it can in no wise lift up -itself, but points to a hope that bends over it from above. The soul -that is too far gone to act, may still be capable of love; if unable to -trust itself, it may trust another; if it cannot command its volitions, -it may surrender its affections; can reverence, can aspire, can yield -its hand, like a child, to an angel of deliverance. Beyond the precincts -of this world is an Image of divine excellence and beauty,--one recently -withdrawn from human history, and soon to have a more august return. It -is but to turn the eye and give the heart to that ideal and immortal -perfection, and in the light of so pure a love, the clouds will clear -from the conscience, and lift themselves as a nightmare away; the lame -will, forgetting its infirmities, will spring up and walk; and the -restoration, impossible by flight from deformity and ill, will come -through the attraction of a Divine sanctity and goodness. Thus does the -Apostle snatch the disciple at last into the right perceptions which -Christ assumes to be possible at first; and in both its primitive -developments the Christian religion implies the communion of man with -God through purity of heart. - -To this sentiment, conveyed with living realization in the person of -Jesus Christ, may be referred whatever is distinctively great in -Christian ethics. Proposing, as an end within their reach, the ascent of -the soul to a divine life, and as the means, a simple surrender to its -own highest intimations, they have melted away the interval between -earthly and heavenly natures,--not by humanizing God, but by -consecrating man. In treating the lower desires of sense and self as the -steams that intercept, the tender reverences as the clear air that -transmits, the light of lights, they have struck the deepest truth of -human consciousness. Hence the temper of aspiration,--the earnest -ideality,--the sense of infinite want, with faith in infinite -possibilities,--the sorrowful unrest in the present, with irrepressible -struggle for a better future,--which are impressed on the poetry, the -art, the social life of Christendom. Unlike the expression of the -Hellenic mind, they are rather a prayer for what might be, than a joy in -what is. Hence, too, the predominance of the psychological and -subjective element in the philosophy of modern times, and the conversion -of the ancient "metaphysics" into the form of "mental science." Man -would never have ceased to be merged in nature, and registered merely as -a part of its contents; his self-knowledge would not have vindicated its -independent rights; his mind would not have been recognized as the court -of record for the moral legislation of the universe,--had not his -religion taken him deep into himself, and from a new point shown him his -relation to all else; kindling his own consciousness to a point of -intense brilliancy, in correspondence with a divine centre, which must -be sought on the same axis of being,--like the two determining foci of -an infinite curve, that find each other out, while the realm of -determined nature lies around, as the configured area, or the bounding -curve. Of the external world, indeed, _too_ little account has been made -in the faith of Christians. They have not cared to recognize it as the -shrine of immanent Deity;--have stood in uneasy relations to it; often -inimical to it; sometimes trying to get rid of it as an illusion; -usually regarding it as a foreign object, like a great statue on the -stage of being, with only stony eyes and ears for the real play of -passions that whirl around. Existence, in its essence, has been felt as -an interview between man and God, at which space and nature have been -collaterally present, but in which it was not apparent what they had to -do. Physical science and the plastic arts may have reason to complain of -the depressing influence of this imperfect view, and of the hard -necessity under which it places them of pursuing their ends with only -scanty and grudging recognition from religion. But, for the philosophic -knowledge of human nature, and the practical regulation of human -society, this isolation of the soul within its own consciousness,--this -concentrated personality,--this vivid interchange of life with God -without diffusion through benumbing media,--must be held eminently -ennobling. - -If, from the fundamental Christian sentiment, we descend to the scheme -of _Applied Morals_ which it organized and inspired, the principle -still vindicates itself in its results. The great problems of life are -supplied from two sources,--the _Persons_ that may engage our -affections, and the _Pursuits_ that may invite our will. The light in -which the _personal_ relations are presented before the eye of -Christendom is undeniably benign and true. It has never been obscured -without the social spread of injustice and discontent; nor ever -cleared again, but as the precursor of reformation. That every human -soul has its sacred concerns and its divine communion, is the simplest -of thoughts; but so deep and moving, that, where it is received and -acknowledged, it calls up angelic virtues; where it is insulted and -denied, it lets slip avenging fiends. Wherever it is sincerely held, -it secures that reverential feeling towards others, beneath whose -spell the selfish passions sleep, and without which the precept of -courtesy and the definition of rights are an ineffectual form. Power -loses its insolence, and dependence its sting, where their mutual -relation does not carry the whole individuality with it, but stops -with the limits of social and political convenience, and lies under -the restraining protection of a supreme equality before God. The -"Fraternity" that is the offspring of political theories, and aims to -neutralize by fellow-citizenship the diversities and antipathies of -nature, is often the watchword of envy and egotism, shouted by the -voice of hatred, and announcing the deed of violence. It is for want -of faith in that highest brotherhood of worship and responsibility -which Christianity assumes, that impatient schemes are formed for -artificially equalizing the weak and the strong, and abolishing the -relations of necessary dependence. Nor, where that faith is absent, -can they ever be answered so as to satisfy the _feeling_ from which -they spring. They may be shown to be impracticable, and crushed by the -relentless argument of fact; but the fact will be protested against as -unnatural, and the impossibility will seem a cruelty. How differently -is this topic handled by the logic of science and the sentiment of -religion! How much less justly does the former draw the line between -natural subordination among men and tyrannous oppression, than the -latter! Aristotle undertakes the defence of slavery on grounds both of -philosophy and of experience. Nature, he contends, pursuing a definite -end in every act of creation, assigns to some things, from their very -origin, a destiny to rule, while imposing on others a necessity of -being ruled. Wherever a plurality of parts concur to form a general -whole, dominant and subordinate elements present themselves. Even -within the inanimate realm this is apparent, as in the case of harmony -in music. But it is chiefly conspicuous in the sphere of animal -existence; the body being, by nature, servitor, of which the soul is -lord. In the highest stage of animate being, the constitution of -well-organized men, this law comes into the clearest light; for here -the soul sways the body with absolute command, while reason exercises -over the passions the prerogatives of a royal and constitutional -power; and were equality to be substituted for these modes of -subjection, mischief would ensue on all sides. Not less evidently does -Nature announce the dependence of inferior on superior in the rank -allotted to the brutes in relation to man; and again, in the case of -the two sexes, of which the male, as the more distinguished, is -rendered dominant. The same necessary law adjusts the positions of -mankind _inter se_. All those who are as intrinsically inferior to -their neighbors as the body to the soul, or the brute to the -man,--(and this is precisely the case of the mere manual -laborer,)--are slaves by nature; and for them, as for the body and the -brutes, it is better to be servile than to be free. Any man who can be -made property of by another, and who is competent to understand a -master's intelligence without a spontaneous stock of his own, is -naturally a slave. Such a one performs functions in the world not -essentially distinguished from those of the domestic animals; the -destiny of both is to contribute their corporeal energies to the -service of society; and creatures fit for this alone are brought into -the slave-market by Nature herself. Consistently with this conception -of the laborer as a _living tool_ ([Greek: doulos empsychon organon]), -Aristotle lays it down that the relation of master and slave admits no -rights, and excludes friendship. To our modern worshippers of -strength, this will appear commendable doctrine, very much because -they have themselves relapsed into the old Hellenic way of studying -the problems of the universe; descending, in the Pantheistic method, -from the whole upon the parts; fetching rules from the wider sphere -(therefore the lower) to import into the narrower; entering the human -world from the physical,--the [Greek: oikoumene] from the [Greek: -kosmos]; approaching society as a specialty superinduced on a -groundwork of nomadic barbarism; and determining the functions of the -individual as member of the vital organism of the state. So long as -this logical strategy is allowed, the Titans will always conquer the -gods; the ground-forces of the lowest nature will propagate -themselves, pulse after pulse, from the abysses to the skies; and -right will exist only on sufferance from might. But there is a -heaven, after all, which the most trenchant giant cannot storm, and -where justice and sanctity reserve a quiet throne. Without disputing -the inequality of gifts and consequent law of natural ranks, religion -qualifies it by an addition which overarches and absorbs it. Were man -only the choicest, most intelligent, most gregarious of the -mammalia,--were the theory of his affairs a mere extension of natural -history,--we might reasonably discuss, in Aristotle's way, the -conditions under which he may fitly be put in harness. But there is in -him an element that takes him beyond the range of a Pliny or a Cuvier, -that lifts him out of the kingdom of nature and gives him kindred with -the preternatural and divine. He is not simply an instrument for -achieving a given fraction of a universal end, but has a sacred trust -which, on its own account, he is empowered and commissioned to -discharge. He is watched by the eyes of infinite Pity and Affection, -braced for his faithful work, succored in his fierce temptations. The -conditions of dutiful, loving, noble life must be preserved to him. -Let his task, indeed, be suited to his powers; and if he cannot rule, -by all means let him serve; but still with a margin and play of -spiritual freedom secure from encroachment and contempt. Those on whom -Heaven lays the burden of duty no power on earth may strip of rights. -The conscience with which the Highest can commune, the spirit which is -not too mean for His abode, can be no object of slight and scorn from -men. By law and usage you may have the disposal of another's lot and -labor; but in the reality of things the lord of a province may be less -than the conqueror of a temptation. You may be Greek, and he -barbarian; but in the heraldry of the universe, the blood of Agamemnon -is less noble than the spirit of a saint. In thus snatching the -individual, as bearer of a holy trust, from the crush of nature and -the world, Christianity became the first _human_ religion,--that -absolutely took no notice of race and sex and class. It created a new -order of inalienable rights, neither the heritage of birth, nor the -franchise of a state, but inherent in the moral capabilities of a man. -The free opening of sanctity and immortality to every willing heart -could not fail to exercise an intense influence on the better portion -of a world, like the declining empire of Rome, sickened with -corruption and confused with unmanageable oppressions. That it did so, -is proved by the whole tenor of the early Christian literature; and -the effect is well described and accounted for by the writer "On the -State of Man subsequent to the Promulgation of Christianity." - -"The mockery of adoring as gods the licentious tyrants who had -occupied the imperial throne, seems to have put an end to everything -like religious feeling among the nations under the sway of Rome. The -free satire of Lucianus shows how completely it had faded away, for it -introduces the gods of Olympus complaining that they were starving for -lack of offerings; not altogether because Christian or philosophic -doctrines prevailed widely, but rather on account of the total -indifference of the people to their ancient mythology; for even if it -ever had symbolized the truth, its meaning was now forgotten; and, -even so far back as the time of Cicero, had become totally -unintelligible to the learned, as well as to the multitude. It was -useless, therefore, and wanted but a slight impulse from without to -overthrow it. But to the philosopher who was in earnest in his pursuit -of this truth, buried under the rubbish of time, the doctrine of -Christ afforded it; there he found all that the master minds whom he -honored had taught and hoped; but he found it simplified, purified, -and confirmed by sanctions such as Plato had wished for, but scarcely -dared to expect;--to the Roman patrician, if any there were who still -looked back with fond memory to the purer morals and stern courage of -his forefathers, the Christian simplicity of manners and firm -endurance of torture and death was the realization of what he had -heard of and admired, but scarcely seen till then;--to the slave, -sighing under oppression and condemned to homeless bondage, the -doctrine of the Gospel gave all that was valuable in life; the -Christian slave was the friend of his Christian master, partook of the -same holy feast, shared the same painful but glorious martyrdom; he -was raised at once to all his intellectual rank, found freedom beyond -the grave, and lived already in a happy immortality;--to the woman, -degraded in her own eyes no less than in those of the tyrant to whose -lusts she was the slave, it offered a restoration to all that is most -dear to the human race; it offered intellectual dignity, equality -before God, purity, holiness. The Christian woman could die; she could -not, therefore, unless consenting to it, be again enslaved to the vile -passions of men; before God she was free, and with Him she trusted to -find shelter when the hard world left her none. Can we wonder, then, -that Christianity found votaries wherever a mind existed that sighed -after better things? for the preacher of Nazareth had at last -expressed the thought which had been brooding in the minds of so many, -who had found themselves unable to give it utterance."--p. 55. - -Nor was it merely within the pale of the Christian fraternity that -relations of mutual reverence and tenderness attested the power of an -ennobling faith. Intensity of internal combination is often balanced, -in religious brotherhoods, by vehemence of external repugnance; and -were we to accept the fiery declamation of Tertullian as fairly -expressing the spirit of his fellow-believers, we could ill defend -them from the charge of fierce antipathy to the persons as well as the -creed of their Pagan neighbors. But many silent mercies appear which -contradict this loud intolerance. When the Decian persecution and its -attendant tumultuary movements had filled Alexandria with such -slaughter as to breed pestilence from the bodies of the dead, the -Christians, instead of sullenly permitting the physical calamity to -avenge their cause, assumed the duties of public nurses, and performed -the loathsome tasks from which priests and magistrates had fled. -Referring to this occasion, the author just cited says:-- - -"The plague made its appearance with tremendous violence, and -desolated the city, so that, as Dionysius, the Christian bishop, -writes, there were not so many inhabitants left of all ages, as -heretofore could be numbered between forty and seventy. In this -emergency the persecuted Christians forgot all but their Lord's -precept, and were unwearied in their attendance on the sick; many -perishing in the performance of this duty by taking the infection. 'In -this way,' says the bishop, with touching simplicity, 'the best of the -brethren departed this life; some ministers, and some deacons,' the -heathens having abandoned their friends and relations to the care of -the very persons whom they had been accustomed to call 'Men-haters.' A -like noble self-devotion was shown at Carthage when the pestilence -which had desolated Alexandria made its appearance in that city, and, -I quote the words of a contemporary, 'All fled in horror from the -contagion, abandoning their relations and friends as if they thought -that by avoiding the plague any one might also exclude death -altogether. Meanwhile the city was strewed with the bodies, or rather -carcasses of the dead, which seemed to call for pity from the -passers-by, who might themselves so soon share the same fate; but no -one cared for anything but miserable pelf; no one trembled at the -consideration of what might so soon befall him in his turn; no one did -for another what he would have wished others to do for him. The bishop -hereupon called together his flock, and setting before them the -example and teaching of their Lord, called on them to act up to it. He -said, that if they took care only of their own people, they did but -what the commonest feeling would dictate; the servant of Christ must -do more; he must love his enemies, and pray for his persecutors; for -God made his sun to rise and his rain to fall on all alike, and he who -would be the child of God must imitate his Father.' The people -responded to his appeal; they formed themselves into classes, and -those whose poverty prevented them from doing more gave their personal -attendance, while those who had property aided yet further. No one -quitted his post but with his life."--p. 162. - -This self-devotion in times of distress, strangely contrasting with -habits and temper apparently unsocial, has too steadily reappeared in -every earnest church not to be accepted as a Christian characteristic. -During the fatal famine and epidemic which desolated Antioch in the -third century, the Pagan governor, when urged by the inhabitants to -make authoritative arrangements for relieving the sufferings of a -perishing populace, replied that "The gods hated the poor"; while the -Christians, prevailingly poor themselves, plunged into the centre of -the danger, and carried into the recesses of fever and despair the -quiet presence of help and hope. If disciples have thus freely -rendered to "those without" services which Pagans refused to one -another, it is not simply in stiff obedience to a precept of love to -their enemies, but from a heart-felt sentiment of honor for human -nature and consequent tenderness of human life. There was no man who, -though he might be a persecutor to-day, might not be a comrade -to-morrow; he had a soul susceptible of consecration; and day and -night the gates of the Church were ready to fly open to the touch of -penitence; and whether he throws off the mask of delusion or not, he -must be treated as a brother in disguise. Only by reference to this -conception of all men as possible subjects of sanctifying change, can -the fact be explained, that even where the creed has opened an -infinite gulf between believer and unbeliever, the active charities -have detained in lingering embrace the persons whom the theoretic -fancy has flung into the ultimate horrors. A religion that is superior -to the external distinctions of lineage and class, and draws its lines -only by the invisible coloring of souls, must ever be a religion open -to hope, and therefore apt to love. Even where the severest doctrine -of exclusion has prevailed, the fundamental sentiment of Christian -faith has saved the heart from the most withering of all -passions,--the blight of _scorn_. Human nature may appear beneath the -eye of an austere believer in an _awful_, but never in a -_contemptible_ light. The very crisis in which it is suspended can -belong to no mean existence. What it has lost is too great a glory, -what it has incurred is too deep a terror, to be conceivable except of -a being on a grand scale. _He_ is no worm for whom the eternal abysses -are built as a dungeon and the lightnings are brandished as a scourge. -Accordingly, the very alienations of intolerance itself have acquired -a higher and more respectful character than in ancient faiths. The -sort of feeling with which the Jew spurned "the Gentile dog" is -sanctioned by piety no more. The Oriental curl of the lip is scarcely -traceable on the features of Christendom; and is replaced by an -expression of tragic sorrow and earnestness, where lights of admiring -pity flash through the darkest clouds. - -It seems, then, that the essential sentiment of all Christian faith--the -communion through conscience with God--carries with it, not only noble -personal aspirations, but also, towards others, affections of singular -generosity and depth; affections which demand for every man a position -in which he may work out the moral problem of life, which dignify every -lot where this is possible, and which soften even actual alienations -with possible reverence and hope. The sphere of action which these -feelings may shape for themselves, the particular enterprises they may -undertake, the external pursuits they may assume, will necessarily -depend on many foreign and accidental conditions. The work which it -would fall to the hands of the same faithful man to do, if he lived on -through the changes of the world, would greatly vary from age to age. -The work which contemporary men, of equal and similar fidelity, will set -themselves to accomplish, will vary with their several positions. The -same act, or even habit, which is innocent (though possibly not -innocuous) in one place, may assume quite an altered significance in -another. It would be absurd, for instance, to set down the double -marriages of patriarchal times in the same moral rank with modern cases -of bigamy. And the doctrine of Plato's Republic respecting marriage, -startling as a comment on the manners of his age, by no means expresses -the odious state of mind which would be implied in its substitution now -for the sanctities of private life. The devotion to studious and -peaceful acts which may usually be either blameless or laudable, may -become a guilt like treason in an hour when the interests of public -liberty claim every citizen for the council or the field. Indeed, the -conduct in such contrasted instances is in no proper sense _the same_; -it has only an external identity; it is a physical self-repetition, -with a moral contrariety; and unless, in speaking of a human _action_, -we mean to shut out the soul which makes it human, and to denote only -the muscular flourish and spasm of limb, the sameness is but a semblance -with a reality of difference. The moral values of actions, taken in this -narrowest sense, are inevitably variable; and any code that should -present a list of them as obligatory in perpetuity, without regard to -the changes of their meaning to the mind, would mistake the very nature -of human duty. Not that we deny the existence of permanent grounds for -the adoption of some habits and the avoidance of others. There are -reasons, unchangeable as the corporeal frame of man, why opium should -not be taken as an article of food, and why cousins should not -intermarry. But the grounds of prohibition in these cases are -_rational_, not _moral_; they are found in the outward effects, not in -the inward sources, of conduct; and only when its outward effects are -_known_ to the agent, so as to enter among its inward sources and modify -its meaning, does he pass from _unwise_ to _immoral_. External action, -in short, stands as an _indifferent_ phenomenon, between the mind that -issues it and the world into which it goes. The thought and affection -whence it springs in the former give its _moral_, the results to which -it tends in the latter its _rational_ value. Whoever makes a correct -estimate of the several affections and impulses which stir the will, and -throughout their scale reveres the better and disapproves the worse, -possesses _moral_ truth. Whoever perceives and computes the real -consequences of voluntary conduct, possesses _rational_ discernment in -human affairs. The former--an interpretation of the conscience and its -sacred contents--is the permanent essence of ethical and root of -religious wisdom. The latter--an apprehension of physical laws and -historical tendencies--is conditioned by the progress of science and the -facilities for social vaticination. Errors in _this_ are inevitable to -the limitations of human intellect. Perfection in _that_ is possible -only to the highest divine insight in the soul. The fallible judgment -respecting outward relations affects only the accidents of morals, -though the essence of scientific truth. Where the inner apprehension is -deep and true, the outward judgment contains a principle of -self-correction; the miscalculation of one age is checked by that of a -succeeding; opposite errors cancel each other; and the spirit of a pure -faith, like a just feeling of beauty and greatness in art, works itself -clear of the false data of usage amid which its inspiration arose, and -transmigrates into ever-improving forms. If, however, the reverence due -to the inspiration should become a traditional affair, losing its living -eye and spiritual tact, it will extend itself as a moping idolatry to -the imperfect media and rude materials through which the new glory first -gleamed; an incapable era of _renaissance_ will appear; the very works -which were given as the spring of ever-fresh creation will be used to -stifle it; in servile imitation of an original period, its whole -character will be lost, and the moment of exactest reproduction will be -that of intensest contrast. - -This is precisely the way in which the spiritual life of the primitive -Christians has been dealt with. The thought and meaning that lay at its -heart are little apprehended; its applied morals, in which these are -mixed up with the errors incident to their point of view, are distorted -into a rigid code of obligation, in which the original idea is often -entirely reversed. If it be really true that the Apostolic age was -impressed with the belief of a speedy end of the world, such an outlook -must undeniably have affected the disciples' whole estimate of the value -of human pursuits. The plan of life commendable in a passage-ship may be -questionable in a settled home; and the proceedings of an army on the -eve of battle are not like the habits of the same people tilling their -fields and sitting at their hearths. To apply to a permanently -constituted planet the rules promulgated to preserve discipline amid a -general breaking-up, is surely an eccentric kind of legislation. Yet by -just such a process have modern churches derived a number of ethical -extravagances offensive to the eye of chastened conscience, and -condemned by their impracticability to the insincere existence of -perpetual talk. The manner in which English divines conduct themselves -towards this error of the first century appears to us not simple and -ingenuous. Some still affect to deny it, and to treat its reiterated -assertion as a mere perverseness and impudence of heresy; yet they leave -the statement without serious refutation, though well aware that the -weight of critical authority is altogether in its favor, and though -avowing their own theory of revelation absolutely to require that it be -false. Others incidentally and grudgingly admit it, and then pass on as -if nothing had happened; immediately relapsing into the same -authoritative appeal to Scripture, the same direct and mechanical use of -its precepts, the same assumption of it as an instrument yielding on -interpretation nothing but truth, which had been habitual with them -before their eyes were opened. Now, if anything be certain on such a -matter, it is that to suppose one's self in the world's last year,--the -admission paid to the panorama of judgment and the spectacle only -waiting to begin,--is no small and sleepy idea, which might -ineffectually turn up now and then, and sink back below the surface -without further trace. A man who could live in presence of such a -vision, and not carry its crimsoned light upon every object that fixed -his eye, could be no apostle of truth or preacher of earnestness; nor do -we know that anything more contemptuous could be said of him than that, -no doubt, he held such an expectation, but it was of no consequence. To -convert the author of the Pauline Epistles into a dilettante believer of -the pattern of the nineteenth century, and say of his most tremendous -gleams of thought that they were but transitory fireworks which meant -nothing, is no less an offence against his character than a -misunderstanding of his writings; and we conceive that, in affirming the -deep penetration of his mistaken world-view into the substance of his -monitory teaching, we shall be vindicating the fundamental veracity and -noble clearness of his soul. - -To exhibit the Christology of the Apostles with the fulness necessary -for tracing pseudo-Christian morality to its origin, would require a -volume. We can only advert to one or two points, indicating the -direction which such an inquiry would take. It is admitted on all -hands, that a second advent of Christ is announced in almost every book -of the New Testament; that, if we except the Gospel of John, it is -spoken of invariably as a real, personal return, an objective and scenic -event, to be seen, heard, and felt; and cannot be explained away into a -spiritual access to the world, or a subjective drama in the soul of -disciples. It is further admitted, that with this advent are integrally -connected many incidents which, however difficult to group into a -complete picture, constitute, under every variety of possible -arrangement, a final consummation of human affairs. Indeed, the article -in the Creed which declares that Christ "shall come to judge the quick -and the dead, and at his coming all men shall rise again with their -bodies and shall give account for their own works," shows how the Church -understands the doctrine, and conjoins the end of the world with the -advent. The _nature_ of the event being so far undisputed, the question -which separates the mass of scientific interpreters from the popular -expounder, refers only to its _date_. The Apostle Paul, it is urged by -the critics, writes to his Thessalonian converts, in answer to a -distressing doubt which could have no existence but in minds on the -watch for the return of Christ; and his answer, far from checking this -outlook, raised it to such intensity that, to soothe their excitement, -he wrote to them again to remove the event from the immediate foreground -of their imagination; yet even then detained it quite within the limits -of their natural lives, and, simply interposing one or two signals of -its approach that had not yet appeared, counselled them not to lose -their composure, but maintain a "patient waiting for Christ." The -original doubt which had disturbed them seems to have been one -instructively characteristic of the early theocratic faith. Some member -of the community had died; his friends, in addition to their natural -sorrow, were apparently taken by surprise, that, after enrolment among -the citizens of the approaching kingdom, he was taken from their side, -and would not be with them when they hailed the arrival of Christ. What -would become of him? They thought he would have to remain in his sleep -till Messiah should exercise his function of raising the dead, which was -not to be at first; and so, during the great crisis, and for an -uncertain continuance beyond, he would linger behind the privilege which -they enjoyed. This seems, at first sight, a strange subject of distress. -That the second advent should take place in the presence of the living -only, and should leave the dead without part or lot in the matter, is so -completely at variance with the picture which has become fixed in the -common Christian imagination, that scruples may readily be felt about -attributing so mutilated a conception to the Thessalonian church. The -commonly received picture, however, is made up of elements incongruously -brought together from several Scripture writers, to whom the expected -event presented itself under different aspects; and nowhere can they be -found combined into such a whole as the ecclesiastical faith represents. -To understand and account for the Thessalonian state of mind, we have -only to read over the 24th and 25th chapters of St. Matthew, and to -surrender ourselves to the images there presented, without adding -anything of our own. These chapters contain the fullest description of -the advent, the last judgment, and the end of the world, that can be -found in Scripture; yet _the dead are not brought upon the scene at all, -nor is any resurrection found among its elements_. The whole idea is -evidently of a return of the Son of Man, within the limits of a -generation, to take account, in his theocratic capacity, of the very -persons who had known him in his Galilean humiliation and disguise,--of -those who, having joined him in his days of trial, had been intrusted by -him with the administration in the interval of his heavenly -absence,--and of those who, after rejecting him personally, had hardened -themselves no less against the preaching and overtures of his subsequent -ambassadors. The nations gathered before him are furnished from the -surviving population of the earth; and the ground of their admittance or -rejection is the reception they have given to Messiah in the persons of -his missionaries and representatives. In supposing the dead to have lost -their chance of participating in this scene, the Thessalonians did but -paint it to themselves as Christ, according to the first Gospel, had -described it to his hearers. Their misgiving plainly assumes that the -advent was sure for the living and was lost for the dead. The Apostle -answers by denying the distinction, and putting both classes into the -same condition ere the great hour strikes: but _what_ condition? Does he -say that the living will die first? No; but that the dead will live -first: so that the departed companion will come back at the right moment -for mingling with the troop of friends that shall go "to meet the Lord -in the air." The same order of events is given in the sublime, but -little understood, chapter on the resurrection in the First Epistle to -the Corinthians, where the Apostle places _himself_, at the advent, not -among "the dead" that "shall be raised incorruptible," but among the -survivors that "shall be changed" into immortals without ever quitting -life. It is a topic of praise to the disciples at Corinth that they are -"waiting for the coming of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall also confirm -you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus -Christ." He assures his Philippian friends that "the Lord is at hand," -and prays that they may "be sincere and without offence till the day of -Christ." Having come out safe from his examination and hearing at Rome, -he avows his persuasion that he will be similarly delivered "from every -evil work," and preserved unto Christ's heavenly kingdom. Though amid -his toils and weariness he earnestly desired to be endowed with his -immortal frame,--to be invested, as he expresses it, with his house from -above; yet he was unwilling to put off the corruptible, till he could -put on the incorruptible; he would have his mortality "swallowed up of -life"; he did not wish the great hour to find him naked, but clothed, -not, that is, a disembodied spirit, but a living man. He stands at the -era on which "the end of the world has come"; and begs his -correspondents to let certain existing disputes lie over, and to "judge -nothing before the time until the Lord come." Not less explicit evidence -is afforded in the writings of other Apostles. James says, "The coming -of the Lord draweth nigh; ... behold, the Judge standeth before the -door." Peter, "The end of all things is at hand." John, "Children, it is -the last time; and as ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now -are there many Antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time." -If the author of Christianity did not himself entertain the same -expectation of an early return to assume his Messianic prerogatives, he -has been greatly misrepresented by his biographers. For though one of -them represents him as disclaiming a knowledge of the specific "_day_ -and _hour_" appointed for his "coming in the clouds with great power and -glory," the disclaimer follows immediately on his announcement, that at -all events it will take place within the existing generation. Does any -reader doubt whether this "coming in the clouds" really describes the -judgment? or whether "this generation" denotes the natural term of human -life? Both questions are answered at once in Matthew's report of a -single sentence, which simultaneously defines the event and its date: -"For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his -angels; and _then he shall reward every man according to his works_. -Verily I say unto you, there be _some standing here which shall not -taste of death_, till they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." It -is certainly possible enough that the discourses in which these -expressions occur may be incorrectly reported, and have acquired from -the writer's state of mind a definiteness not belonging to the original -production. But, at any rate, they reveal the historian's conception of -what was in Jesus's thought; and the false coloring of expectation which -they threw over his prophecies could not fail to extend in their reports -to his preceptive discourses, and thus to have almost the same influence -on the recorded Christian ethics, as if the error were his as well as -theirs. - -The evidence on this point is so positive and overwhelming, that -critics such as Olshausen, whose testimony is undoubtedly reluctant, -no longer think of resisting it. Nothing, indeed, can be opposed to it -but a kind of interpretation which is the opprobrium of English -theology; and whose problem is, not simply to gather an author's -thought from his words, but from among all _true_ thoughts to find -the one that will sit the least uneasily under his words. Thus "the -end of all things" is explained away into the founding of the -Christian Church; the "coming of the Son of Man on the clouds of -heaven," into the Jewish war under Titus; the last judgment, which -"rewards every man according to his works," into the escape of the -Christians and the slaughter of the Jewish zealots at the destruction -of Jerusalem. No doubt, many good and well-instructed men have -persuaded themselves that by such exegetical sleight of hand they -could save Apostolic and other infallibility. We can only say, that -when piety supplies the motive, and learning the means, for -bewildering veracity of apprehension, two rich and noble endowments -are spent in corrupting a nobler, which is the life of them both. - -To the moral _sentiments_ which should occupy the soul, it may make -little difference how long the world is to last. But to the course of -_action_ which should engage the hand, it is a matter of primary -moment. All human occupations rest on the assumption of permanence in -the constitution of things; nor is it less true of a planet than of a -farm, that mere tenants at will, unsecured by lease and even served -already with notice to quit, will undertake no improvements, and will -suffer the culture to decline to the lowest point. What profession -could remain respectable if society had no future? What interest would -attach to the administration of law, on behalf of property which was -not worth six months' purchase, and life which, stripped of -survivorship, had lost all sacredness to the affections? Who would sit -down to study the Pharmacopoeia on board a sinking ship? What zeal -could be felt by the statesman or general in repelling from his -country an injury that could never be repeated, or removing a -grievance on the point of supernatural death? The fields would scarce -be tilled which the angels with flaming sword might come to reap; or -the vineyards be dressed in sight of him "who treadeth the wine-press -alone." All the crafts of industry, all the adventures of commerce, -are held together by a given element of _time_; and, when deprived of -this, fall away into inanity. No one would build a house on ice -melting with hidden fires; or freight ships over an ocean which -earthquakes were to drain away; or fabricate silks and patent-leather -for appearance at the last tribunal. And the loosened hold of these -pursuits upon human zeal, so far from implying their exchange for -anything higher and more spiritual, involves the direct reverse. They -cannot be abandoned; the stern punctuality of hunger, the -peremptoriness of instinctive or habitual want, compel their -continuance; and Paul himself made sail-cloth for a world on its last -voyage. But they are kept up only because there is no help for it; -they sink into mere bread-trades; and are thrown back many stages from -the tranquil human towards the grim cannibal level. All work in this -world, no doubt, rests at bottom on the elementary animal requirements -of our nature; but it is then most worthily performed, not when these -requirements are most obtrusive, but when they are most withdrawn. It -is the specific moral benefit which social organization confers upon -man, that it enables him to retreat from the constant presence of -sheer necessity, and stand at a sufficient distance from it to allow -other and higher feelings to connect themselves with his industry. It -is a lower thing to consult for the natural wants of primitive -appetite, than for the artificial love of order, neatness, security, -and beauty; and a craftsman works in a better spirit when earning some -_unnecessary_ gift for his wife or child, than when toiling for the -bitter loaf that staves off starvation. An art prosecuted without -pride in its ingenuity, without intellectual enlistment in its methods -of skill, is degraded from an instrument of discipline into a prowling -for food,--from a mode of life into a makeshift against death. To take -away the future, therefore, from secular pursuits, is simply to draw -off from them whatever redeems them from meanness; to plant them in -greedy isolation, as mere personal necessities; and cut them off from -the great human system which lends to them a color of nobleness and -dignity. Among the early Christians this tendency was greatly checked -by the fresh aims and employments which their religion created; and in -devotion to which the more enthusiastic spirits found ample scope for -their affections. The Church, subsisting like an intrenched camp in a -hostile land, had to make sallies in all directions for rescue of the -wandering, and for captives to the faith. An aggressive activity of -compassion and conviction found tasks for the energies disengaged from -secular pursuits; and the new relations into which their religious -profession threw them towards the synagogue, the magistrate, the Pagan -worshipper, supplied them with continual problems of conscience, -severe, but wholesome to the mind. So peculiar, indeed, was their -position, that, even if they had reckoned on a continuance of human -affairs, they could hardly, perhaps, have mingled much with a world -that drew them with such slender sympathies. Separated in ideas and -affections, they must in any case have created a new and detached -centre of social life. Still it is undeniable that their isolation was -favored and exaggerated by their faith in an approaching end of all -things; and that they withdrew from human interests, not simply -because honorable contact with them was impossible, but because they -were taught entire indifference to them as elements of a perishing -system. Not only is no recognition given to the pursuit of art and -letters, and the citizen's duty presented only on the passive side; -but even the relations of domestic life are discouraged, and the slave -is dissuaded from care about his liberty, on the express ground that -it is not worth while, on the brink of a great catastrophe, to assume -any new position, or commit the heart by new ties. The time is too -short, the crisis too near, for the career of a free life, or the -building of a human home. It is better for every one to continue as he -is; and instead of waiting to have the world perish from him, to -regard himself as already dead to the world. To stand impassive and -alone, neutral to joy or sorrow, with soul intent on the future, and -disengaged from impediments of the past, earnest to keep bright on its -watch-tower the beacon of faith, but resolute to descend no more into -the plain below, appeared to the Apostle Paul the highest wisdom. And -how could it be otherwise? Seen from his point of view, all temporal -claims sank into negation. The constitutions, the arts, the culture, -of civilized nations were about to be superseded; and the Christians -who had already retired from them needed no new ones to take their -place, except such provisional arrangements as might serve during the -world's brief respite. Equally natural and suitable to their conceived -position were the non-resistance principles of the early disciples. -What right could be worth contending for on the dawn of a great day of -redress, when every wrong would be brought to its account? Who would -carry a cause before Dikast or Proconsul to-day, when Eternal Justice -was pledged to hear it to-morrow? Who refuse to resign to human -coercion what a retributive Omnipotence would soon restore? When the -great assizes of the universe are about to be opened, it were a poor -thing for the suitors to begin fighting in the vestibule. In all these -respects the practical code of the Apostolic age was inevitably -influenced by the mistaken world-view prevalent in the Church. For the -plaintiff, the hour was fixed when his suit would be called; for the -slave, the emancipation-day was declared; and from him that bound -himself in heart to the past, the past was about to be snatched away. -The rules of action dictated by these notions are mere accidents of -the first age,--correct deductions from a misconceived system of -external relations. They are wholly dependent on this misconception, -and have no necessary connection with the interior spirit, the -characteristic sentiments and affections which distinguish -Christianity as a religion. If the Apostles had lived on till their -mistake had worn itself out, and they had discovered the permanence of -the world,--had they postponed all writing of Scripture till this -lesson of experience had been learned,--we apprehend that their scheme -of applied morals would have been very different; a more genial -recognition would have been given to natural human relations; the -social facts of property and government, the private concerns of -education and self-culture, the personal responsibilities of genius -and intellect, would have been less slightingly dismissed, and reduced -to clear moral order; and the sentences would have been greatly -modified which now support the delusions of the improvident, the -ascetic, the exclusive, and the non-resisting. Unhappily, Apostles do -not live for ever, so that we are denied that chance; and _successors_ -of Apostles, though seldom scarce, are not a helpful race, being -chiefly marks of an absent inspiration. The task, therefore, of -applying the essential Christian sentiments to a permanent -world,--though avowedly undertaken by the Roman Catholic -Church,--remains unperformed; and instead of it we have, in the common -Protestantism, a violent misapplication to human nature and all time -of the accidents and errors of the first age, resulting, we fear, in a -caricature injurious alike to that first age itself, and to all true -apprehension of the nature and proportions of human duty. - -Expressions abound in the literature of modern Christendom implying an -antithesis between temporal and spiritual things, between morality and -religion, between the world and God. No one can fail to observe that -this antithesis, whether founded in reality or not, has become a social -fact. There are two standards of judgment extant for the estimate of -character and life; one set up in the pulpit, the other recognized in -the forum and the street. The former gives the order in which we -pretend, and perhaps ineffectually try, to admire men and things; the -latter, that in which we do admire them. Under the influence of the one, -the merchant or the country gentleman is professedly in love with the -innocent improvidence of the ravens and the lilies; relapsing into the -other, he sells all his cotton in expectation of a fall, or drains his -farms for a rise of rent. On the Sunday, he applauds it as a saintly -thing to present the patient cheek to the smiter; on the Monday, he -listens with rapture to Kossuth's curse upon the house of Hapsburg, and -the Magyar vow of resistance to the death. He assents when the Apostle -John is held up to his veneration as the beloved disciple, but, if the -truth were known, the Duke of Wellington is rather more to his mind. -Supposing it all true that is said about the vanity of earthly pleasures -and ostentations, he nevertheless lets his daughters send out next day -invitations to a grand ball, and makes his house busy with dress-makers -and cooks. He is accustomed to confess that in him there is no good -thing, and that all his thoughts and works are only evil continually; -yet he is pleased with himself that he has provided for the family of -his gardener who was killed on the railway last week. In these and a -thousand other forms may be noticed the competition between two -coexisting and unreconciled standards, the relations between which are -altogether confused and uneasy. Whoever is interested in following up -the genealogy of ideas, and would search for the origin of this mixed -and mischievous state of mind, must look first to the influence of -Luther, and thence to the Pauline doctrine, which he improperly -generalized and exaggerated. We will endeavor to trace the development -of the sentiment in the opposite direction, from the ancient germ to the -modern fruit. - -Paul the Apostle proclaimed _Faith_ to be the condition of -regeneration and acceptance. To appreciate this message of his, we -must remember two things;--namely, (1.) what it was from which men -were to be rescued on these terms; (2.) what other conditions had been -elsewhere insisted on instead of this, and were put aside by Paul in -favor of this. Now enough has been said to show that what he feared -for the world which he labored to convert was, primarily, exclusion -from the theocratic empire which Messiah would return to erect; nor is -it clear what ulterior consequences, if any, he conceived this -exclusion to carry with it. This banishment was the negative of that -"salvation" to which the disciples were called; and which consisted in -their registration as qualified citizens of the kingdom for which the -earth was about to be claimed. The picture before his mind was so far -altogether Jewish; not at all the modern idea of heaven and -hell,--spiritual regions to which individuals, one by one, pass after -death for moral retribution; but a terrestrial scene, the winding up -of history, affecting men in masses, and completing the purpose for -which God had created this world. While, however, the thought of the -Apostle's mind was national, the compass of his heart was human; and -as the hour drew nigh, he felt that the future could not be closed -upon the great Gentile world; that his own people were not so sublime -a race as to have the issues of Providence all to themselves; that he -must get rid of their conceited pedigrees, and let the Divine plan, -which for a while had narrowed its original universality within the -current of Hebrew history, flow out at its end into the full breadth -of its first scope. But if so, a new qualification must be found; one -open alike to Hebrew and to alien, yet nursing the pride of neither. -These requisites are fulfilled in simple Faith, which, as a catholic -possibility of every human heart, Paul substitutes for prescriptive -rights and untenable merits. It was the only condition which there was -time to realize. To insist instead on a mere moral fitness, on a -character of mind suitable to meet the eye of infinite purity, would -be a mockery in a state of society at once decrepit and corrupt. The -hour pressed: it was not the case of a young and fresh generation, -that might be brought back, by heedful training, to the sanctities of -nature and conscience; but an old and callous world, that could do -little for itself, had to be got ready in hot haste. A kindled -enthusiasm, a new allegiance, a resurrection of sleeping reverences, -is the only hope. Once fix the gaze of faith, the simplicity of trust, -on the Divine Human Being, who, having been clad in the sorrows of -this earth, waits to bring in its everlasting peace; and this -affection alone, comprehending in it every lesser purity, will soften -even arid natures, and enrich them with forgotten fertility and grace. -Preach your moral gymnastics to a school of young heroes, whose soul -is noble and whose limbs are free; but at the baths of Baiae, amid -paralytics that drag the foot, and cripples with worn-out bodies and -halting wills, if you cannot touch the spring of faith, you may spare -your pedantic rules of exercise. Thus the Apostle's demand of faith -was a generous stimulant of hope and recovery to an invalided world, -whose natural forces were broken, and which had but little time for -restoration. It was a provision for pouring a mountain-breath of -healing reverence upon the sickly souls and languid levels of this -world. It was an attempt to meet a quick emergency, and, by an -intense action, condense the powers of preparation. It was therefore -an expression, not of the narrowness, but of the universality of the -Gospel. It shows the great heart of the religion bursting bounds, and -the strong hand of its noblest servant tugging at the gates to get -them open, grinding off the rust of tradition and crushing the -scrupulous gravel of obstruction. - -The doctrine, however, assumes quite a different significance when -snatched by Luther out of its historical connection, and held valid as -a sufficient theory of human nature, and its only possibility of -religion. The palsy of will, the incapacity of self-cure, the hopeless -moral prostration into which long corruption had brought the world, as -it lay beneath the eye of Paul, Luther assumes as the normal condition -of the soul, and treats as a congenital incompetency of faculty, -instead of a contracted depravity of state. Not that he disowns the -human will as an executive power, or denies it a sphere of operation. -It can go forth variously into action,--can do what, in the view of -mankind, is better or worse,--can commit a murder or can rescue from -it; but in these outward doings, however differently they affect men, -there is no real good or evil; in the supreme view they are neutral -automatic exhibitions, simply physical as a flash of lightning or a -fall of rain; their real character all lies in the inner spiritual -springs from which they issue in the soul: on these alone is the -infinite gaze fixed; and these are turbid all through, and all alike, -with the taint and poison of a ruined nature. As all natural actions -derive an equal guilt from the impurity of their source, so, when the -source is purified, is the guilt equally removed from all; whilst -nothing which the unconverted may do can please God, nothing that is -performed in faith can come amiss to him. Be it what men call crime or -what they praise as virtue, it makes no difference if only it be done -in faith. Furnished with this supernatural charm, the believer may -pass through any mire and come out clean. - -"A Christian cannot, if he will, lose his salvation by any multitude -or magnitude of sins, unless he ceases to believe. For no sins can -damn him, but unbelief alone. Everything else, provided his faith -returns or stands fast in the Divine promise given in baptism, is -absorbed in a moment by that faith."[55] - -Here is a conception of faith altogether distinct from Paul's. It is -here no act of reverential enthusiasm and affection, no kindred movement -of the soul towards an object beautiful and holy, but a mere willingness -to trust a verbal assurance of atonement,--a willingness, moreover, -itself foreign to the mind, and superinduced as an unnatural state by -special gift. Nor is its efficacy to be sought in its transforming power -on man, but in its persuasiveness with God. It does not ennoble anything -that is the worshipper's own, but simply hangs on to it externally the -compensating sanctity of another; it is, indeed, described by Luther as -the mere vessel put into the hands of the believer, and charged with the -treasures of Christ's obedience,--treasures so acceptable that they -charm away the foulness, and prevent the rejection, of anything that -accompanies them. Thus the effect of faith on the disciple is not to -inspire him with a God-like mind, but to prevent his corruptions being -any damage to him. By this strange theory, both sin and sanctity are -made entirely _impersonal_ to man; sin, by being a transmitted -inability; sanctity, by being a foreign donation; and his individual -character sits in the midst, at a point of spiritual indifference, -neither chargeable with the dark hue native to its complexion, nor -etherealized by the veil of borrowed light which it wears as a robe. No -room is found, either in the child of Adam, or in the redeemed of -Christ, for any responsibility, any personal guilt or goodness -whatsoever. The misery and deformity in which the Gospel finds him is -un-moral,--the mere scrofula of inheritance; the redemption into which -it lifts him is un-moral,--the mere usufruct of an alien purity: and -thus the whole business of religion begins and ends without -approaching, and without improving, any law of conscience at all; -morality remains absolutely cut off from its contact, unaffected by it -except in being disowned and degraded, and losing the prestige of a -Divine authority. This consequence of his doctrine is not in the least -disguised by Luther, whose impetuous audacity never tires of forging -phrases of opposite stamp, by which he may put the brand of insult upon -Morals, and burn characters of glory into the brow of Religion. The -latter, he again and again insists, is to be set in the heavenly realm; -the former, on the other hand, detained upon the ground; the two being -kept as absolutely apart as the sky from the earth, regarded as not less -incapable of a common function than light and darkness, day and night. -Do we speak of faith and our relations to God? then we have nothing to -do with morals, and must leave them behind lying on the earth. Do we -speak of conduct and our relations with men? then we stop upon the -ground, and get no nearer to heaven and its lights. The protests of our -better nature against our own shortcomings, the sadness of repentance, -and the alarms of guilt, so far from being confirmed by true religion, -are shown to be mere delusion and idle self-torture; and the conscience -that can feel such compunctions is a stupid ass struggling in the dust -and flats of this world beneath a servile burden it need never bear. To -trouble the heart with any moral anxieties or aspirations is the most -fatal act of unbelief,--a downright plunge from heaven over the -precipice of hell. The moral law may rule the body and its members, but -has no right to any allegiance from the soul.[56] In any personal and -historical estimate of Luther there would be much to say in palliation -of these monstrous positions; it would be easy to show their connection -with some of the noblest characteristics of his genius, and their -antagonism to some of the worst features of his times. But regarded in -their influence on Christendom, when detached from their living origin, -and made the ground of a theory for the governance of life, they can -only be lamented as an explosion of mischievous extravagance. For in -what light do they present Morality to us, after stripping it of all -sacredness? What ground is left on which its obligation may repose, and -what end is given for its aim? It exists, as Luther himself declares, -only as a _provision for social order and external peace_. It is not -concerned with the perfection of the individual, but with the -organization of the world; and is nothing but the system of rules and -customs requisite for the safe coexistence of many persons on the same -field. It is thus reduced from an inspiration of conscience to an affair -of police; the private sentiment of duty, operating in the hidden recess -of life, keeping vigils over the temper of the mind and habits of the -home, is a mere substitute for public opinion, and no representative of -the eye of God. In this way, moral usages are first voted into existence -as matters of convenience, and imposed by the general voice, yielding as -their product in the individual an artificial sense of obligation; and -it is a delusion to invert this order, and say that the natural sense of -obligation, inherent in each individual, creates by sympathy and -concurrence the moral usages of mankind. This extreme secularization of -morals places Luther in curious company with Hobbes; and the followers -of both have not been altogether unfaithful to the original affinity of -their ethical ideas. Both schools have withheld from their conception of -morality any touch and color of religion; both have been jealous of its -mingling itself much with sentiment and feeling; both have applied to it -purely objective criteria, and regarded it as a statutory affair, -susceptible of codification, and then needing only a logical -interpreter. This singular alliance between sects regarding each other -with the greatest antipathy, exhibits the irresistible tendency of a -wholly _super_-natural religion to produce an _infra_-natural morality. - -The result of this sharp separation of the ethical from the spiritual -province of life is, that both are deprived of elements indispensable -to their proper culture. Our devout people are not remarkable for -either clear notions or nice feelings on moral questions; while the -conscientious class are apt to be dry and cold precisians, truthful, -trustworthy, and humane, but so little genial, so devoid of ideality -and depth, that poet or prophet is struck dumb before their face. Till -the two classes had discovered their mutual alienation and collected -themselves round distinct standards,--evangelical and worldly,--the -evil was inconspicuous. For some time after the Reformation, both -coexisted, without articulate repulsion, in every church, and each -silently qualified the other extreme. Besides, in spite of Lutheran or -other dogma, deep personal faith, grateful trust in such a one as -Christ, could not be awakened in a people into whom God, whatever they -might say of themselves, had actually put a conscience, without -carrying the moralities with it. It might take the liberty of calling -them "stupid ass," but would nevertheless object to have the ass -abused. In truth, no sooner was the law of Duty driven from -Christianity, than the claim of Honor was invoked to take its place; -and the believer was exhorted not to take unworthy advantage of his -redemption from legal liability, but to render in thank-offering the -service exacted by penalty no more; worthless as it was, it was all he -had to give. Such appeal touches a spring powerful in noble hearts, -and is, in fact, only the awakening of _a higher order_ of moral -feelings than before,--a fetching back, under the disguise of -transfiguration, of that very sense of duty which had been professedly -expelled. In the first enthusiasm of faith, while men's souls, having -just flung off the sacerdotal incubus of centuries, were burning to -breathe freely, and felt the healthy throb of a new joy, this appeal -would meet a full response. The doctrine of faith was but the -appointed way of bursting through the miserable scrupulosities, the -life of petty debts and casuistic book-keeping, by which a priesthood -had maintained a balance against the world,--of seizing a Divine -indemnity and recovering the wholesome existence of devout instinct. -If the inspiration of the sixteenth century could be permanently -maintained, if all men were equally susceptible of being snatched up -by a whirlwind of heavenward affection, if the surprise at finding -that the soul had wings of its own could last for ever, the principle -of gratitude and pious honor might answer every end, and human duty be -all the better done by taking no security for it; for you may hurl as -a missile, in hot blood, a weight which otherwise you will scarce drag -upon the ground. But the fire of an age of Reformation cannot be -permanent; nor is gratitude an affection on whose tension life can be -securely built;--you cannot educate people by the force of perpetual -surprise. There is a large natural order of minds, little susceptible -of a self-abandoning fervor, for whom you vainly bring the chariot of -fire and horses of fire by which prophets fly to heaven, and who are -content with the humble mantle of the humanities thrown aside by more -daring spirits in their ascent. Quiet, reflective, self-balanced -persons are not to be taken by storm, and brought to betray the solid -citadel of this world, and say ugly things of the moralities with -which they have lived in friendly neighborhood. They are capable of -being led by reverence for what is _better_, but not of being kindled -by the rays of what is _intenser_. If they are ever to be lifted into -a life _beyond_ conscience, where reluctance and resistance are felt -no more, and the instincts of affection may flow of their own pure -will, it must be by beginning at the other end,--by the _religious -discipline of conscience_, by pious consecration of this earth and its -instant work, by faithful and frugal care of the smaller elements of -duty, as of the sacred crumbs of eucharistic bread, not without a Real -Presence in them. This class, whose religion, by a decree of their -nature, can only exist under ethical conditions, are wholly unprovided -for in the Protestant system. In the Lutheran view they belong to the -school of worldly unbelief; and though their number, as must be the -case in quiet times, has been increasing for a century and a half, and -constitutes the vast majority of educated people in this country, they -are without any recognized religion; either veraciously disbelieving -and waiting for something nobly credible, or uneasily subsisting, -suspected by clergymen, in the midst of churches whose theory of life -has ceased to be a reality to them. With a faith traditionally shy of -morals, and morals not yet elevated into faith, we have two separate -codes of life standing in presence of each other,--one religious, the -other secular,--and neither of them with any true foundation in human -nature as a whole; the secular, an accidental congeries of mixed -customs and inherited opinions; the religious, the product of an -arbitrary spiritualism, lax and ascetic by turns. - -It is the peculiarity of modern Christianity that these two codes -coexist within the same social body, and even rule over different parts -of each individual. The Pauline antithesis between the world and the -Church was not less sharp than ours; but it was a distinction of persons -and classes, and nobody could occupy both the opposite ends of it. Once -within a society of disciples, he was out of the world, and belonged to -"the assembly of the saints"; and the whole realm of heathendom beyond -constituted the contrasted term. He did not stand and move with one leg -on holy ground and the other on the common earth; whatever were the -principles of the community he had joined, they served him all through, -and did no violence to the unity of his nature. Praying or dining, -weeping or laughing, in the workshop or the prison, he was the same man -in the same sphere. As the circle of the Church enlarged, we should -therefore expect the world to be driven to a distance, till it was -absent from whole countries and continents. But a new "world" has been -discovered, not only within the Church, but within the person of every -disciple; his body and limbs, his business and pleasures, being under -the law of a morality quite secular; his soul and its eternal affairs -sitting apart in a love quite spiritual. Who shall draw the line between -the provinces, and know practically, hour by hour, where he stands? -Living confusedly in both, a man is apt to acquire a sort of double -consciousness, and fluctuate distractedly between Caesar and God. He -believes, perhaps, that the kingdoms of nature and of grace are destined -always to remain side by side, neither absorbing the other till the day -of doom. In that case, he will let other men create all the secular -usages, the moralities of trade, the maxims of politics; standing aloof -from them as not belonging to _his_ realm, and falling in with them -freely in his own case. They may be of questionable veracity and -justice; but they belong to the Devil's world, and are as good rules as -can be expected from legislators sitting in the synagogue of Satan. Why -should he decline to profit by them, now that they are there? When Eve -has plucked the apple, it is too late for Adam not to taste the fruit. -The pious broker comes on 'Change as into a foreign world, on which he -is pushed by humiliating necessities, and in which he feels an interest -derived from them alone: he has his citizenship elsewhere; he disdains -naturalization; he is but a temporary settler; he wants no vote about -the laws; but, taking them as they are, cuts his crop and retires. The -coolness with which people who live above the world sometimes avail -themselves of its lowest verge of usage is truly amazing. An affluent -gentleman of high religious profession, subscriber to Gospel schools, -believer in prevenient grace, and otherwise the pride of the Evangelical -heart, found himself not insensible to the approaches of the Hudson -mania, speculated far beyond the resources of his fortune, declined to -take up his bad bargains, and thus, at the expense of utter ruin to his -agent, escaped with comparatively easy loss to himself. The agent, being -but an honorable sinner of the worldly class, was struck down by the -blow into great depression. His employer was enabled to take a more -cheerful view, and, on meeting his poor victim, rallied him on his -dejected looks and hopeless thoughts, so different from his own resigned -and comfortable state of mind:--"But ah! I forgot," he added with a -sigh, "you are not blessed with my religious consolations!" Where no -such positively odious results as these are produced, there is still -often observable the negative selfishness of indifference to political -welfare and political morals,--an affected withdrawal from temporal -interests in the neighborhood or the State, and an insensibility to -public injustice strangely disproportioned to the zeal displayed against -innocent amusements and the nervousness on behalf of invisible -subtilties of creed. - -The false opposition, however, between the world and the Church is -not always thus passive and quiescent. It is not always recognized by -those who hold it, as being a permanent fact to be merely sighed over -and let alone. Many men are too earnest and truthful to settle down -and pitch their tent upon a ground rocking with contradiction; to live -two lives wholly unreconciled, one in the shame of nature, the other -in the confidence of grace; or to belong to two societies,--one -political, the other spiritual,--conducted on principles at incurable -variance with each other. That a rule of action should be secularly -good and religiously hateful,--that a sentiment should be fitly -applauded in Parliament and groaned over in the conventicle,--is to -them an intolerable unreality, like the celebrated verdict of the -University of Paris, that a doctrine might be true in philosophy and -false in theology. In their hands, accordingly, the antithesis between -the human and the divine is not a quiescent, but a conflicting -dualism, in which their religious ideas become aggressive, and assume -a commission to drive back and humble the world. They claim the earth -for God, and think the surrender incomplete while anything natural -remains;--while any instinct is uncrushed, any laughter unstifled, any -genius, however pure, a law unto itself. The crusade against temporal -interests and pursuits, consequent upon this state of mind, changes -its form with the culture and habits of the age. In the early years of -the Reformation, when the whole Bible was spread open beneath the -thirsting eye of an undistinguishing enthusiasm, the effect threatened -at one time to be more terrible than glorious. The full thunder-cloud -of the Hebrew prophets, stealing over a world in negative stagnation, -waked the sleeping lightnings of the soul, and for a while streaked -the atmosphere of history with fearful portents. Everything that had -been written of the chosen people, their exodus, their law, their -poetry, their passions,--everything except the relentings of their -nature and the unsteadiness of their faith,--became consecrated alike. -The military clang of their early history, the harp of their sweet -singer, the choral pomp of their priestly rule, the mystic voices of -their lonely men of God,--all were Divine music alike, often more -exciting than the Sermon on the Mount, and not less piercing than the -anguish in Gethsemane. Such was the sequence and connection of the -Divine dispensations supposed to be, that Christianity was simply the -Jewish theocracy, only let loose out of Palestine to make a promised -land of the whole world. The downtrodden serfs of Franconia had not -long heard the glad tidings from Wittenberg, ere they began to draw -parallels between themselves and the old Israel when the desert had -been passed. They had been brought to the brink of new hope, and -looked, as across Jordan, to an inheritance verdant and tempting to -their eye. The earth was the Lord's, and the army of the saints was -come to take it; the bannered princes, the ungodly priests, the "men -with spurs upon their heels," all the carnal who peopled this Canaan -and perched their "eagle's nests" on every height, must be smitten and -cleared off. The time of jubilee was come, when every believer should -have his field of heritage; nay, the birds in the forest, the fish in -the stream, the fruits of the ground, whatever has the sacred seal of -God's creative power, should be free to all, and the noble should eat -the peasant's bread or die. The lawyers should take their heathenish -courts away, and men of God should sit and judge the people, according -to the spirit and the word. The harvest was ripe, when the tares must -be burned in the fire and the pure wheat be garnered for the Lord. -These were the ideas which thousands of armed men, with a clouted shoe -and a cart-wheel for their standards, and a leader who signed himself -"the sword of Gideon," preached as their Gospel through the forests of -Thuringia and beneath the citadel of Wuerzburg. Nor was the ripest -learning, much less the most generous spirit of the time, any security -against the adoption of their doctrine. It was not Muenzer alone who -breathed the fierce inspiration, exhorting his swarthy miners to "lay -Nimrod on the anvil, and let it ring bravely with their strokes"; but -the honest Carlstadt, too, scholar, preacher, dialectician as he is, -lays aside his broadcloth, and appears in white felt hat and rustic -coat at the cross of Rothenburg, to preach encouragement to the -people and bring fresh sorrow on himself. Throughout the great -movement which in the third decade of the sixteenth century spread -insurrection from the Breisgau to Saxony, the peasants were animated -with the belief that the Gospel, armed with the sword of Joshua, was -to subjugate the world, and that all the conditions of property, of -law, of civil administration, under which secular communities exist, -were to be superseded by institutions conformed to a divine model. The -leading Reformers, terrified by the religious socialism which they had -raised, were ready enough to denounce and crush it. But in truth their -own idea differed from this insurgent faith more in form than in -essence; lodging the power in different hands, and prescribing to it a -different method, but assigning to it a similar trust for the same -ultimate ends. The kingdoms of this world were to be made the kingdom -of the Lord and of his Christ; and the temporal power was everywhere -to assume a spiritual function, and make aggression on whatever -opposed itself to the severity and sanctity of the Divine Word. The -converts of Knox, the troopers of Cromwell, the town-councillors of -Geneva, acting on this doctrine, claimed the whole of human life as -their domain, and pushed the inquisitions of police into private -habits, and even the secret inclinations of personal belief. -Playing-cards and song-books were denounced and seized, as if they -came from the Devil's printing-press; dancing prohibited, as a profane -escape of the natural members into mirthful agitation; concerts -silenced, as enslaving immortal souls to the delusive sweetness of -strings and wind; the caps of women and the coats of men shaped to -evangelic type; and, as if the world were a great school, the gates of -cities, and even the doors of houses, were closed at temperate hours -by vesper bell or signal gun. Asceticism grasped the sceptre and the -sword, and demanded the capitulation of the world. How vain and -dangerous this tyrannous repression of nature is, the reaction during -the seventeenth century into reckless and fatal license emphatically -declares; and the contrast shows the necessity of finding some -mediating term, some reconciling wisdom, by which the antagonism may -cease between the world and heaven, between natural morals and -Christian aspiration. Yet under a change of form the struggle is still -continued; and with those who most prominently assume to represent the -aims of Christianity, the present life, the temporal world, has no -adequate recognition of its rights. They have no trust in human nature -as divinely constituted, and as having no part or passion without some -fitting range. They dare not leave it out of sight for an instant: -they must draw up a dietary for it, of sufficing vegetables and water; -they must watch its temper, and see that it behaves with winning -sweetness to all rascality; they must guard its purse, and teach it -that to live cheaply, spending nothing for ornament and beauty, -nothing for honor and right, but only for subsistence and charity, is -the great wisdom of man; they must stifle its indignations, lest it -should cease to hold out its cheek to Russia, and, having gone one -shameful mile with "the nephew of my uncle," should refuse to go with -him another. Both the ascetic doctrine and the extreme peace -principles of the present day, as well as its tendency to renounce all -retributory punishment, betray, in our opinion, a morbidly scrupulous -apprehension of evil, quite blinding to the healthy eye for good,--a -crouching of moral fear, singularly at variance with the free and -noble bearing of the Apostle, who found that "to the pure all things -are pure." As for the non-resistance principle, we have shown that it -meant no more in the early Church than that the disciples were not to -anticipate the hour, fast approaching, of Messiah's descent to claim -his throne. But when that hour struck, there was to be no want of -"physical force," no shrinking from retribution as either unjust or -undivine. The "flaming fire," the "sudden destruction," the "mighty -angels," the "tribulation and anguish," were to form the retinue of -Christ and the pioneers of the kingdom of God. It was not that -coercion was deemed unholy, and regarded as the agency appropriate to -lower natures and left behind in ascending towards heaven; it was -simply that natural coercion was not to fritter itself away, but leave -the field open for the supernatural. The new reign was to come _with -force_; and on nothing else, in the last resort, was there any -reliance; only the army was to arrive from heaven before the earthly -recruits were taken up. Nothing, indeed, can well be further from the -sentiment of Scripture than the extreme horror of force, as a penal -and disciplinary instrument, which is inculcated in modern times. "My -kingdom," said Jesus, "is not of this world; else would my servants -fight";--an expression which implies that no kingdom of this world can -dispense with arms, and that he himself, were he the head of a human -polity, would not forbid the sword; but while "legions of angels" -stood ready for his word, and only waited till the Scripture was -fulfilled and the hour of darkness was passed, to obey the signal of -heavenly invasion, the weapon of earthly temper might remain within -the sheath. The infant Church, subsisting in the heart of a military -empire, and expecting from on high a military rescue, was not itself -to fight; not, however, because force was in all cases "brutal" and -"heathenish," but because, in this case, it was to be angelic and -celestial. It is evident that precepts given under the influence of -these ideas can have no just application to the actual duties of -citizens and states, whose problems of conduct, whose very existence, -they never contemplated; and that to urge them upon modern society as -political canons is to introduce a doctrine which, under cover of -their form, violently outrages their spirit. - -The mistaken antithesis between temporal and spiritual things runs -into the greatest excess, wherever the inherent pravity of human -nature is most exaggerated. There are churches, however,--the Catholic -and the Arminian,--in whose doctrines the natural condition of man is -painted in colors far removed from the deepest shade; and which deem -him not so much incapable of right moral discernment, as weakened for -faithful moral execution. In this view, the function of Christianity -is not to supersede and cancel, but to supplement and guide, the -native energies of the soul; not to raise it from a mad trance, in -which all thought and feeling are themselves but a false glare, but -to apply a tonic and healing power, enabling it to do the right which -it has already light enough to see. Professor Fitzgerald is an -adherent to this doctrine, and justly contends that no lower estimate -of human nature can consist with responsibility at all. - -"I am not to be ranked," he says, "amongst those who assume that human -corruption has not _affected_ the natural power of the moral sense. I -think it has. No doubt sinful depravity, wherever it is indulged, is, -as Aristotle long ago remarked, [Greek: phthartike ton archon],--it -tends to weaken or deprave the sentiment of moral censure, and to -blunt the perception of moral evil. - -"An eloquent but superficial French moralist has compared the -conscience to a table-rock in the ocean, its surface, just above the -ripple, bearing an inscription graven in the stone, which a genius, -hovering over it, reads aloud. At times the waves arise and sweep over -the tablet, concealing the mystic characters. Then the reader is -compelled to pause. But after a while the wind is lulled, the waves -sink back to their accustomed level, the inscription stands out clear -and legible, and the genius resumes his interrupted task. - -"This comparison might gain something in correctness if we imagine the -inscription traced upon a softer substance. For the stormy waves of -passion not only conceal, while they prevail, the sacred characters of -virtue, but, as billow after billow passes over the tablet, they tend -to obliterate the lines. - -"But in making these large concessions, (which I do very willingly,) I -do not feel that I am surrendering the cause. It is one thing to say -that the discriminating power of the moral judgment is _affected_ and -impaired by human corruption, and quite another to say that it is -destroyed. It is one thing to say that it sometimes goes wrong, and -another that we can _never_ depend on its decisions. Most men's -experience has often brought them acquainted with persons who had -impaired, in some way or other, their natural powers of perceiving truth -or excellence in some respects, without losing either sound principles -of reason or sound principles of honesty in others. And the way to -correct such obliquities of intellectual or moral judgment is, not to -tell men that they should distrust their natural faculties altogether, -but to avail ourselves of so much as remains sound to discover the -mistake or imperfection which we seek to remedy or supply. The appeal, -in such cases, is from the reason or conscience perverted or impaired, -to the same faculties in what physicians would call their _normal -state_. When the effaced portions of the inscription are to be restored, -the evidence of the correction results from its harmonizing with the -part which has not been obliterated; and an interpolation may be -detected by its disturbing the coherence of the context,--an omission by -leaving it imperfect or unintelligible."--p. 26. - -On this principle alone, unhappily but little congenial with the -spirit and traditions of Protestant churches, can Christianity coexist -with natural ethics. Faith adopts morals, purifies and sublimes them, -and especially changes the character of their force;--for a law of -compulsion from below, substituting a love of God above. The enmity -ceases between the world and heaven; the physical earth is not more -certainly afloat in space, and on the muster-roll of stars, than the -present life is plunged in eternity, and not behind its chiefest -sanctities. There is nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to be slurred -over as an unmanageable necessity, in the natural constitution and -relations of men; whatever acts they prescribe, whatever combinations -they require, are within the scope and consecration of religion. The -whole compass of the world and its affairs, all the gifts and -activities of men, are brought within moral jurisdiction, and included -in the embrace of a genial reverence. No narrow interpretation is -longer possible of the province of human piety, and the true type of a -noble goodness; as though they demanded a definite set of actions, -rather than a certain style of soul, and denied a place to any -affection or pursuit which can adorn and glorify existence. Divine -things are not put away into foreign realms of being, and future -reaches of time, attainable by no path of toil, no spring of effort, -only by miraculous transport; but are met with every day, shining -through the substance of life and hid amid its hours. Whatever -original endowments, whatever acquired virtues, enrich and elevate our -immediate sphere,--the Thought which finds its truth, the Genius that -evolves its beauty, the Honor that guards its nobleness, the Love -which lightens the burden of its sorrows,--are not mere temporal -embellishments indifferent to its sacredness, but attributes that -bring men nearer to the sympathy and similitude of God. Art, -literature, politics, employing the highest human activities, and -constituting the very blossom and fruit of all our culture, are -recognized as having an earnest root, and not being the light growth -of secular gayety and selfishness. We have no sympathy with the -sentimental and immoral propensity, which corrupts the newest -Continental philosophy, to recognize whatever comes into existence as -_ipso facto_ divine. But we do believe that the great change for which -the secret religiousness of this age pines, and which it is sorely -straitened till it can accomplish, is the deliberate adoption into -"heavenly places" of this world, its faculties and affairs, just as -God has made them, and man's unfaithfulness has not yet spoiled them. -The products of human baseness, hypocrisy, and ambition,--let _them_ -remain hateful, eternally contrary to God, things scarce safe to pity; -but believe not that they have got this planet entirely to themselves, -and have snatched it as their _peculium_ quite out of the Supreme -Hand. Men are tired of straining their thought along the diameter of -the universe to seek for a Holy of Holies in whatever is opposite to -their life; they find a worship possible, even irresistible, at home, -and on the road-side a place as fit to kneel as on the pavement of the -Milky Way. The old antagonism between the world that now is, and any -other that has been or is to come, has been modified for them, or has -even entirely ceased. The earth is no place of diabolic exile, which -the "prince of the power of the air" ever fans and darkens with his -wing; and were it even, as was once believed, appointed to perish, -this would be not because its failure was complete, but because its -task was done. No vengeance burns in the sunshine which mellows its -fruits and paints its grass; no threatenings flash from the starry -eyes that watch over it by night. It is not only the home of each -man's personal affections, but the native country of his very soul; -where first he found in what a life he lives, and to what heaven he -tends; where he has met the touch of spirits higher than his own, and -of Him that is highest of all. It is the abode of every ennobling -relation, the scene of every worthy toil;--the altar of his vows, the -observatory of his knowledge, the temple of his worship. Whatever -succeeds to it will be its sequel, not its opposite, will resume the -tale wherever silence overtakes it, and be blended into one life by -sameness of persons and continuity of plan. He is set here to live, -not as an alien, passing in disguise through an enemy's camp, where no -allegiance is due, and no worthy love is possible, but as a citizen -fixed on an historic soil, pledged by honorable memories to nurse yet -nobler hopes. _Here_ is the spot, _now_ is the time, for the most -devoted service of God. No strains of heaven will wake him into -prayer, if the common music of humanity stirs him not. The saintly -company of spirits will throng around him in vain, if he finds no -angels of duty and affection in his children, neighbors, and friends. -If no heavenly voices wander around him in the present, the future -will be but the dumb change of the shadow on the dial. In short, -higher stages of existence are not the refuge from this, but the -complement to it; and it is the proper wisdom of the affections, not -to escape the one in order to seek the other, but to flow forth in -purifying copiousness on both. - -We have said that men are tired of having their earthly and their -heavenly relations set up in sharp opposition to each other, and are -eager to live here in a consecrated world. This tendency has already -found expression in two remarkable and apparently dissimilar -phenomena,--the partial success of the Anglican and Catholic reaction, -and the vast influence on English society of the late Dr. Arnold's -character. Both were virtual protests against that removal of God out -of the common human life, that unreconciled condition of Law and -Gospel, which had made the evangelical theology sickening and unreal. -A path had to be opened for the re-introduction of a divine presence -into the sphere of temporal things. Newman resorted to the -supernatural channel of Church miracle; Arnold to the natural course -of human affairs, and the permanent sacredness of human obligation. -Both restored to us a solemn mystery of immediate Incarnation; the one -putting life, in order to its consecration, into contact with the -sacraments; the other spreading a sacramental veneration over the -whole of life. Arnold, especially, saw the great moral evils which -have arisen from the evangelical depreciation of the "profane" world. -The secular, he was well aware, has become _too_ secular, the -spiritual too _merely_ spiritual. Human nature is permitted to have -play with unchecked wilfulness in the one, and is allowed no place at -all in the other. The obligations of natural law are held in light -esteem, as if, in being social, they fell short of being sacred. The -exercises of intellect, in the survey of nature or the interpretation -of history, are often stigmatized as a mere earthly curiosity, -permissible to reason, but neutral to the soul. The worst of it is, -that these notions, once become habitual, fulfil their own -predictions. As there is nothing which the heart cannot sanctify, so -is there nothing which it may not secularize. Tell men that in their -natural affections there is nothing holy, and their homes will soon be -nests of common instinct. Assure them that in their business it is the -unregenerate will, and the animal necessity, that labor for the bread -which perisheth, and soon enough will an irreverent greediness and a -cankered anxiety usurp the place. Persuade them that to study the -order of creation or the records of past ages is but a "carnal" -pursuit, and the student's prayer for light will become a mere -ambition for distinction, the meditations of wonder be stifled in the -dust of mental day-labor, and the tears of admiration drop no more on -the page of ancient wisdom. This was what Arnold could not abide; to -see religion flying off on wings of pompous pretence to other worlds, -and leaving no heavenly glory upon the earth, but letting her very -fields be paved into a street. There was no attempt to save a spot -for any earnest reality, except the poor little enclosure behind the -altar rail. The Church will consecrate a graveyard for the dead, but -leaves the market of the living still unblessed: you may dissolve away -in benediction, when your years are over of toil and sweat beneath the -curse. To one who acknowledges a natural conscience and a natural -element in faith, there is a _religion in little_ in every part of -life; it gives at least a note in the chords and melody of worship. -Hence Arnold's curious doctrine of the Church as covering all human -relations whatsoever, and including the whole organism of the State. -He would have nothing which the laws of this universe imposed on the -will of man done without a clear and pious recognition; it was not to -be illicitly smuggled in, as if run ashore in a gale of confusion that -could not be helped, but must be steadily accounted for and stored in -open day. _Ethically_, this doctrine, though, from its adaptation to a -permanent world, it is the least Apostolic in appearance, is, of all -interpretations of Christianity, the most true; and if it were not for -clinging ideas of extra-moral dogma and special priesthood, as -limiting the conception of "the Church," would go far to repeat for -our age the work of Socrates for his, and bring down our divine -philosophy from heaven to earth. It gets rid entirely of the false -spiritualism which has either withheld religious men from political -affairs, or induced them to urge on statesmen rules applicable only -where government can be dispensed with altogether. It rescues -Christianity from the degradation of being hypocritically flattered as -the great persuasive to peace by rulers whom it does not restrain from -going to war, and relieves it of an oppressive weight of false -expectation, as though it broke its promise to the world every time a -new case of strife appeared. Nothing can well be more damaging to a -religion, than to commit it to unqualified disapprobation of anything -which must exist while human nature lasts, and to set it frowning with -ineffectual sublimity on the passions and events which determine the -whole course of history. The amiable enthusiasts who propose to -conduct the affairs of nations on principles of brotherly love, and -who, till that consummation is reached, can only stand by and protest, -do but weaken their country for purposes of justice and bring their -faith into merited commiseration. It is commonly said that they are a -harmless class, who may even form a useful counterpoise to the warlike -susceptibilities of less scrupulous men. We have no belief, however, -in the efficacy of falsehood and exaggeration, or in the attainment of -truth and moderation by the neutralizing action of opposite -extravagances. The reverence for human life is carried to an immoral -idolatry, when it is held more sacred than justice and right, and when -the spectacle of blood becomes more horrible than the sight of -desolating tyrannies and triumphant hypocrisies. Life, indeed, is just -the one thing--the reserved capital, the rest, the ultimate -security--on whose disposability in the last resort, and on the free -control over which, the very existence of society depends. The first -and highest social bond is no doubt to be found in a _religious_ -sentiment, a common veneration for the same things as right and -intrinsically binding on men that live side by side; and the worship, -with its institutions, of every community, is its instinctive attempt -to get these things spontaneously done by the force of _reverence_. -Could this point be really carried, nothing would remain to be -accomplished; religion would complete and perfect the incorporation of -mutual loyalty which it had begun. But there are some in whom the -sentiment of common reverence fails, and for whose fidelity to the -moral ends of the social union there is therefore no natural guaranty. -To reach these cases, society has no resource but coercive methods, -actual or threatened; the threat is _Law_; the actuality is -_Punishment_; the power to which both are committed is a _Government_; -the commonwealth on whose behalf they exist is a _State_. The very -constitution of a state thus presupposes the _possible violation of -moral right_, the partial failure of religion to secure its -observance, and the determination to _enforce_ on the reluctant an -obedience refused of free will. Force, however, is applicable only to -men's bodies; it is a restraint and pressure on the functions of -their life; and if that life be sacred from infringement, the -political existence of nations is itself an offence against the law of -God. All law, all polity, is a proclamation that justice is better -than life, and, if need be, shall override it and all the possessions -it includes; and nothing can be weaker or more suicidal than for men -who are citizens of a commonwealth to announce, that, for their part, -they mean to hold life in higher esteem than justice. Moreover, there -is a low-minded egotism often disguised in this doctrine of passive -meekness. As an inducement to quiet endurance of wrong, we are -reminded of the duty of "mutual forgiveness." Is all the wickedness, -then, that I am doomed to witness, nothing but a _personal affront_? -When a rascal threatens to blow out my neighbor's brains, or to blast -his character by infamous accusations, am _I_ in a position to forbear -and pardon? Must I not own myself under a solemn trust, to see the -right done and the guilty punished? Nay, would not the injured man -himself greatly mistake the nature of the crime, and measure it by a -paltry standard, if he took it for a mere private offence which it was -his prerogative to punish or to overlook? "Who is this that forgiveth -sins also?" The eternal laws of justice are not of our enacting; and -no will of ours has title to suspend or to repeal them. The real and -only demand of Christian magnanimity is, that we visit them with no -vengeance, but merely with moral retribution;--_that_ is, with no more -severity when directed against ourselves, than when we see them at an -impersonal distance. But to regard and treat the guilty as if he were -an innocent,--that is given to no man, and is even inconceivable of -God. Rulers, at all events, as trustees of rights other than their -own,--and each generation of a people, as charged with the interests -of successors in perpetuity,--have but a limited privilege of -forbearance; the meekness of the saint would in them be treason to the -world. Even in international disputes, where each party may have a -conviction of right, the controversy, but for the possibility of -force, could have no end. It is a delusion to rely on courts as a -substitute for armies, and to suppose that judicial decision can -supersede military. The judge would be of small avail without the -constable; and the arbitrator between nations would need a European -army to enforce his decrees. Where the stake is large and the feeling -strong, it is notorious that the private disputant rarely acquiesces -in an arbitration that goes against him; but carries his case to the -last appeal, where it is stopped by a barrier of impassable force. You -might as well pull down your jails in preparation for the assizes, as -destroy your fleets and arsenals in quest of international -arbitration. We speak only of the ultimate theory of this matter, and -simply affirm, that wherever law and government exist, somewhere in -the background force must lurk. It may, no doubt, be provided in -excess, and paraded without need; and with the progress of a civilized -order, the circle may be ever widened within which the _idea_ of -coercion, with the habits it creates, may be substituted for the -obtrusive reality; till possibly a family of nations may be gathered, -like a group of counties, into a common jurisdiction. But this only -shifts the camp without disbanding it; and, after all, the tipstaffs -of your supreme court could be no other than the legions of a grand -army. We have, therefore, no more doubt that a war may be right, than -that a policeman may be a security for justice, and we object to a -fortress as little as to a handcuff. A religion which does not include -the whole moral law; a moral law which does not embrace all the -problems of a commonwealth; a commonwealth which regards the life of -man more than the equities of God,--appear to us unfaithful to their -functions, and unworthy interpreters of the divine scheme of the -world. Quaker histories, written with omission of all the wars, are -not less morbid as moral mistakes, than a doctrine of Providence, -leaving out the whole realm of heathendom, is narrow as a religious -theory; and the misuse of Scripture which has led to both, is most -dangerous to its authority in an age remarkable for the breadth of its -historical survey and the variety of its ethnological sympathies. - -In other ways than those which we have indicated has a mischievous -direction been given to modern thought and feeling, by perverting the -accidental and transient form of the primitive Christianity into -essential and permanent doctrine. But our exposition must proceed no -further. The alternation of ascetic spiritualism and worldly laxity, -the indifference to natural affections and relations, the -exclusiveness at once devout and selfish, the jealous denial of their -rights to intellect and art, the false apprehension of the true -dignity of law and true life of states, have been the more earnestly -dwelt upon from the conviction that these ethical infirmities are -producing a perilous reaction,--a distrust of all ethical laws -whatsoever, a disposition to hold everything divine that finds -strength to realize itself,--a worship of what _is_, in place of an -aspiration to what _ought to be_. To this we cannot consent. We cannot -look on all forms of human life and character with the neutral eye of -an equal admiration, as alike suitable products of formative nature. -We cannot forego the right of judgment,--of embracing with reverence -or spurning with abhorrence; or part with the ideal type of a perfect -soul, to which all others rise as they approach. Neither do we believe -with Luther, that human nature is a mere _devilish_ anarchy, reducible -only by supernatural irruption; nor with the newest school, that it is -a _divine_ anarchy, equally uncontrollable from within, and to be -accepted as a wild fact; but that it is a _hierarchy of powers_, each -having and knowing its rightful place, and appealing to us to maintain -it there. To listen to that appeal, and, in answer to it, strive to -harmonize the _de facto_ with the _de jure_ administration of the -soul, destroying the usurpation of mean errors, and restoring the sway -of kingly truth, is the aim of morals in action and in philosophy. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[55] Luther de Captivitate, Bab. ii. 264. Comp. Dispu. i. 523. Si in -fide fieri posset adulterium, peccatum non esset. Other and yet more -revolting assertions of the same principle are cited by Moehle, in his -Symbolik, I. iii. Sec. 16, whence these passages are taken. - -[56] See Luther's Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians, -_passim_. - - - - -THE RESTORATION OF BELIEF. - - _The Restoration of Belief_. No. I. _Christianity in Relation to its - Ancient and Modern Antagonists_. Cambridge: Macmillan & Co. 1852. - - -We have heard it quoted as the remark of a distinguished foreigner, -conversant with the choicest society in several of the capitals of -Europe, that nowhere is the alienation of the higher and professional -classes from all religious faith so widespread and complete as in -England. That the masses at the other end of the social scale are -indifferent or disaffected to the institutions which visibly embody the -Christianity of our age, can be no secret to any observant inhabitant of -a large English town. It is on the middle class alone that the various -forms of Protestant worship have any real hold. Removed alike from the -passionate temptations of the homeless artisan, and from the mental -activity of the statesman or man of letters, the rural gentry and the -urban tradespeople are detained under traditional influences, partly by -the wholesome conservatism of moral habit, partly by helpless -accommodation to conventional standards. Men of this class, if once -really touched and possessed by earnest conviction, are the best -defenders of a religion from _political_ assault. But a faith exposed to -an _intellectual_ struggle finds among them but a precarious shelter; -especially if their attachment to it is less a living persuasion than a -fear of the blank which its removal would create. Persecuted by the -magistrate, they know how to defend their worship from the oppression of -law. Assailed by the critic, they can offer but the resistance of a dumb -impenetrability; they cannot bring their sterling personal qualities to -bear upon the contest; they are obliged, for all active conduct in the -strife, to trust to a body of literary Swiss, engaged to protect the -Vatican of their faith, and accustomed never to report defeat. In -proportion as the methods of sceptical aggression become more -formidable, and its temper more earnest, it is found necessary to -improve the training of the band of Church defenders;--a measure at once -indispensable and fatal; for it lifts them into an intellectual -position, which spoils the blind singleness of their allegiance, -discloses the hopelessness of the task expected from them, and often -destroys their antipathy to the noble revolutionary foe. It is the -vainest of hopes, that a body of clergy, brought up to the culture of -the nineteenth century, can abide by the Christianity of the sixteenth -or of the second; if they may not preserve its essence by translation -into other forms of thought, they will abandon it, in proportion as they -are clear-sighted and veracious, as a dialect grown obsolete. The number -accordingly is constantly increasing, in every college capable of -training a rich intellect, of candidates for the ministry forced by -their doubts into lay professions, and carrying thither the powerful -influence, in the same direction, of learning and accomplishment. The -higher offices of education are, to no slight extent, in the hands of -these deserters of the Church; and through the tutor in the family, or -the master in the school, or the professor in the lecture-room, contact -and sympathy are established between the best portions of the new -generation, and a kind of thought and culture with which the authorized -theology cannot co-exist. College friendships, foreign travel, current -literature, familiarize all educated young men with the phenomenon of -scepticism, and in a way most likely to disenchant it of its terrors. -Thus by innumerable channels it enters the middle class at the -intellectual end of their life, assuming in general the form of historic -and critical doubt; while from below, from the classes born and bred -amid the whirl of machinery, and shaped in their very imagination by the -tyranny of the power-loom, it pushes up in the ruder form of material -fatalism. The intermediate enclosure, safe in the dull innocence of an -unsuspected creed, is growing narrower every day; and, though reserved -to the last for its hour of temptation, will be the least prepared to -win its victory. - -No one who appreciates the real sources of a healthy national life, -and knows what to expect from the dissolution of ancient faiths, can -look without anxiety at a prospect like this; especially in a country -whose religious institutions, rigid with usage, overloaded with -interests, charged with the bequests of the past, are manifestly -unequal to the crisis, and, in their attempt to train the affections -of the Future, wield every power but the right one, and are indeed -already regarded, like the Court of Chancery with its wards, as a dry -nursery for grown babies. A people that reverences nothing--nothing at -least that stretches a common heaven over all--has lost its natural -unity. Incipient decay is spreading through the secret cement of its -civilization, which, far from bearing the weight of further growth, -precariously holds its existing mass together. So far we are entirely -at one with those who see something to deplore in the "Eclipse of -Faith," and something to desire in the "Restoration of Belief." They -do not overrate the evils of a state of society in which, if you think -with the wise, you must cease to believe with the vulgar. We would -join with them, heart and hand, in the effort to terminate this fatal -discrepancy, and find some language of devotion and aspiration, -veracious alike from the lips of the richest knowledge and the most -primitive simplicity. But when, like the author whose publication is -before us, they would abolish the discrepancy by simply reinstating -the taught in the creed of the untaught; when they insist on the -surrender without terms of modern philosophy and criticism to the -"unabated" authority of the Bible; when they pretend to wipe out from -calculation all the theological researches of the last half-century, -as if they were mere ciphers made in sport on the tablet of history, -and had no effect on our computed place at all,--we separate -sorrowfully from them, largely sympathizing with their wish, but -wholly despairing of their method. The received theory of the origin -of Christianity from agencies exclusively divine, and of the -infallible character of the canonical books, can no more be -"restored," than Roman history can be put back to its state before -Niebuhr's time, or Greek mythology be treated as if Heyne and Ottfried -Mueller had never lived. The present age is not more distinguished by -its advance in the material arts, than by its astonishing progress in -the interpretation and true painting of the past; a Boeckh or a Grote -carries in his mind a picture of Athenian life in the days of Pericles -more perfect, it is probable, than could be formed by Plutarch or -Longinus; and it would be strange if the Christian era--certainly the -object of the most elaborated study--were the only one to escape the -work of reconstruction, or to undergo it without considerable change. -The limits of that change are at present definable by no consentient -estimate; but that they are such as to remove the old lines of -Christian defence, and require the choice of more open ground, can no -longer be denied, except by the astute consistency of a Romanist -hierarchy, and the innocent unconsciousness of English sects. When the -time shall come for a dispassionate history of the first two -centuries,--a history which, resolving the canon back into the general -mass of early Christian literature, shall find an original clew for -tradition, instead of accepting one from its posthumous hand,--which -shall detect opinions before they were heretic or orthodox, and trace -the several streams of tributary thought to their confluence in a -determinate Christianity,--the narrowness of our present polemic will -be apparent of itself; its fears and triumphs be regarded with a -smile; and many, both of its positive and negative results, will -vanish from the interests of religion, and be absorbed in a higher -view of the relation between the Divine and Human in this world. - -We had hoped at first that the author of "The Restoration of Belief" was -about to take up the problem of Christianity with a real appreciation of -its altered conditions, and with unaffected justice towards those who -cannot solve it like himself. His present essay is but the commencement -of a series, designed to arrest the progress of educated scepticism, to -expose the sophistries of modern criticism, and re-establish the plenary -authority, as oracles of faith, of the Hebrew and the Christian -Scriptures. It would perhaps be unreasonable to complain that his -argument does not march very far in this first movement; and engages us -rather by the stateliness of its step, than by the clearness of its -direction. Nevertheless, we do think that the discursive license of -introductory exposition is carried by him to an extreme which promises -ill for the exactitude of his method. At the outset he declares that the -difficulties which embarrass modern faith go down to the very depths of -philosophy, and can be resolved only by reaching the ultimate roots of -thought. Yet he remains on the upper surface of history, and, without -once hinting how this is to lead him to the pith of the controversy, -dwells only on facts which are undisputed, and his conception of which -might be as readily gathered from Gibbon as from Neander. Like many -writers whose eye is caught by grandeur of effect, and whose imagination -is sensitive to wonder, he is fascinated by the moment in human affairs -when the Roman Empire was exactly poised between the forces of external -unity and of internal decay, and the political organism of the Past, so -august in its mass and its proportions, held no soul but the young -spirit of the Future. Of this crisis, assigned to the reign of Alexander -Severus, our author presents an impressive and, we believe, a faithful -sketch. Amid the splendor, the misery, the decay of belief and hope, the -universal incertitude of that period, there emerges into notice the -beautiful and beneficent phenomenon of a real Faith,--a Faith that can -live, a Faith that can die. The inevitable conflict between this new -power and the Pagan prerogatives of the Caesars is well brought out by -the essayist; and the victory of Christianity is justly ascribed to the -peculiar character of the religion, as a feeling directed to a PERSON -rather than the simple assent to an IDEA. It was the force of this -personal feeling which first awakened in men the sentiment of obligation -in regard to religious truth, and substituted faithful veracity for -indifferentism and laxity of profession. The author thus sums up the -positions which he regards the present essay as establishing:-- - -"That the Christian communities did, during the period that we have had -in view, make and maintain a protest against the idol-worship of the -times, which protest, severe as it was in its conditions, at length won -a place in the world for a purer theology, and set the civilized races -free from the degrading superstitions of the Greek Mythology. - -"That in the course of this arduous struggle, and as an unobserved yet -inevitable consequence of it, a New Principle came to be recognized, -and a New Feeling came to govern the minds of men, which principle and -feeling conferred upon the individual man, however low his rank, -socially or intellectually, a dignity unknown to classical antiquity; -and which yet must be the basis of every moral advancement we can -desire, or think of as possible. - -"That the struggle whence resulted these two momentous consequences, -affecting the welfare of men for ever, was entered upon and maintained -on the ground of a definite persuasion, or Belief, of which a PERSON -was the object. - -"That this belief toward a person embraced attributes, not only of -superhuman excellence and wisdom, but also of superhuman POWER and -AUTHORITY. If we take the materials before us as our guide, it will -not be possible to disengage the history from these ideas of -superhuman dignity."--p. 106. - -These positions we certainly conceive to be unassailable. But they lie -so completely out of the field of modern doubt and controversy, that -we are at a loss to imagine what possible use the author can make of -them. The general features of the Christian faith, and the character -of the Church, had assumed in the third century a determinate form, -about which there is no important question between believer and -unbeliever. Who would deny that the disciples for whom Clement of -Alexandria and Origen wrote, whom Tertullian and Minucius Felix -defended, and to whose institutes Cyprian was a convert, believed in -Jesus Christ as a person at once historical and divine, and were -strengthened by that belief to the endurance of martyrdom? The real -and only difficulties lie higher up, in the attempt to trace the -sources and earlier varieties of this belief; and if our author can -show that, in winding its way through two centuries, and traversing -several distinct regions of thought, it dropped or rounded off no -primitive facts, and became mingled with no foreign ideas,--if he can -establish the essential constancy and uniformity, from the first, of -the tradition and doctrine which obtained ascendency at last,--he will -indeed reduce legitimate scepticism within very narrow limits, and -deserve a niche in the Valhalla of critical renown. But if he -contemplates clearing these centuries by an argumentative leap; if, -from the martyr faith of an age later than the Antonines, he means to -conclude the certainty of the Incarnation two hundred years -before,--then we must say, he attempts a logical feat which puts to -shame the cautious steps of such reasoners as Paley, Marsh, and -Whately. The catena of well-linked testimonies, with its bridge of -safe footing, which they have endeavored to sling across the chasm of -the post-apostolic age, is but a paltry cowardice of ecclesiastic -engineering to one who can pass the gulf upon the wing of inference. -An advocate is intelligible, and proceeds upon admitted rules of -evidence, who says with these earlier divines: "Here are the writings -of Paul, of John, of Matthew, and of other men who were present at the -events they relate or assume; whose lives were turned into a new -channel by their influence; and who went to prison and to death rather -than deny them. They positively declare that they witnessed the most -stupendous miracles, and, after their Master had been visibly taken up -through the clouds, themselves habitually exercised the same -supernatural power. You must admit that the guaranties of testimony -can go no further: surrender yourself therefore to the Gospel." This -is an argument which accomplishes all that is possible with historical -evidence in such a case; and were its allegations of fact sustainable, -it would still be the best form into which the reasoning could be -thrown. Unfortunately, we can no longer feel assured that any -first-hand testimony exists, as a distinguishable element, in the -narrative books of the New Testament; so that we can regard them only -as monuments of the state of Christian tradition during a secondary -period. Still, this flaw is not repaired by striking into the course -of belief three or four generations lower down, and substituting the -"Martyr literature" of the third century for the Evangelist memorials -of the second or the first. And when our author transfers to Clement -and Origen the praise of unaffected simplicity usually awarded to the -Apostolic writers, and actually presents it as sufficient proof of -divine attributes in Christ, we can only suppose that, in his opinion, -some truths are too good to have any bad way to them. What else can be -said of the following mode of inference? - -"Much do we meet with in these writers that indicates infirmity of -judgment or a false taste; yet does there pervade them a marked -simplicity, a grave sincerity, a quietness of tone, when HE is spoken -of whom they acknowledge as LORD. If there be one characteristic of -these ancient writings that is _uniform_, it is the calm, -affectionate, and reverential tone in which the Martyr Church speaks -of THE SAVIOUR CHRIST! - -"I am perfectly sure that, if you could absolutely banish from your -mind all thought of the inferences and the consequences resulting from -your admissions, you would not, after perusing this body of Martyr -literature, fall into the enormity of attributing the notions -entertained of CHRIST, as invested with Divine attributes, to any such -source as 'exaggeration,' or 'extravagance,' or to 'Orientalism,' or -'enlarged Platonism.' Exaggeration and inflation have their own style: -it is not difficult to recognize it. No characteristic of thought or -language is more obvious. You will fail in your endeavor to show that -this characteristic _does_ attach to the writings in question; and -why should you make such an attempt? There can be no inducement to do -so, unless it appears to be the only means of escaping from some -consequence which we dislike."--p. 107. - -Our author professedly opposes "Ancient Christianity" to modern -scepticism, because "History," as he observes, "is solid ground," and no -region of atmospheric phantasms, births from the refracted rays of -metaphysic light. History, however, is solid ground only so far as it is -really explored; and the trending of the land and curving of the shore -in one latitude of time no more enables us to lay down the map of -another, than an anchorage at the Ganges' mouth would enable us to paint -the gorges of the Himalayas, and distinguish the real from the fabulous -sources of the sacred stream. To take us into the basilicas and show us -how Christians worshipped in the days of Alexander Severus, to introduce -us to the Proconsul's court and bid us witness their refusal of divine -homage to Caesar's image, and then ask us whether a faith like this -_could have had_ any origin but ONE,--this is not _history_, but the -mere _evasion_ of history. We want to know, not what _must have been_ -the source, but what _was_ the source, of the great moral power that -rose upon the world as Rome declined. Whoever wishes to shut out human -ideas and natural agencies from participation in the matter, must go -patiently through the entire remains of the early Christian literature; -must trace the conflict between the Hebrew and the Pauline Gospel; find -a place for the peculiar version of the religion given by the Evangelist -John; fix the limits of Ebionitism, of Chiliasm, of Docetism; and show -that these modes and varieties of doctrine stop short of the substance -of the early faith, and do not enter the canonical Scriptures with any -disturbance of their historic certainty. Nothing of this kind do we -expect from our author. For he entertains a conception, respecting the -logic of Christian evidence, which, however prevalent among English -divines, betrays in our judgment a mind not at all at home with the -present conditions of the problem. He seems to think that we can _first_ -prove the historic truth of the Scriptures _in general_; and then get -rid of the _difficulties in particular_; and requires us, in obedience -to this pedantic law of logical etiquette, to carry into our -investigation of every successive perplexity the rigid assumption that -the writings with which we deal are "inspired," and their contents of -"Divine authority." - -"When a collection of historic materials, bearing upon a particular -series of events, is brought forward, it will follow, upon the -supposition that those events have, on the whole, been truly reported, -that any hypothesis, the object of which is to make it seem probable -that no such events did take place, must involve absurdities which -will be more or less glaring. But then, _after_ the truth of the -history has been established, and when the trustworthiness of the -materials has been admitted, as we proceed to apply a rigid criticism -to ambiguous passages, we shall undoubtedly encounter a crowd of -perplexing disagreements; and we shall find employment enough for all -our acumen, and trial enough of our patience, in clearing our path. -And yet no amount of discouragements, such as these, will warrant our -falling back upon a supposition which we have already discarded as -incoherent and absurd."--p. 110. - -We cannot call this a vicious canon of historical criticism; for it -simply excludes historical criticism altogether. The critic's work is -not a process which can go on generically, without addressing itself to -any particular matters at all, and vindicate comprehensive conclusions -in blindness towards the cases they comprise. The judgment that, on the -whole, a certain book contains a true report of events, can only be a -provisional assumption, founded on natural and childlike trust, and can -claim no scientific character, till it comes out as a collective -inference from an investigation in detail of the narrative's contents. -No doubt, the bare fact of the existence of Christianity as a great -social phenomenon in the age of the Antonines, may afford evidence -enough that Jesus of Nazareth was no imaginary being; the genius of the -religion, and the traditional picture of its author, may indicate the -cast of his mind and the intensity of his influence; the institutions -of the Church may betray its origin in Palestine, and the approximate -date of its birth. But these conclusions, founded entirely on reasonings -from human causation, can never carry us into the superhuman; or enable -us to say more respecting the memorials of the life of Jesus, than that -they _may be_ true, and do not forfeit, _ab initio_, their title to -examination by fundamental anachronism, misplacement, and moral -incongruity. How far the existence of this _prima facie_ case falls -short of "establishing the truth of the history," and "the -trustworthiness of the materials," we need not point out to any one -accustomed to deal with questions of evidence. And as for the great -proposition, that "the Gospel of Christ is a supernaturally -authenticated gift," we cannot imagine how it is to be proved _in -general_, without research into a single miracle. Is it indifferent to -the fact of the Incarnation, that the only two accounts of the birth and -infancy of Jesus are hopelessly at variance with each other? Is the -evidence of the Resurrection unaffected by the discrepancies on which -harmonists have spent a fruitless ingenuity? Are we as sure that, in -reading the Apostles' works, we have to do with "inspired writers," as -if they had _not_ made any false announcements about the end of the -world? What does our author mean by admitting these things as -"difficulties," yet denying them any just influence in abatement of our -confidence? He may form one estimate of their weight, and his opponent -another; but in neither case can they be postponed for treatment in a -mere appendix to the discussion of Christian evidence: they are of the -very pith of the whole question, and, so long as they lie in reserve as -quantities of unknown magnitude and direction of influence, render -historical belief and unbelief alike irrational. - -Nor can we for a moment allow that the failure of ever so many "German -theories" to give a satisfactory account of the origin of -Christianity, is any good reason for contented acquiescence in the -received doctrine. Our author insists, that we must make our -definitive choice between some modern hypothesis and the Evangelical -tradition; and either take the facts as they are handed down to us, or -else replace them by some better representation. By what right does he -impose on us such an alternative necessity? Is the critic disqualified -for detecting false history, because he cannot, at his distance, write -the true? Is it a thing unknown, as a product of scholarship, that -fabulous elements disclose themselves amid the memorials of fact? and -is it not an acknowledged gain to part with an error, though only in -favor of an ignorance? If a modern hypothesis as to the mode in which -the religion arose may "break down" by mere internal incoherence and -improbability, why may not the ancient account, if it should be -chargeable with similar imperfections, be liable to the same fate? It -is surely conceivable that _all_ the finished representations we -possess,--Hebrew and Alexandrine, as well as German,--furnish, more or -less, an ideal and conjectural history of the infancy of Christendom; -and that the reproduction of that time may not only be _now_ -impossible, but have already become so ere a hundred years were gone. -The baffling of one solution implies therefore no triumph of another; -and if the tradition on which we stand be insecure, our position is -not improved by clipping the wings of every adventurous hypothesis on -which we had thought to escape the common ground. - -Our author cannot then change the _venue_ of the great Christian cause -from the first century to the third, and, on the evidence present there, -give even preliminary judgment. The conflict between the new religion -and the old which characterized that period, he paints with striking and -truthful effect; and, contrasting the severe and holy veracity of -martyred disciples with the careless indifference of Paganism to -religious truth, he rightly refers the superiority of the Christians to -their faith in a _Person_, instead of mere assent to an _Opinion_. Is -it, however, correct to regard this as original and exclusive to the -Gospel, and to set it on the forehead of the Church as the very mark of -her distinctive divinity? We think not. The same feature is manifest in -Judaism, to which again it belongs, not as a peculiarity, but in common -with every faith whose Only God is the apotheosis of humanity. It is the -one grand moral characteristic of genuine Theism, as opposed to -Pantheism; rendering it more than the enthusiasm of poetry, the -earnestness of philosophy, the inspiration of genius, and constituting -it, in the deepest sense, Religion. Nor is the ground of the distinction -far to seek. Religion, in its ultimate essence, is a sentiment of -Reverence for a Higher than ourselves. Higher than ourselves, however, -can none be, that have not what is most august among our endowments; -none, therefore, by reason of size, of strength, of duration; none -simply by beauty or by skill; none even by largeness of discerning -thought, but only by free and realizing preference of the most Just and -Good. A Being of living Will can alone be nobler than myself, lift me -above the level of my actual mind by looking at my latent nature, and -emancipate me into the captivity of worship. In other words, reverence -can attach itself exclusively to a _Person_; it cannot direct itself on -what is _im_personal,--on physical facts, on unconscious laws, on -necessary forces, on inanimate objects and their relations, on space, -though it be infinite, on duration, though it be eternal. These all, -even when they rule us, are _lower_ than ourselves; they may evade our -knowledge, defy our power, overwhelm our imagination, but never rise to -be our equals, or conspire to furnish even the symbol of our God. The -mere deification of Nature, the recognition of oneness pervading her -variety, the sense of an absolute ground abiding behind her transient -phenomena, may supply a faith adequate to the awakening of wonder and -the apprehension of ideal beauty, but not to the practical consecration -of life; glorifying the universe as a temple of Art, but railing off -within it no oratory of Conscience. In order to extract anything like a -religion of _conduct_ from this type of belief, its hierophants are -obliged to approach as near as they can to the language of proper -Theism, and not even despise typographical aid for pushing -personification to the verge of personality; uttering various warnings -not to neglect the "_intentions_ of Nature," or insult the "Relentless -Veracities," and inviting sundry offenders to _blush_ before "the -Eternal Powers." The whole force of such expressions is evidently due to -the false semblance of living thought and will with which they clothe -the conceptions of mere abstract relations or physical tendencies. These -rich tints are no self-color, but a borrowed light reflected from a -grander Presence studiously withdrawn from view; and when their gloss is -gone, no positive residuum is found, but a doctrine of hope and fear, -without any element of Duty. It were a mockery, an inanity, to bid a man -spend his affections on hypostatized laws that neither know nor answer -him. In his crimes, it is not the heavy irons of his prison, but the -deep eye of his judge, from which he shrinks; and in his repentance he -weeps, not upon the lap of Nature, but at the feet of God. In his -allegiance, his vow is made, not to the certainty of facts, but to the -majesty of Right, and the authority of an Infinitely Just; and his acts -of trust are directed by no means to the steadiness of creation's ways, -but to the faithfulness of a perfect Mind. In short, all the sentiments -characteristic of religion presuppose a Personal Object, and assert -their power only where Manhood is the type of Godhead. This condition -was imported, or rather continued, from the Hebrew to the Christian -system; and brought with it the devout loyalty of heart, the singleness -of service, the incorruptible heroism of endurance, which had -encountered Antiochus Epiphanes at Jerusalem, as it now met Pliny in -Bithynia, and Quadratus at Smyrna. The Paganism of the Empire, on the -other hand, failed entirely of this condition. It was a mere -nature-worship, expressive of the political dynamics by which, through -the award of a mysterious necessity, Rome had become the centre of the -world. If, among the deities whose congress was now assembled on the -Tiber, there were any which once, in their indigenous seats, had -commanded the full moral faith, and touched the true theistic devotion, -of a people, that time had passed; and the conquered tribes suffered a -more fatal loss when the victorious city adopted their religion, than -when she crushed their liberty. Removed to Rome, the rites of a -provincial worship expressed nothing except that its gods were gods no -more, but had descended from divine monarchic rights to a place among a -pensioned hierarchy. Vanquished divinities inevitably become delegated -powers of nature, and resign their sceptre to the sovereign they are -compelled to own. As the administration of the Empire embraced a -congeries of checked nationalities, so did its pantheon include a -collection of extinguished religions. While as Imperator the head of the -state was the embodiment of its unity by natural force, as Divus he -represented its unity by preternatural sanction; and the divine honors -paid to him were the acknowledgment of a necessity more than human in -the culminating majesty of Rome. These honors would be freely rendered -to him by those who looked on all realized existence, on everything -charged with force enough to come up and be, as equally decreed by "the -Eternal Powers,"--equally divine. Such homage would appear to them the -mere expression of a fact, and a graceful owning of mysterious fates in -its production; and no scruple could withhold them from an act which -contradicted nothing in their mind, and did but fling a breath of pious -incense around the thing that veritably was. It were absurd to expect -the protest of a martyr from a man whose religion you cannot contradict; -who will see a God wherever you ask him; and whose worship asserts -nothing but that, a phenomenon being there, an occult power is behind -it. A faith of this sort is deficient, as an Hegelian would say, "in the -moment of _negation_"; it is all unobstructed affirmation, and can -strike no light because it thus finds nothing to dash itself against. -But let the divine element in the universe cease to be impersonal and -impartially coalescent with the whole, let it live an Individual Mind, -and the requisite antagonism immediately appears. To the Jew, the -worship of Caesar would be no other than high treason to Jehovah, whose -tool, whose whip of lightning, and whose cup of consolation the Pagan -Emperor might become; but whose emblem and incarnation he could so -little be, that he rather stood defiantly at the head of the opposing -realm, and, even when forced to be the organ, did not cease to be the -competitor of God. For _opposing realm_ there must be, wherever proper -Theism exists. Man feels that his personal attributes, his will, his -character, his conscience, demand conflict for their condition, and -without the possibility of ill could never be; and when he carries them -out into the infinite region, to serve as his image of the Highest, they -bear with them the inseparable shadow of evil, and give it place in the -universe, as the darkness in whose absence light would want its -distinction, the privative without which the beauty of holiness were -nothing positive. Hence, expressed or unexpressed, a dualism mingles -with all genuine theistic faith. All is not divine for it. It has a -devil's province somewhere. Face to face, as Ebal to Gerizim, the frown -of blighted rock to the smile of verdant heights,--hostile as the priest -of falsehood to the true prophet,--there stand contrasted in this creed -two domains of the world,--one surrendered to insurgent powers, the -other reserved as the nursing ground from which right and truth shall be -spread. To the Hebrew, the Pagan world was given over to a false -allegiance, and inspired with diabolical delusions. For him to sacrifice -to the genius of Caesar, would have been, therefore, a desertion to the -enemies of God, forbidden by every claim of faithfulness and veracity. -Thus we conceive that the moral conditions of the martyrs' protest -against idol-worships were complete within the limits of Judaism before -the mission of Christ; and that the essence of it lies, not in the -exclusive characteristics of the Gospel, but in the difference between -Theistic reverence for a Personal Being, and the Pantheistic -acknowledgment of an impersonal divineness. The peculiar function of -Christianity in this respect was to become missionary to the world of -this heroic fidelity transmitted from the parent faith, and hitherto -bounded by its limits; and to find a place in the universal conscience -of civilized nations for the duty of bearing testimony, though with -tortures and death, to the pricelessness of truth and the sanctity of -conviction. True it is that the Gospel was qualified for this office by -directing human faith upon a _Person_; and would have exercised no such -power, had it been a mere philosophy presenting propositions for assent, -instead of a Living Mind for trust and reverence. But this condition -would have been attained by the simple extension of the Jewish Theism. -The Personality, which is needed as a centre of intense fealty and -affection, is found in the God of Hebrew tradition, and, for its effects -in kindling a martyr courage and constancy, did not require to be sought -in the historical Jesus of Nazareth. He, no doubt, as the mediate -expression of the Supreme Will, as the Being with whom the Church stood -in direct contact, as the presence of the Divine in the Human, _was_ the -object of the disciples' actual allegiance. We do not in the least -question this as a _fact_, but only as a _necessity_, ere we can account -for the moral features of a martyr age. - -In singling out, as one of the grandest practical results of -Christianity, the recognition it has obtained for the _obligations of -religious truth_, our author has rightly seized a characteristic -distinction of modern from ancient society. The principle is a real -agency of the first order in history; we do not accuse him of -overrating its importance, but of mistaking its genealogy. And now we -must add, that if we differ from him as to the source whence it comes, -we differ still more as to the issues whither it conducts. So -inconsiderately does he allow himself to be borne away by his -evangelical zeal, that he claims for the Gospel, not only the glory of -first revealing, but the exclusive right of ever practising, the -duties of religious veracity. None but historical believers have the -least title to attach any sacredness to their convictions, or to feel -any hesitation about denying them. What business have the authors of -the "Phases of Faith," and the "Creed of Christendom," to any better -morality of belief than Gallio or Lucian? If they have not fallen back -into the Pagan indifferentism, they _ought_ to have done so, and our -author will continue very indignant till they do. He is offended with -Mr. Newman for asking judgment on his "argument and himself, as before -the bar of God"; and with Mr. Greg for saying that, in the process of -changing cherished beliefs, "the pursuit of truth is a daily -martyrdom," and for giving "honor to those who encounter it, saddened, -weeping, trembling, but unflinching still!" And he is not ashamed to -declare that the guileless veracity which in himself would be a -martyr's constancy, would be in another an overweening conceit. So -astonishing, logically and ethically, are his statements on this -subject, and so curiously do they determine his intellectual position, -that we must present them in his own words:-- - -"We Christian men of this age, along with our venerated martyr -brethren of the ancient Church, in making this profession,--that we -may not lie to God, nor deny before men our inward conviction in -matters of religion; we (as they did) affirm that which is consistent -within itself, and which, in the whole extent of its meaning, is -certain and is reasonable, grant us only our initial postulate, that -Christianity is from heaven. - -"But how is it, when this same solemn averment comes from the lips of -those who deny that postulate, and who scorn to recognize the voice of -God in the BOOK? It is just thus; and those whom it concerns so to do, -owe it to the world and to themselves to make the ingenuous avowal. - -"In the first place, the style and the very terms employed by these -writers in enouncing the fact of the martyrdom they are undergoing, -are all a flagrant plagiarism, and nothing better! A claim, in behalf -of the Gospel, must be made of what is its own, and which these -writers, without leave asked, have appropriated. As to every word and -phrase upon which the significance of this their profession turns, it -must be given up, leaving them in possession of so much only of the -meaning of such phrases as would have been intelligible to PLUTARCH, -to PORPHYRY, and to M. AURELIUS. A surrender must be made of the words -CONSCIENCE, and TRUTH, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SIN; and, alas! modern -unbelievers must be challenged to give me back that ONE awe-fraught -NAME which they (must I not plainly say so?) have stolen out of the -BOOK; when they have frankly made this large surrender, we may return -to them the [Greek: to theion] of classical antiquity. - -"Yet this plagiarism, as to terms, is the smaller part of that invasion -of rights with which the same persons are chargeable. It is reasonable, -and it is what a good man _must_ do, to suffer anything rather than deny -a persuasion, which is such that he could not, if he would, cast it off. -So it was with the early Christian martyrs; their persuasion of the -truth of the Gospel had become part of themselves; it was faith -absolute, in the fullest sense of the word. The same degree of -irresistible persuasion attaches to the conclusions of mathematical or -physical science; but it can never belong to an opinion, or to an -undefined abstract belief. A man may indeed choose to die rather than -contradict his personal persuasion of the truth of an opinion; but in -doing so he has no right to take to himself the martyr's style. So to -speak is to exhibit, not constancy, but opinionativeness, or an -overweening confidence in his own reasoning faculty. - -"Polycarp could not have refused to die when the only alternative was -to blaspheme CHRIST, his Lord; but Plutarch could not have been -required to suffer in attestation of his opinion,--good as it -was,--that the poets have done ill in attributing the passions and the -perturbations of human nature to the immortal gods; nor Seneca, in -behalf of those astronomical and meteorological theories with which he -entertains himself and his friend Lucilius. - -"When those who, after rejecting Christianity, talk of suffering for -the 'truth of God,' and speak as if they were conscience-bound 'toward -God,' they must know that they not only borrow a language which they -are not entitled to avail themselves of, but that they invade a ground -of religious belief whereon they can establish for themselves no right -of standing. They may indeed profess what _opinion_ they please as to -the Divine attributes; but they cannot need to be told that which the -misgivings of their own hearts so often whisper to them, that all such -opinions are, at the very best, open to debate, and must always be -indeterminate, and that at this time their own possession of the -opinion which just now they happen to cling to, is, in the last -degree, precarious. How then can martyrdom be transacted among those -whose treading is upon the fleecy clouds of undemonstrable religious -feeling?"--pp. 92-94 - -If, being orthodox, you die at the stake, you are a martyr; if, being -heretic,--why, then you are a man burnt;--a doctrine which Robert Hall -compressed within the narrowest compass, when he said, "It is the -saint which makes the martyr, not the martyr the saint." This is the -very Gospel of intolerance; and whoever preaches it may feel assured -that he can lend no help in any worthy "Restoration of Belief"; for he -is himself infected with the most profound and penetrating of -scepticisms,--scepticisms of moral realities. The rule, "that we may -not lie to God, nor deny before men our inward conviction in matters -of religion," is, in our author's view, the gift and glory of -Christianity. Be it so. This rule either holds for all men at all -times, or it does _not_; if there be persons who, notwithstanding it, -_may_ lie to God, and deny their inward conviction, then the -Scriptures, in communicating it, have revealed no universal principle -of duty, no obligation having its seat in the nature of things and the -constitution of the human soul, but a mere sectional by-law, an -arbitrary precept for the security and good ordering of one exclusive -community. Then must we talk of it no more so exceedingly proudly, as -if it were a hidden truth revealed, a latent beauty opened; it is no -part of the holy legislation of the universe, but a statutory -enactment under which we fall, or from which we escape, as we pass in -or out at the door of a certain historical belief. Need we say that -this side of the alternative strips Christianity of every pretension -to be a moral revelation at all? If, to take the other side, the rule -in question _does_ hold for all men, then it is no less binding on Mr. -Newman and Mr. Greg than on our author; and in bowing to its authority -and owning its sanctity, they render a homage as devoutly true as his, -only different in this, that, while they feel no disturbance from his -kneeling in the sanctuary at their side, he cannot be at peace till he -has sprung to his feet and hurled them from the place. They are guilty -of "plagiarism" forsooth! And in what? In knowing their duty, without -knowing where they learned it! O shame upon this greediness, that -would turn moral truth itself, and struggling aspiration, into a -property! As if Christ were one to stand upon the copyright of -revelation, and, unless his name were in the title-page, would suffer -neither thought nor prayer to dedicate itself to God! Our author, as -public prosecutor in the Supreme Court, demands that the defendants -shall empty themselves out of every earnest sentiment, and surrender -back the words CONSCIENCE, and TRUTH, and RIGHTEOUSNESS, and SIN, and -GOD, "as _stolen_ from the BOOK"! What then was "the Book" given for, -but that it might freely furnish these?--and how better can it fulfil -its end, than by opening for them a sacred welcome wherever the -_things_ are which they disclose? Let their spirit breathe where it -listeth; it will not be less a Holy Spirit that we know not "whence it -cometh": nor let it be forgot how old a feature of evangelic blessing -it is, that "he that was healed _wist not who it was_." As "the Book" -does not, by its presence, _create_ the facts which it reveals, so -neither does its absence or rejection _destroy_ them. Conscience, as -an element of human nature, does not come or go,--God, as reality in -the universe, does not live or perish,--according as the Bible is kept -in the pocket or laid upon the shelf; even if their first _witness_ -were in Scripture, _they themselves_ are in the world,--as active, as -near, as certain, in the transactions of to-day, as in the affairs of -distant history. Scientific truth, once well ascertained, can take -care of itself, without being everywhere attended by the report of its -first discovery; it is in the safe keeping of the objects on which it -writes a new meaning, and the phenomena amid which it introduces a -fresh symmetry. And moral truth, when once embodied and revealed, is -not less independent of its earliest expression; it finds its response -in human consciousness, its reflection from human life, and weaves -itself up into the very fabric of many souls, whose pattern bears no -motto of its origin. Thus "revelation"--just in proportion as it is -revelation, and tells us what is cognate to ourselves, and bound up -with the realities around us--passes of necessity into "natural -religion"; and precisely according to the measure in which it does so, -will it acquire strength and permanence, and dispense with evidence by -merging into self-evidence. Did it awaken in us _no_ confirming -experience, did it _nowhere_ link itself with the visible system of -things,--then, solving nothing, glorifying nothing, missed by all the -moving indices of nature and Providence, it would sit apart, and -become incredible. That could hardly be a truth at all, which, after -roaming the world and searching the soul for eighteen centuries, has -found no _natural_ ground on which to rest, and must wander as an -_ipse dixit_ still. And if natural ground it has acquired, _that_ is -surely a proper basis for its present support; it may innocently cease -to be held on mere authority; the very "plagiarism" so vehemently -denounced is rather the fulfilment than the destruction of the faith, -for it is only that men no longer resort to an oracle for things which -the oracle has enabled them to see for themselves. - -Our Christian advocate, however, is not content with reserving to his -side the sole power of _discerning_ the duty of religious veracity; he -further claims the sole right to _practise_ it. He teaches that it is -_not binding_ on all men at all times; and that its obligation is in -any case conditional on the "initial postulate, that Christianity is -from heaven." He thinks, apparently, that the duty is not so much -_revealed_ as _constituted_ by the Gospel, so as to have no existence -beyond the pale. We can collect from his words two considerations, -under whose influence he seems to pronounce this strange judgment. He -evidently assumes that the duty of veracious profession is contingent -partly on the _object-matter_ of belief; partly on the _degree of -evidence_. If my faith is directed towards _a Person_, then, he -implies, there is treachery, even blasphemy, in denying it; but if -not, my disclaimer gives no one any title to complain, and I cannot be -expected to die on behalf of a proposition. Polycarp must not renounce -Christ, his Lord; but Plutarch might very properly recant, without at -all altering, his judgment against the poets, for ascribing passions -to the gods. Is it so, indeed? Then there is no harm in a lie, unless -some one is betrayed or insulted by it besides the hearers whom we -deceive,--and we may report as falsely as we please our persuasion -about _things_, provided we are true to our sentiments about -_persons_? With full recollection of the questionable verdicts, on -problems of veracity, which are given by Xenophon and Plato, Aristotle -and Cicero, we doubt whether any Pagan moralist can be quoted in favor -of a doctrine so unworthy as this. The author seems to imagine that -the obligation to speak the truth is a mere duty of personal -affection; and that in the absence of this element, its claims -altogether disappear. Identifying falsehood with detraction and -ingratitude, he concludes that, since an abstract theory is insensible -to what people say about it, and can have no services owing to it, it -may be blamelessly repudiated by those who really believe it. This is -tantamount to an expunging of veracity from the list of human duties -altogether; for it gives importance to what is purely accidental, and -slights what is alone essential to it. The conditions of a lie, in all -its full-blown wickedness, are quite complete, when there is a person -to speak it, a person to hear it, and a social state to be the theatre -of the deception; should there be also a person _spoken of_, that is a -circumstance in no way requisite to constitute the guilt, but a -supplementary condition, flinging in a new element of pravity, and -turning falsehood into faithlessness. The introduction of this -additional person into the case may doubtless render the offence much -more flagrant, especially if he be one who has acknowledged claims on -gratitude and reverence. Calumny and perfidy are justly held in deeper -abhorrence than equivocation unstained with malignity. But to be -unaffected by the criminality till it kindles with this diabolical -glare, and not even to believe in it unless it smells sulphurous and -burns red, betrays a perception too much accustomed to melodramatic -contrasts of representation to appreciate the more delicate tints and -finer moral lights of the real and open day. And so far from the glory -of martyrdom being heightened by the presence of deep personal -affection as its inspiration, this very circumstance renders the act a -less arduous sacrifice; just as to fall in the hot blood of battle may -need less heroism of will, than to die under the knife upon the -surgeon's table. In proportion as the denial of Christ in the hour of -trial would be the more intolerable blasphemy, must the temptation to -it be less overwhelming, and the merit of a good confession less -amazing. And those who, in matters touching no such deep affection, -can yet be true,--those who, in simple clearness of conscience, can -dispense, if need be, with the help of enthusiasm, and so shut their -lips against a lie, that not the searing iron can open them,--those -who do not want a grand occasion, but just as certainly use the -smallest, to fling back the thing that is not,--have assuredly a soul -of higher prowess and more severely proved fidelity to God. And it is -a heartless thing to turn round upon these men, and taunt them with -having no one at whose feet to lay their offering, and no popular -sympathy to redeem their uprightness from the imputation of conceit. - -There is, however, another consideration which weighs with our author in -granting to "modern unbelievers" a dispensation from the duty of -religious veracity. They have only a "personal persuasion" resting on -precarious grounds, and not the certitude attaching to "the conclusions -of mathematical and physical science"; and it would be folly to suffer -on behalf of "_undemonstrable_ religious feeling"! Are we then to lay it -down as a canon in ethics, that intensity of assurance is the measure of -our obligation to speak the truth,--so that we are to state our -certainties correctly, but may tell lies about our doubts? If so, -scrupulous fidelity is incumbent on us only within the limits of -deductive science and of immediate personal observation; and in the -great sphere of _human_ affairs, in matters of historical, moral, and -political judgment, nay, in the incipient stage of all knowledge, we may -say and unsay, may play fast and loose with our convictions, according -as the favor or the fear of men hangs over us. Newton was bound to stand -by his "Principia"; but Locke might have renounced his treatise on -Government and taken his oath to the divine rights of kings! Were he -indeed to refuse so easy a compliance, it would be a great reflection -upon his modesty; for if a man, on being threatened with death, will not -belie his own persuasion of probable truth, he is chargeable with -"overweening confidence in his own reasoning faculty"! It is happy for -the world that it does not always except the morals of the Church, but -brings an unperverted feeling to correct the twisted logic of belief. -"Opinion," a wise man has said, "is but knowledge in the making"; and -how little knowledge would get made, if opinion were emptied of its -conscience, and looked on itself as an egotism rather than a trust! If -there is one fruit of intellectual culture which more than another -dignifies and ennobles it, it is the scrupulous reverence it trains for -the smallest reality, its watchfulness for the earliest promise of -truth, its tender care of every stamen in the blossoming of thought, -from whose flower-dust the seed of a richer futurity may grow. To cut -against this fine veracious sense with the weapons of unappreciating -sarcasm, and crush its objects into the ground as weeds with the heel of -orthodox scorn, is a feat which can advance the step of Christian -evidence only by betraying the Christian ethics. Our author has -entangled himself in the metaphor indicated by the word "_martyrdom_"; -he thinks of the confessor as _bearing witness_ to something,--which is -indeed quite true; and supposes that the things to which he bears -witness must be _the facts or doctrines_ held by him; and _this_ is not -true at all. For that which we attest in the hour of persecution is -simply _our own state of mind; our belief_, and not the object believed. -We are required to utter words, or to perform acts, that shall give -report of our persuasion; this persuasion is a fact in our personal -psychology about which there is no ambiguity; which, as a presence in -our consciousness, is wholly unaffected by the question how it got -there, and by what logical tenure it holds its seat. Whether we have -demonstrated it into the mind or fetched it thither in a dream, whether -we had it yesterday or shall continue to have it to-morrow, are matters -in no way altering the fact that it is there; and if we say "No" to it, -while conscious of a "Yes," the sin is neither greater when the belief -concerns the properties of a geometric solid, nor less when it touches -some indeterminate problem of metaphysics. The logical ground of our -judgments is various without end,--perception, testimony, reasoning, in -every possible combination. But the persuasion, once attained, is a -simple phenomenon, whose affirmation, or denial, being always positively -true, cannot change its moral complexion with every shade in the -evidence now left behind. It is plain that, in our author's favorite -case of martyrdom, no testimony could be borne by the Christian to -anything but his own conviction. Polycarp and Cyprian could only answer -in the face of death, that they were Christians; it was not "on behalf -of" any outward fact, but simply because they would not belie their -inward belief, that they laid down their lives. And had Plutarch been -dragged before some anthropomorphist inquisition, and been called on -publicly to declare his belief that the immortal gods were well and -truly painted by the poets as having passions like mankind, the lie to -which he was tempted would have been precisely of the same kind; and had -it passed his lips, would have made him despicable as an apostate. He -had no power, nor had the Church confessor, over the truth or evidence -of his opinion; neither of them had any _witness_, in the strict sense, -to bear; but both might veraciously scorn to deny a fact unambiguously -present to their self-knowledge. If the heathen's firmness is an example -of "overweening confidence in his own reasoning faculty," by what -favoring difference does the Christian's escape the same imputation? -That his faith is "absolute," his persuasion "irresistible," so far from -furnishing a vindication, only avows the fact that his "confidence" is -intense; whether it be "overweening" too, must depend on the proportion -between the certitude he feels and the grounds of just assurance he -possesses. But at all events it is a confidence--in this case as in the -other--undeniably reposed "_in his own reasoning faculty_." How else -could any belief--except a groundless belief--reach the convert's mind -at all? It is vain to pretend that the receivers of an historic doctrine -plant their reliance piously on God, while its rejecters proudly trust -themselves. There is no less subjective action of the mind on the -positive side than on the negative; and on the soundness of that action -does the worth of the result in either instance depend. The evidence on -both sides comes into the same court of criticism; and pleading and -counter-pleading must ask a hearing from the same judicial intelligence. -If our author refers the Gospels to the first century, and his opponents -to the second; if he finds a miracle in the gift of tongues, they a -delusion; if he thinks that the reasoning out of the Old Testament in -the New is exegetically and logically sound, they that it is in both -respects unsound;--is he not concerned with the same topics, conducting -the same processes, liable to the same mistaken estimates, as they? How -then can he flatter himself that the same thing is believed on one -tenure, and disbelieved on quite another? How affect, even while playing -the advocate, to be raised above the contingencies of the "reasoning -faculty," and entitled to rebuke its pride? How renounce it for himself, -appeal to it for your _as_sent, abuse it for your _dis_sent, in the -wayward course of two or three pages? - -Our author stands, therefore, in spite of every effort to escape it, -on the same logical ground as his opponents; and they, notwithstanding -his objection to their companionship, are on the same footing of -religious obligation with himself. He is offended to find such a one -as Mr. Newman on the same sacred pavement, and to overhear from -unbelieving lips the genuine tones of prayer; and, thanking God, -apprises men that he "is not as this publican." He prosecutes for -trespass all who, after rejecting his Christianity, can dare to -profess allegiance to the "truth of God," and "speak _as if they were -conscience-bound towards God_." Are they then _not_ so bound? Has no -one a conscience except the approved historical believer? Is it not in -others also a Divine voice,--a Holy Spirit,--which to resist and -stifle were the true and only "Infidelity"? Surely the faith in God, -and the earnest acceptance of the laws of duty as the expression of -his authority, are not forbidden to men who cannot assume the -disciple's style. These sentiments, so far from waiting on revelation -for their possibility, are the pre-requisite conditions of all -revelation, the state of mind to which it speaks, the secret power by -which it finds us out; and if men cannot be "conscience-bound towards -God" _before and without_ Christianity, never can they become so -_after it and with it_. It does not take us up as atheists and brutes, -and supply us with the faculties as well as the substance of faith; -else were there no medium of suasion across the boundary of -unbelief;--but it appeals to us as knowing much and aspiring to -more,--as already before the face, only shrinking from the clear look -of God,--as feeling the divine restraint upon us of justice, purity, -and truth, but unable, without some emancipating power, to turn it -into freedom and joy. This spirit of profound sympathy, not of -arrogant insult, towards the highest faiths and affections of our -nature, we recognize in the portraiture and teachings of Jesus Christ; -and when we find one who, like our author, instead of rejoicing that -the sacred embers of nature are yet warm, instead of kneeling over -them to fan them with a breath of reverence into a flame, flings them -with scattering scorn on the damp ground of his own moral scepticism -to show how little they will burn,--we see reversed in the "Restorer -of Belief" the divine temper of the "Author of Faith." Such a teacher -will vainly endeavor to recover by severity of warning the influence -he forfeits by want of sympathy. He cannot frighten men like Parker, -Newman, Greg, by appealing to fancied "misgivings of their own hearts" -respecting the precariousness of their convictions, and uttering -dismal prophecies about yawning gulfs; which, however alarming as a -shudder of rhetoric, can disturb no quiet trust in reality. Let us -hear the words, however:-- - -"Educated men should not wait to be reminded that those who, after -abandoning a peremptory historic belief, endeavor to retain Faith and -Piety for their comfort, stand upon a slope that has no ledges: -Atheism in its simplest form yawns to receive those who there stand; -and they know themselves to be gravitating towards it. - -"It would be far more reasonable for a man to die as a martyr for -Atheism,--a stage beyond which no further progress is possible,--than -to do so at any point short of that terminus, knowing as he does that -every day is bringing him nearer to the gulf. The stronger the mind -is, and the more it has of intellectual massiveness, the more rapid -will be its descent upon this declivity. Minds of little density, and -of much airy sentiment, may stay long where they are, just as gnats -and flies walk to and fro upon the honeyed sides of a china vase; they -do not go down, but never again will they fly."--p. 94. - -This is one of the conventional minatory arguments which betray the -absence of security and repose from the heart of the received -theology; whose teachers could never propound it, except from a -position of conscious danger. They must imagine in their own case -that, if they were to find the Gospels no longer oracular, they would -plunge at once into endless depths of negation; and that, unless they -can refute an interpretation of De Wette's, or correct a date of -Baur's, there will be eternal night in heaven. They feel the universe, -and life, and love, and sorrow, and the history of times and races -unbaptized, to be all atheistic through and through,--profane to the -core,--untraced by a vestige, untransfigured by a color, of divine -significance. What they can think of a Being who creates all reality -and lives in it on these blindfold terms, we will not attempt to -decide; but it is no wonder that, having once brought themselves to -believe in Him, they feel how a single move would overset them into -disbelief. This thing, however, is true of their own state of mind -alone; whose spaces, dark throughout with scepticism but for one -distant lamp, might easily be left without a ray. It is consistent -neither with reason nor with experience to threaten with this rule men -who have opened their souls to something else than documentary -authority. It is notoriously false that the career of historic doubt -usually terminates in the loss of all faith in God; nor do we suppose -that our author would have awarded to the atheist, for actually -reaching this point, the praise of "intellectual massiveness," had he -not wanted a heavy weight to slide down his metaphorical inclined -plane,[57] and outstrip the slippery believers who try to stop -half-way. The accusation against Theism, of being possible to the -light-minded and superficial,--a mere sweet-bait to entrap the silly -insects of the intellectual world,--is confuted by the whole history -of philosophy and human culture; all whose grandest names have -connected themselves with the recognition of a religion indigenous or -accessible to the faculties of the soul. Let our author collect on one -side of his library all the giants and heroes of utter disbelief, and -on the other the literature of natural faith; nay, let him ransack for -fresh names and forgotten suffrages Lalande's "Dictionnaire des -Athees"; and if, having weighed the various merits of Leucippus and -Lucretius, of Baron d'Holbach and La Mettrie, of Robert Owen and -Atkinson, he thinks them of more sterling mass than the pure gold of -thought and life accumulated by Socrates, Plato, Antoninus,--by Anselm -and Abelard, Descartes and Arnaud,--by the authors of the "Theodicee," -the "Essay on the Human Understanding," and the "Principles of Human -Knowledge,"--by Kant and Cousin,--by Butler and Paley and Arnold,--we -can only profess a dissent from his intellectual taste, not less than -from his moral judgment. - -The few pages on which we have been commenting were the first--though -they are near the end of the treatise--that fully opened our eyes to -the author's theological _animus_. For a while, his large professions, -and, no doubt, sincere purpose of fairness,--his apparent breadth of -view, and his free hand in putting down his subject on the -canvas,--secured our admiring confidence, and made us feel that here at -length justice, earnestness, and accomplishment will go together. One -feature, indeed, we noticed as giving a suspicious appearance to his -equity of temper; it displays itself more in censoriousness towards his -friends, than in large-heartedness towards his antagonists. He readily -allows faults in the advocates of his own side, but is never carried -away into even a momentary appreciation of the other. This particular -form of impartiality, which consists in detracting from the merits of -allies, instead of delighting in those of opponents, is the ecclesiastic -counterfeit of candor,--the half-shekel, which is alone payable in the -temple-service, but which nowhere, save at the sacred money-table, is -deemed equivalent to the good Roman coin of common life. Much as we -dislike the chink of this consecrated metal, we hoped that it would only -ring for a passing instant on the ear. But alas! it is an indication -seldom deceptive; and we feel constrained to report that there are, in -this tract, quotations from both Mr. Newman and Mr. Greg, which, if we -were in the court of veracity, and not of theology, we would say are -unconscientiously made. The quotations are made anonymously as well as -unfaithfully, so that the reader, unless haunted by the checking -impressions of memory, cannot correct the injustice of the writer. The -"Phases of Faith" describes, it will be remembered, the gradual course -of Mr. Newman's defections from his original orthodoxy. His first -movements of doubt were naturally timid and inconsiderable, bringing him -only to the conclusion, that the genealogy in the first chapter of -Matthew was copied wrong, and counted wrong, from the Old Testament. On -this step followed a second, and a third, each more important than the -preceding, and necessitating a next more momentous than itself. The -latter stages of his progress included an inquiry into the evidence of -the Resurrection, the miraculous gifts ascribed to the early Church, -the claims to credit of the Apostle Paul, and other topics, undeniably -affecting the very essence of Christian evidence. Having traced the -successive advances of his doubts, Mr. Newman, in a recapitulary -"Conclusion," makes a solemn appeal to his readers, to say at what point -he could have stopped, and to lay a finger distinctly on the place at -which the guilt of his scepticism began. One by one he counts out the -steps by which he had proceeded, and asks, "Was this the sinful one?" -The whole effect of the appeal is certainly an impression that the -series, if not an inevitable sequence, is very difficult to break; and -that, small as the beginnings were, they linked themselves, by close -connection, with very momentous results. From this chapter our author -cites a sentence or two, but in such a way as immediately to conjoin the -small initial steps of doubt with the great ultimate conclusion, and to -make it appear that Mr. Newman renounced Christianity because he could -not make out the pedigree of Jesus to his satisfaction. The genealogical -difficulty is the only one which he quotes, and as to which Mr. Newman -is permitted to speak for himself. Presenting this as a specimen, and -suppressing all the rest, he says that he could have shown "this writer" -a course far better "than, on account of difficulties _such as these_, -to renounce Christianity"! His citation from Mr. Greg is introduced as -follows:-- - -"Let another witness be heard; and in hearing him one might think that -his words are an echo that has come softly travelling down, through -sixteen centuries, from some field of blood, or some forum, or some -amphitheatre, where Christian men were witnessing a good confession in -the midst of their mortal agonies! _This_ witness is one who assures -us that 'he can believe no longer, he can worship no longer; he has -discovered that the creed of his early days is baseless, or -fallacious.' Yet he too takes up the MARTYR TRUTH, that we must not -lie to God."--p. 91. - -Here, then, Mr. Greg (with concealment of his name) is represented as -one who, by his own confession, _can neither believe nor worship any -more_. Turning to the preface of "The Creed of Christendom," we find -the following original to this quotation:-- - -"The pursuit of truth is easy to a man who has no human sympathies, -whose vision is impaired by no fond partialities, whose heart is torn by -no divided allegiance. To him the renunciation of error presents few -difficulties; for the moment it is recognized as error, its charm -ceases. But the case is very different with the Searcher whose -affections are strong, whose associations are quick, whose hold upon the -Past is clinging and tenacious. He may love Truth with an earnest and -paramount devotion; but he loves much else also. He loves errors, which -were once the cherished convictions of his soul. He loves dogmas which -were once full of strength and beauty to his thoughts, though now -perceived to be baseless or fallacious. He loves the Church where he -worshipped in his happy childhood; where his friends and his family -worship still; where his gray-haired parents await the resurrection of -the Just; but where _he_ can worship and await no more. He loves the -simple old creed, which was the creed of his earlier and brighter days; -which is the creed of his wife and children still; but which inquiry has -compelled him to abandon. The past and the familiar have chains and -talismans which hold him back in his career, till every fresh step -forward becomes an effort and an agony; every fresh error discovered is -a fresh bond snapped asunder; every new glimpse of light is like a fresh -flood of pain poured in upon the soul. To such a man the pursuit of -Truth is a daily martyrdom,--how hard and bitter let the martyr tell. -Shame to those who make it doubly so; honor to those who encounter it -saddened, weeping, trembling, but unflinching still."--p. xvi. - -Our author would snatch from Mr. Greg the right to say, we must not lie -to God. Which has the better right to say, "Thou shalt not lie to men"? - -The more ingenuously the modern Orthodoxy lays bare its essence, the -more evident is it that a profound scepticism not only mingles with it, -but constitutes its very inspiration. The dread of losing God, the -impression that there is but one patent way, not of duty, but of -thought, of meeting him, haunt the minds of men, driving some to -Anglicanism to compensate defect of faith by excess of sacrament, some -to Rome in quest of the Lord's body, and prompting others to -conservative efforts of Bibliolatry, conducted with ever-decreasing -reason and declining hope. We have seen, however, no such -exemplification of this radical distrust as in the treatise before us. -Already has the writer declared that the moral side of the universe -sends in, with regard to religion, an empty report. And now he hastens -to tell us that, on the physical side, the watchmen from every -observatory of nature cry out, "No God." He represents the natural -sciences as a huge Titanic, resistless mass of knowledge, perfectly -demonstrable, and completely irreligious; descending, like a glacier, -from the upper valleys of frozen thought; sure to scrape away the wild -pine woods and the green fields of natural religion, yet considerate -enough, for some reason unexplained, to spare the foundations of the -village church. Designating every faith except his own by such phrases -as "theosophic fancies," and "pietistic notions," he assures us that -they will all be put "right out of existence" by "our modern physical -sciences"; and he borrows from the "Positive Philosophy" (apparently by -unconscious sympathy) the following maxim to justify his prediction:-- - -"In any case, when that which on any ground of proof takes full hold -of the understanding, (such, for example, are the most certain of the -conclusions of Geology,) stands contiguous to that which, in a logical -sense, is of inferior quality, and is indeterminate, and fluctuating, -and liable to retrogression,--in any such case there is always going -on a silent encroachment of the more solid mass upon the ground of -that which is less solid. What is SURE will be pressing upon what is -uncertain, whether or not the two are designedly brought into -collision or comparison. What is well defined weighs upon, and -against, what is ill defined. Nothing stops the continuous involuntary -operation of SCIENCE in dislodging OPINION from the minds of those who -are conversant with both. - -"A very small matter that is indeed determinate, will be able to keep -a place for itself against this incessantly encroaching movement; but -nothing else can do so. As to any of those theosophic fancies which we -may wish to cling to, after we have thrown away the Bible, we might as -well suppose that they will resist the impact of the mathematical and -physical sciences, as imagine that the lichens of an Alpine gorge will -stay the slow descent of a glacier."--p. 97. - -Here it is alleged that Science and Opinion cannot coexist,--that the -demonstrable will banish the probable. And be it observed, this is to -take place, not simply where contradiction arises between the two orders -of belief, but in _all cases_, from the mere _distaste_ which -quantitative studies produce towards everything which evades their -rules. In this allegation there is, we believe, with much exaggeration, -a certain small amount of truth,--a truth, however, which, so far from -supporting our author's plea against natural religion, offers it a -conclusive refutation. It may be admitted that the exact and mixed -sciences _do_ disincline their votary to put trust in the processes by -which judgments of probability are formed, and alienate him from -thinkers who read off the meaning of the universe by another key than -his. Accustomed to deal with Number and Space, with Motion and Force -alone,--to reason upon them by a Calculus which is helpless beyond their -range,--to exercise Faculties involving nothing beyond the -interpretation of mensurative signs and the conception of relative -magnitudes,--he owes it to something else than his peculiar discipline, -if he has either the instruments or the aptitudes for moral and -philosophical reflection. He carries into the world, as his sole means -of representing and solving its phenomena, the notion of physical -necessity and linear sequence, secretly defining the universe to himself -as Leibnitz defined an organized being,--"a machine, whose smallest -parts are also machines,"--and naturally grows impatient when he finds -himself in fields of thought over which this narrow imagination opens no -track. With respect, therefore, to a certain class of minds, rendered -perhaps increasingly numerous by the long neglect of the moral sciences -in England, it may be quite true, that a spirit of utter disbelief -towards everything beyond the range of necessary matter may more and -more prevail. Let us further grant to our author, for the moment, three -things assumed by him, all of them, however, false:--1. That this -tendency of the "demonstrable sciences" is their _only_ one having a -bearing on "theosophic systems." 2. That it is so _new_, at least in -degree, as to give "opinion" a worse chance for the future than it has -had in the past. 3. That it is a _good_ tendency, favorable to human -knowledge and character. Still we must ask, How is the _oracular -authority of the Bible_ to escape the fate predicted for all -probabilities? Our author assures us that it _will_ escape; but he gives -no faintest hint of a reason for so singular an exception to his own -canon. It cannot be contended that the evidences of Christianity and -Judaism belong to any of the "demonstrable" or "physical" sciences. It -cannot be denied that they lie wholly within the limits of contingent -knowledge, and terminate only in "probabilities"; that the authorship, -for instance, of the fourth Gospel, the credibility of the introductory -chapters of Matthew, the correctness of the prophecies about the second -advent, are matters which, "standing contiguous" to the laws of -refracted and reflected light, occupy the position of the _less sure_ in -relation to the _more sure_; that the _relative_ chronology of the -Scripture books is more indeterminate than that of the geologic strata, -and their _actual_ dates more uncertain than those of the eclipses fatal -to Nicias and to Perseus. What, then, is to exempt these judgments of -verisimilitude from being pushed "right out of existence" by the "silent -encroachment of the more solid mass" of knowledge beside it? Nothing can -be plainer than that all testimonial knowledge whatsoever, all history, -criticism, and art, the whole system of moral and political sciences, -must fall under our author's fatal sentence; and how the propositions -which sustain the infallible authority of the canonical books are to -hold their ground against the huge glacier on which Herschel, Airy and -De Morgan, Comte and Leverrier, triumphantly ride, it is not easy to -conceive. Amid the universal crash of probabilities, may not the Mosaic -tables of stone, broken once, be pulverized at last? With the abrasion -of all the alluvial soil in which the growths of wonder strike their -roots, will the garden of Eden, will the blighted fig-tree, remain to -mark a verdant and a barren spot in history? Will these riding -philosophers from their cold observatory find Paul's "third heaven"? May -not their icy mountain slip into "the abyss" whence all the demons came, -and fill it up? These questions, indeed, are answered for us in -experience. It is notorious that, whenever an unbounded devotion to -science has produced a prevalent tendency to disbelief, Revelation, so -far from being spared, has been usually the first object of attack; and, -both at the origin of modern science in the sixteenth century, and -during its accelerated advance towards the close of the eighteenth, the -widening conception of determinate Law was found to threaten nothing so -decisively as the faith in supernatural dispensations. The greater -scepticism includes the less; and the habit of mind which lets slip all -beliefs not legitimated by the canons of natural science, cannot -possibly retain Christianity. - -But our author has only _half_ described the mental effect of studies -purely scientific. They do not, in the nature of things they _cannot_, -simply push out of the mind all contingent judgments. Human life and -action are one continuous texture of such judgments, with some -interweaving, no doubt, of mathematic forms, which could not be picked -out without spoiling the symmetry of its pattern; but were you to -withdraw the threads of probable opinion, still more, to cut the warp -of primitive assumptions that stretches through it, the web would -simply fall to pieces. No youth can decide on a profession, no man -appoint an agent in his business, no physician prescribe for a -patient, no judge pronounce a sentence, no statesman answer a -despatch, without a constant resort to "surmises," a reliance on -slender indications, often even a deliberate adoption of very doubtful -hypotheses. All men are driven from hour to hour into positions -demanding combinations of thought which can be borrowed from no -natural science; where not the laws of matter and motion, not the -equilibrium of forces, not the properties of things, are chiefly -concerned, but the feelings and faculties of persons, the action and -reaction of human affairs. Mathematicians and natural philosophers, -being in no way exempt from these conditions, are obliged to have just -as many "opinions" and "guesses" as other men; they cannot, if they -are to keep their footing on this world at all, have a smaller stock -than their neighbors of this "logically inferior" order of -persuasions. They are unable to abdicate the necessity of having these -persuasions; and their only peculiarity is, that they sometimes import -into contingent affairs the methods with which habit has rendered them -familiar in another sphere, and so find the conditions of belief -unsatisfied; and at others, from consciousness that their own clew -will not serve, yet inaptitude for seizing a better, surrender -themselves to the fortuitous guidance of ill-balanced faculties and -external solicitations. Hence their judgments are frequently -fantastic, frequently sceptical,--not less liable to be too easy from -one cause than to be too reluctant from another; and were a history to -be written of the most remarkable extravagances, positive as well as -negative, by which religion and philosophy have sprung aside from the -centre of common sense and feeling, it would contain more names of -great repute in the exact sciences than from any other intellectual -class whatever. From Pythagoras to Swedenborg, the eccentricities of -mathematical and physical imagination have been the chief disturbers -of a natural and healthy faith. Harmonic theories of the universe, -Ideal Numbers, Geometric Ethics, Rosicrucian fraternities, Vortices -and Monads, Apocalyptic studies, New Jerusalems, and Electrobiological -Metaphysics, have all borne testimony to the aberrant fancy of eminent -proficients in the sciences. It is, therefore, far from being -universally true, that disputable theosophies and conjectural systems -of the universe are distasteful to minds schooled in the "demonstrable -sciences." If to men of this order we owe the successive dislodgement -of one such hypothesis after another, to them also do we owe their -continual reproduction. Whether the unsoundness of judgment which is -contracted in the absence of historical, moral, and metaphysical -studies shall show itself in an excessive slowness or an excessive -facility of belief, will depend on accidents of personal character and -social position. But of this we may be sure;--if the _sceptical_ -temper be the direction taken, the Bible will not be spared; if the -_credulous_, "theosophic fancies" will be copiously saved. - -Can there, after all, be a more paradoxical spectacle than that of a -religious writer allying himself with the sceptical propensities of -science, in order to get rid of gainsayers of the Bible? It is the -counterpart in logic of the Italian game in politics,--the Pope -appealing to Parisian swords to drive out the Republic, and save the -head of Christendom. Is it possible that our author can _approve_ the -agency which he thus invokes? that he can really wish to see it in the -intellectual ascendant, and garrisoning every sacred fortress of the -world? Does he remember what are the fundamental canons of its -logic,--that we know nothing but Phenomena,--that Causation is nothing -but phenomenal priority,--or else, that Force is the prior datum of -which Thought is a particular and posterior development? And what, on -the other hand, are the "theosophic fancies" against which he would -plant this barbaric artillery of Fate? They are such as these,--that our -faculties give us trustworthy reports, not of phenomena only, but of -their abiding ground,--Soul within, God without;--that the moral Law of -Obligation in the one is the expression of Holy Will in the other;--that -faithfulness in the Human mind to its highest aspirations, brings it -into communion with the Divine;--that as the Soul is the free Image, so -is Nature the determinate Handiwork of God. If these doctrines, spurned -by our author with so rude a flippancy, _were_ to surrender to the -hostility on which he relies, is he unaware of the character the -conflict would assume, and of the dynasty of thought which would reign -undisputed at the close? Fighting by the side of such allies against -"theosophic fancies," _he_ may skirmish with the "fancies," but _they_ -will bear right down upon the "Theism" in the centre; and when the day -is over, the standard they will plant upon the conquered towers will -be, not the sacred dove he took into the field, and lost to the defeated -foe, but their own blind black eagle of necessity. How strange is the -perversion of instinctive sympathies, when a theologian disparages the -sciences of reflection and self-knowledge, and takes his stand on the -evidence of sense and measurement alone!--when he proposes to sweep out -beliefs that trouble him with their neighborhood, by a general crusade -against all probabilities,--and when, with this design, he violates the -just balance of power among the kingdoms of human knowledge, and -flatters, as if it were a virtue, the pretensions of a mental habit, -which, out of its own province, is one of the most incapacitating, yet -destructive, of intellectual vices! There is, however, a certain secret -affinity of feeling between a Religion which exaggerates the functions -and overstrains the validity of an external authority, and a Science -which deals only with objective facts, perceived or imagined. The point -of sympathy is found in a common distrust of everything internal, even -of the very faculties (as soon as they are contemplated as such) by -which the external is apprehended and received. And between this sort of -faith and the mathematics there is another analogy, which may explain so -curious a mutual understanding. Both rest upon _hypotheses_, which it is -beyond their province to look into, but after the assumption of which, -all room for opinion is shut out by a rigid necessity. _Once get_ your -infallible book, and (supposing the meaning unambiguous) it settles -every matter on which it pronounces; and once allow the first principles -and definitions in geometry to express truths and realities, and you can -deny nothing afterwards. It is the business of philosophy to go _below_ -the mathematics, and determine whether they are _more than hypothetical_ -science,--whether their assumptions are a mere play of subjective -necessity, or are objectively trustworthy. It is the business of both -reflective philosophy and historical criticism to go below "the BOOK," -and determine whether it has _more than hypothetical_ -infallibility,--whether the conditions, inner and outer, of such a -claim, are or are not satisfied. If even the Mathematics, which have -little to fear from the investigation of their basis, have not been on -the best terms with Metaphysics, it is hardly surprising that a Religion -of mere external authority should feel antipathy for the studies which -pry into its foundations, with the inevitable effect of showing that -what is _certainty_ above ground is _opinion_ below. Nor is it wonderful -that both sets of beliefs are fond of forgetting their hypothetical -origin, contemplating only their acquired semblance of security, and -speaking as if they disowned contingency altogether, and despised the -detractors who could suspect such a taint in their blood. Hence the -fellow-feeling which occasionally unites a rigid theology, and an -exclusive physical and mathematical science. It is founded on their -joint antipathy to the sources of _moral_ knowledge,--their common -blindness to one half of human culture. Like all alliances resting on -antipathy alone, it is neither honorable nor durable. It is the function -of Religion to occupy a tranquil seat above the contests of partial -pursuits and narrow interests; as, in the world of action, to hold the -balance of Right, so, in the world of intellect, to preserve the -equities and the equilibrium of Truth; and her trust is betrayed by any -one who flings himself, as her representative, into the civil wars of -the sciences, and in her name signs away whole provinces of thought, and -abandons them to outrage and confiscation as conquered lands. Human -faith has nothing to fear from the unity and perfection of all the -sciences; but much from the blind ambition of each one. It is from this -persuasion alone, and not from any defective appreciation of physical -studies, that we have spoken freely of their tendency, when the mind is -entirely enclosed within them. The undoubted source of inestimable -blessings to mankind, and an indispensable element of culture to the -individual, they are mischievous only when they grow dizzy with success, -and propound schemes of universal empire. The moment they undertake -either to create or destroy a religion, the sign is unmistakable that -this intoxicated ambition has begun to work. - -The relation of Religion to History our author appears to us to -conceive much more correctly than its relation to Science. On this -great topic, however, our limits forbid us to enter. One remark only -we will make. The author misconceives the objection of Theodore Parker -and others to the ordinary doctrine of historical revelation. They do -not, as he affirms, "disjoin religion from history," or in the least -decline the "travelling back to ages past" on its account. It is not -the _presence_ of God in antiquity, but his presence _only_ -there,--not his inspiration in Palestine, but his withdrawal from -every spot besides,--not even his supreme and unique expression in -Jesus of Nazareth, but his absence from every other human -medium,--against which these writers protest. They feel that the usual -Christian advocate has adopted a narrow and even irreligious ground; -that he has not found a satisfactory place in the Divine scheme of -human affairs for the great Pagan world; that he has presumptuously -branded all history but one as "profane"; that he has not only read it -without sympathy and reverence, but has used it chiefly as a foil to -show off the beauty of evangelic truth and holiness, and so has dwelt -only on the inadequacy of its philosophy, the deformities of its -morals, the degenerate features of its social life; that he has -forgotten the Divine infinitude when he assumes that Christ's -plenitude of the Spirit implies the emptiness of Socrates. In their -view, he has rashly undertaken to prove, not _one positive_ fact,--a -revelation of divine truth in Galilee,--but an _infinite -negative_,--no inspiration anywhere else. To this _negation_, and to -this alone, is their remonstrance addressed. They do not deny a -_theophany_ in the gift of Christianity; but they deny two very -different things, viz.:--1. That this is the _only_ theophany; and, 2. -That this is theophany _alone_;--that is, they look for _some_ divine -elements elsewhere; and they look for _some_ human here. It is not -therefore a smaller, but a larger, religious obligation to history, -which they are anxious to establish; and they remain in company with -the Christian advocate, so long as his devout and gentle mood -continues; and only quit him when he enters on his sceptical -antipathies. This, in spite of every resistance from the rigor of the -older theology, is an inevitable consequence of the modern historical -criticism. Its large and genial apprehension opens for us new -admirations, new sympathies, clearer insight into human realities, -throughout the nations and ages of the past. It melts away from our -ancient moral geography the ideal contrasts of coloring which made the -world the scene of an unnatural dualism, and reinstates the great -families of man in unity. It is doing for our conception of the moral -world what science has already done for our conception of the natural: -it is expanding our notion of Divine agency within it. As, in -reference to physical nature, we have learned to think that God did -not enact creation but once, and cease; so are we beginning to -perceive, in relation to the human mind and life, that he did not -enter history only once, and quite exceptionally. Whoever opens his -heart to this great thought will find in it, not the uneasiness of -doubt, but the repose of faith. He will no longer fancy that, in order -to keep Christianity as the divinest of all, he must fear to feel -aught else divine. He will worship still at the same altar, and sing -his hymn to the same strain; only with a richer chorus of consentient -voices, and in a wider communion of faithful souls. - -FOOTNOTE: - -[57] The question has been raised, whether the author of "The -Restoration of Belief," who presents himself to us through the -Cambridge publisher, is really a University man? To those who are -curious about such critical problems, we would suggest this -consideration, as having some bearing on the case: "Could a person who -had studied the laws of accelerated motion at the authoritative school -of English science have so forgotten his formulas as to make his -_heaviest_ man on that account his _quickest_?" The authorship, -however, is not less evident than if the book had been published by -Messrs. Longmans, or by Holdsworth and Ball. - - - - -ONE GOSPEL IN MANY DIALECTS. - - "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak - in other tongues, according as the Spirit gave them utterance. And - there were sojourning at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every - nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad, the - multitude came together; and they were confounded because every - one heard them speaking in his own language."--Acts ii. 4-6. - - -In that marvellous scene, the anniversary of which coincides on this -Whitsunday with our Centenary, a question long pending between the -Rabbis and the Holy Spirit came to an open issue. They were Aramaean -scholars, and had their Kingdom of Heaven set forth in the best -Hebrew, which, true enough, was of no great human currency, and not -strictly a living tongue at all; but then had been distinguished by -Divine use from the earliest time. Was it not in this that the Call -had come to Abram? and the promises been repeated to the Patriarchs? -and the music been flung from the harp of David? and the burdens of -inspiration been treasured on the Prophet's scroll? Who could quote a -word that God had ever spoken in any other language? It was the one -sacred idiom, from which all others are divergent corruptions, and to -which, when the world's confusion is over, they must again return. -However few in these decadent ages might understand it still, it was -intrinsically fitted to be universal. And who could call _that_ speech -provincial, at whose sound the heavens and earth arose? or esteem it -temporary, when it persevered through the dispersion at Babel, and -was present on the world before the Flood? So there must be nothing -else allowed in the liturgies of the Synagogue, in the reading of -Scripture, or in any intercourse between _man and God_. Only when men -began to converse _with one another_, to compare their human thoughts, -and descend from prophetic to didactic gifts, might they resort to the -media of profaner life. The language of Worship was but one; though -the jargons of Opinion were many. And so the Scribes and the Rabbis of -the written Word supposed themselves to hold the only key of life. - -But the Holy Spirit goes into no one's keeping, and is no respecter of -tongues. Free as the wind to blow where it listeth, it sweeps wherever -souls are genial to its breath, and will yield to it their gifts, of -love, of lips, of life. It seemed to have had enough of Hebrew, ever -since it had gone into the hands of the philologists, and been made a -sacred language, and begun to drone. It had long been feeling its way in -other directions, tempting men to pray out of the fresh heart, and never -mind the words, till now at last the secret broke, that on any native -tongue by which souls most freely flow together, may all pass out to -God; that the home-sounds are the devoutest too; that the speech into -which men are born, and which has become to them as a stringed -instrument answering to the faintest touch of their affections, is the -true vehicle by which "the Spirit giveth utterance." The prayer of -faith, ascending in the idioms of every latitude, converges into one in -heaven. And God's truth, descending to this world, breaks into all the -moulds of expression native to our various race. - -_One Gospel in many dialects_,--that is the great Pentecost lesson, -construe the miracle as we may. And there are dialects of _Thought_ as -well as speech,--natural differences of temperament and character,--to -which the Gospel, still without prejudice to its unity, adapts itself -with the same divine flexibility. What private observer--still more -what student of history--can doubt that we are not all made in the -same mould,--that the proportions of our humanity are variously -mixed,--that not only do we individually differ in moral -susceptibility and spiritual depth, but fall into permanent groups -marked by distinct and ineradicable characters, and reproducing the -same religious tendencies from age to age? Transpose the souls of -Plato and Pascal into the right place and time, and do you suppose -they would turn up as _Latitudinarian Divines_? Deal as you will with -the lot of Priestley and Belsham, and could you ever enroll them among -the _Christian Mystics_? Close in the fires of Augustine's nature with -what damps you may, and could you ever find him peace in a Gospel of -_Good Works_? No; we touch here on differences deeper than accident, -and irremovable by culture,--differences that vindicate their reality -by crossing the lines of dissimilar religions and reappearing in all -times. They necessarily give us differing wants and experiences; they -set into differing shapes of faith; and on souls equally faithful they -fix very differing expressions. They are so many _vernacular idioms of -the inner mind_: all have divine right to be: no one of them is -entitled to call itself the sacred language alone intelligible between -man and God; and the pretension of any to supersede the rest, and -reign alone, is not less vain than the complaints of ignorance against -foreign dialects, and the ambition to exchange the many running waters -of local literature into the huge tank of a universal language. They -may not be able to understand each other, or even with the key of -outward comparison always bear translation into idioms other than -their own. But let them speak in their own way, and pray their own -prayer. Not only are they all clear to Him that readeth the heart; -there will thus be _more heart for Him to read_: for faith and love, -large as they may be, are ever deepest in their special tones; and the -prayer, the hymn, which is touched with the spirit's local coloring, -comes to us like the aroma of native fields, and assuages our thirst -like the sweet waters of some well given to our fathers and made -sacred by a Saviour's noonday rest. - -On this principle,--that different types of natural genius in men -cannot but throw their Christianity into different forms,--we may not -only justify the divisions of Christendom, but even cease to wish that -they should disappear. Unity no doubt there must be: God is one; Truth -is one; the Gospel is one; and a mind that could take in the whole, -and spread its insight and affections in all dimensions at once, would -reach the Divine equilibrium, in which nothing partial preponderates. -But from our watch-tower we can look through only one window at once; -the blind walls of our mental chamber shut out all the rest; and as we -kneel, like Daniel, at the open light, the breeze upon our face seems -sacred, because it comes from our Jerusalem. The question is not, -whether there is such a thing as truth, rounded off, self-balanced, -and complete; in the mind of God,--the final seat of reality,--of -course there is. Nor is it a question, whether each individual man can -attain a faith consistent in its parts, agreeable to fact, and -adequate to his nature. This also is possible. But when he has -attained it, on what terms is it to co-exist with other faiths -presenting parallel pretensions? Is he in his heart to identify his -own with the absolute truth, sufficient for _all_ as for himself? Is -he to expect them to come round to it, and altogether throw away their -own? Or is he to confess to himself his own limitations, to suspect -that he may have his blind sides, and reverently to seek something he -has missed in that which others persist in seeing? In which direction -is he to seek unity? By antipathy to all beliefs save one?--or by -inviting all of them to live their life and show their place in human -nature? It is the genius of Romanism to seek unity by _suppression_; -of Protestantism, by free _development_;--of the former, to protect -the consistency it has; of the latter, to press forward to one that it -has not. Are we taunted with our "Protestant variations"? Why, the -more they are, the richer is our field of experience, the finer our -points of comparison; provided, however, that we hold fast to the -noble trust in a Gospel of identity at bottom, and seek it rather in -the religious heart of all the churches, than in the theologic wisdom -of our own. No man can proclaim the principle of "_One Gospel in many -dialects_," unless he is prepared to admit that his own faith is _one -of the dialects, and nothing more_; to presume a meaning in the -others, however hid from him; and while they remain to him a mere -inarticulate jargon, to ascribe it sooner to his own incapacity than -to their insignificance. When God's truth, refracted on its entrance -into our nature, shall emerge into the white light again, not one of -these tinted beams can be spared. Let us for a moment arrest and -examine them. Let us look at the chief varieties which Christianity -assumes as it penetrates the soul; at once recognizing our own place, -and appreciating that of others. - -There are three great types of natural mind on which the Spirit of -Christ may fall; and each, touched and awakened by him, "utters the -wonderful works of God" in a language of its own. - -(1.) There is the _Ethical_ mind, calm, level, and clear; chiefly -intent on the good-ordering of this life; judging all things by their -tendency to this end; and impatient of every oscillation of our nature -that swings beyond it. There is nothing low or unworthy in the -attachment which keeps this spirit close to the present world, and -watchful for its affairs. It is not a selfish feeling, but often one -intensely social and humane; not any mean fascination with mere -material interests, but a devotion to justice and right, and an -assertion of the sacred authority of human duties and affections. A -man thus tempered deals chiefly with this visible life and his -comrades in it, because, as nearest to him, they are the better known. -He plants his standard on the present, as on a vantage-ground, where -he can survey his field, and manoeuvre all his force, and compute the -battle he is to fight. Whatever his bearing towards fervors beyond his -range, he has no insensibility to the claims that fall within his -acknowledged province, and that appeal to him in the native speech of -his humanity. He so reverences veracity, honor, and good faith, as to -_expect them_ like the daylight, and hear of their violation with a -flush of scorn. His word is a rock, and he expects that yours will not -be a quicksand. If you are lax, you cannot hope for his trust; but if -you are in trouble, you easily move his pity. And the sight of a real -oppression, though the sufferer be no ornamental hero, but black, -unsightly, and disreputable, suffices perhaps to set him to work for -life, that he may expunge the disgrace from the records of mankind. -Such men as he constitute for our world its moral centre of gravity; -and whoever would compute the path of improvement that has brought it -thus far on its way, or trace its sweep into a brighter future, must -take account of their steady mass. - -The effect of this style of thought and taste on the _religion_ of its -possessor is not difficult to trace. It _may_, no doubt, stop short of -avowed and conscious religion altogether; its basis being simply -moral, and its scene temporal, its conditions may be imagined as -complete, without any acknowledgment of higher relations. But, -practically, this is an exceptional case. A deep and reverential sense -of Moral Authority passes irresistibly into Faith in a Moral Governor; -and Conscience, as it rises, culminates in Worship. And to such -natural religion, the hearty reception of the revealed Gospel is so -congenial a sequel, that Christianity has enlisted its chief -body-guard--its band of Immortals--from the writers of this school. In -the _form_ which they give to the faith, they are true to themselves, -still keeping close to the human, and, except to sanction and glorify -this, not apt to dwell upon the Divine. The second table of -commandment has more reality to them than the first; and the whole of -religion presents itself to their mind under the idea of _Law_. God in -Christ teaches us his Will; publishes the punishment and the reward; -and requires our obedience; aiding us in it by the perfect example of -Christ, and reassuring us under failure by the offer of pardon on -repentance. Now this is a true Gospel; not a proposition of it can be -gainsaid; and whoever from his heart can repeat this creed;--God is -holy; morality, divine; penitence, availing; goodness, immortal; -guilt, secure of retribution; and Christ, our pattern for both -lives,--is not far from the kingdom of Heaven, and has a faith as much -beyond the practice, as it is short of the professions, of the great -mass of Christians. If he has an equable, rational, and balanced -nature; if he can depend on himself, and reduce his will to the -discipline of rules; if he have affections temperate enough to follow -reason instead of lead it, and to love God by sense of fitness and -word of command; if moral prudence is so strong in him that he can -bear the idea of "doing good for the sake of everlasting happiness"; -if no wing ever beats in his soul that takes him off his feet;--his -wants are provided; he has guidance for the problems that will meet -him on his way,--indications of duty,--grounds of trust,--and a path -traced through every Gethsemane and Calvary of this world, to the -saintly peace of another. - -But while this is a _true Gospel_, is it the _whole_ Gospel? Not so; -unless the voice of the Saviour is to reach only a part of our humanity, -and in response draw but a "little flock." For not many of our race are -made of this even and unfermenting clay. Who can deny that there -abound,--and among the greatest names of Christian history,-- - -(2.) _Passionate_ natures, that cannot thus work out _their own -salvation_, but ever pray to be taken whither of themselves they cannot -go? It is not that they are necessarily weak of will, deficient in -self-control, and unequal to the human moralities. Rather is it, that -they get through all these, and yet can find no peace. Duty, as men -measure it, may be satisfied; but still the face of God does not lift up -its light. For want of that answering look, it is all as the tillage of -the black desert; digging by night without a heaven above, and sowing in -sands which no dew shall fertilize. Intense and effectuating resolve was -certainly not wanting in Luther; what his young conscience imposed, his -will achieved,--wasting asceticism, persevering devotion, humble -charities; yet the shadow of death brooded around his irreproachable -obedience. Is it not that the same sorrow which, in more level minds, is -brought by a fall of the will, arises in these men from the ascent of -their aspirations? Haunted by the image of God's _Holiness_, drawn to -it, yet fluttering helplessly at immeasurable depths below it, they -strain after an obedience they cannot reach, and never lose the sense of -infinite failure. Measured by their aims, their power is nothing. Did -the law of Christ require nothing but works which the hand could do, its -conditions would be finite, and might be satisfied. But its claims sweep -through the affections of the soul; and who can _make himself love_ -where he is cold? who set himself behind his own thoughts, and keep -guilty intruders outside the door of his nature? Impossible! the inner -life, which is the special seat of our divine concerns, evades our -laboring prudence, and tortures conscience without obeying it. How then -do these sufferers find their emancipation? They have a Gospel, -according to which Christ is not given as the Teacher of Law, but set up -as the personal object of pure Trust and Love. God sent his Son in the -likeness of sinful flesh, to mitigate the Divine into gentleness, to -elevate the Human into holiness, and show how there is one moral -perfection for both; surrendered him to humiliation and self-sacrifice; -placed him in heaven; and offered to accept pure _faith and love towards -him_ as the reconciling term for the human soul,--as the substitute for -an unattainable ideal of obedience. Here then is the salvation of these -passionate natures. This simple trust, this intense affection, is -precisely what they have to give. They cannot direct themselves; but -only fix their love, and you may lead them as a child. Self-discipline -is impossible; self-escape triumphant. Try from within to hold the -struggling winds of their nature with iron bands of law, and you do but -stir the sleeping storms. Set in the heavens without an orb of divine -attraction,--a new star in the East,--and you carry their whole -atmosphere away. Engage their faith; and for the first time they will -prevail over their work. Let there be an appeal of Grace to their -enthusiasm,--a whispered word, "_Lovest thou me?_"--and the very burden -that was too heavy to be borne loses all its weight; and the drudging -mill of habit, that seemed so servile once, they pace with songs and -joy. There are men who so need to be thus carried out of themselves, -that without it their nature runs to waste, or burns away with -self-consuming fires. They are like one who, in a dream, should set -himself to climb a far-off mountain-top; if he tries to run, he cannot -even creep, and only wakes himself to find that he lies still on the bed -of nature. But if the thought of his mind should be, that an -overmastering power--chariot of fire and horses of fire--lifts him away, -he floats through the clear space, till, without effort, his feet stand -upon the visionary hills. - -Here then, again,--in this doctrine of Faith,--we have a true Gospel, -speaking to many hearts impenetrable by the doctrine of Works. But -have we even yet the _whole_ Gospel? Has the Good Shepherd, in these -two words, made his voice known to all that are his? Or are there -other sheep still to be gathered that are not of these folds? I -believe _there are_. For thus far we have looked only at the _moral_ -side of Christian doctrine,--at its different answers to the problem -of Sin,--at the conditions of ultimate acceptance with God, -notwithstanding deep unworthiness. Whether you say, Patiently obey, -and you shall grow into perfection of faith and love; or, Fling -yourself on faith and love, and you will find grace for patient -obedience;--in either case you are prescribing terms of salvation; you -have the _future life_ specially in mind, and are anxious to make -ready the soul _there_ to meet her God. But there are persons who -cannot fix any particular solicitude upon that crisis, as if all -before were probation, and all after were judgment,--as if here were -only faith in an absent, and there sight of a present God;--who cannot -dramatically divide existence into a two-act piece, first Time, then -Eternity, and wait for the Infinite Presence, till the curtain rises -between them; but are haunted by the feeling that, as Time is in -Eternity, so is Man already shut up in God. This is the indigenous -sentiment of another natural type of mind, which may be called,-- - -(3.) The _Spiritual_. God is a Spirit; man has a spirit; both, _Now_; -both, _Here_; and shall they never meet? shall they remain without -exchange of looks? shall nothing break the seal of eternal silence? is -there really love between them, and thought, and purpose, and yet all -recognition dumb? Why tell us of God's Omniscience, if it only sleeps -around us like dead space, or at most lies watching, like a sentinel -of the universe, not free to stir? Who could ever pray to this -motionless Immensity? who weep his griefs to rest on a Pity so secret -and reserved? Surely if He is a Living Mind, he not merely remains -over from a Divine Past to appear again in a Divine Future, but moves -through the immediate hours, and awakens a thousand sanctities to-day. -Urged by such questionings as these, men of meditative piety have -thirsted for conscious communion with the All-holy;--communion _both -ways_: appeal and response; a crossing line of light from eye to eye; -a quiet walk with God, where all the dust of life turns, at his -approach, into the green meadow, and its flat pools into the gliding -waters. They have retired _within_ to meet him; have believed that all -is not ours that it is ours to feel; that there is Grace of his -mingling with the inner fibres of our nature, and flinging in, across -the constant warp of our personality, flying tints of deeper beauty, -and hints of a pattern more divine. And all have agreed, that, in -order to reach this Holy Spirit, and through its vivifying touch be -born again, the one thing needful is a stripping off of self, an -abandonment of personal desire and will, a return to simplicity, and a -docile listening to the whispers spontaneous from God. They find all -sin to be a rising up of self; all return to holiness and peace a -sinking down from self, a free surrender of the soul,--that asks -nothing, possesses nothing, that relaxes every rigid strain, and is -pliant to go whither the highest Will may lead. Nature, of her own -foolishness, ever goes astray in her quest of divine things; wandering -away in flights of laboring Reason to find her God; panting with -over-plied resolve to do her work; scheming rules, and artifices, and -bonds of union for forming her individuals into a Church. Reverse all -this, and fall back on the centre of the Spirit, instead of pressing -out in all radii of your own. Let Intellect droop her ambitious wing, -and come home; there, in the inmost room of conscience, God seeks you -all the while. Lash your wearied strength no more; sit low and weak -upon the ground, with loving readiness hitherward or thitherward, and -you shall be taken through your work with a sevenfold strength that -has no effort in it. Leave yourself awhile in utter solitude, shut out -all thoughts of other men, yield up whatever intervenes, though it be -the thinnest film, between your soul and God; and in this absolute -loneliness, the germ of a holy society will of itself appear, a temper -of sympathy and mercy, trustful and gentle, suffuses itself through -the whole mind: though you have seen no one, you have met all; and are -girt for any errand of service that love may find. So then, if there -were twenty or a thousand in this case, their wills would flow -together of their own accord, and find themselves in brotherhood -without a plan at all. - -So speaks this doctrine of the Spirit. It matters not now under which of -its many theologic forms we conceive it; simplest perhaps, that the -Indwelling God, who in Christ was the Word, is in us the Comforter. But -surely, this also is not altogether a false Gospel. It rescues the -conception of direct communion between the human spirit and the -Divine,--a conception essential to the Christian life,--which an Ethical -Gospel does not adequately secure: for communion must be between like -and like, while obedience may be from slave to lord, nay, in some sense, -from machine to maker. Nor is it a slight thing to take the scales from -our eyes that hide from us the sanctities of our _immediate_ life; to -abolish the postponement of eternity; and, wayfarers as we are, make us -feel, as we rise from our stony pillow and pass on, that here is the -abode of God, and here does the angel-ladder touch the ground! Yet this -too is not the _whole_ Gospel. It absorbs too much in God. It scarcely -saves human personality and responsibility. It does no justice to -nature, which it regards as the negative of God. It melts away Law in -Love, and hides the rocky structure of this moral world in a sunny haze -that confuses earth and air. - -What, then, shall we say of these three types of Christian faith? Do -you doubt their reality? It is demonstrated within the century which -we close this day. For while our forefathers were dedicating this -house of prayer to the first, the Gospel of Christian Duty, Wesley -had already become the prophet of the last,--the new birth of the -Spirit; and erelong Evangelicism started up, and proclaimed the -second,--the Salvation by Faith. Do you doubt their durability and -permanence? It is proved by eighteen centuries' experience, for the -New Testament is not older. _There_, within the group of sacred books -themselves, do they all lie; the Jewish Gospels represent the first; -the Gentile Apostle's letters, the second; the writings of the beloved -disciple, the third. Matthew, as every reader must remark, is for the -Law; Paul, for Faith; and John, for the Spirit. And, in every age, the -great mass of Christian tendencies break themselves into these three -forms:--Ebionite, Pauline, and contemplative Gnostic; Pelagian, -Augustinian, and Mystic; Jesuit, Jansenist, and Quietist; Arminian, -Lutheran, and Quaker; all proclaim the perseverance of the same -essential types, wherever the spirit of Christ alights upon the -various heart of man. - -Is Christ then divided? Is he not equal to the _whole_ of our -humanity? Rather let us say, that we are small and weak for the -measure of his heavenly wisdom. Doubtless, if we take what we can -hold, and put it to faithful application, we have grace enough for -every personal exigency. But there is, surely, an evil inseparable -from all _partial_ developments of religion, which only satisfy the -immediate cravings of the mind, and leave parts of our nature--asleep -perhaps at the moment--liable to wake and thirst again. Such _separate -growths_ run out their resources and exhaust themselves in a few -generations. At first, they answer to some felt want; they collect a -congenial multitude, and open to them a spiritual refuge that ends -their wanderings. But the sentiment, once brought into a contented -state, ceases to be importunate and prominent; and by its abatement -gives opportunity for other feelings to vindicate their existence. -When the wound is bound up and has lost its smart, the natural hunger -begins to tell. The children grow up other than the fathers, perhaps -quite as limited, only in different ways,--with affections pressing -into just the vacant places of an earlier age. Meanwhile, the -imperfection of the original basis has provoked reactions equally of -narrow scope,--equally incapable of permanently filling the capacities -of the Christian mind. Hence the danger, if the separate veins of -thought be still worked on as they thin away, that the sects should -degenerate into poor theological egotisms, and wear themselves -insensibly out. It cannot be denied that all the three religious -movements of the last century--represented by Taylor, by Wesley, by -Cowper--exhibit the symptoms of spent strength, and are little likely -to play again the part they have played before. - -Yet every one of their Gospels is _true at heart_; and the tree that -holds that pith is a tree of life, which the Eternal husbandman hath -planted; and if he prune it, it is only that it may bear more fruit. -The weakness of these faiths is in their isolation; and if their sap -could but mingle, if no element were lost which they can draw from the -root of the vine, a young frondescent life would show itself again. -Those who think that the future can only repeat the past, will deem -this impossible; though least of all should it appear so to _us_ who -profess ourselves "_Christians and only Christians_," pledged to -nothing but to lie open to all God's truth. For myself I indulge a -joyful hope that the next century of Christendom will be nobler than -the last; that the great Faiths which have struggled separately into -the light of the one, will flow together on the broader and less -broken surface of the other. If, however, this is to be, it will arise -from no mere _intellectual_ scrutiny, whose function will ever be to -_distinguish_, and not to _unite_, and, in proportion as it dominates -alone, to trace ever-new lines of critical divergency. When the -problem of Christendom is, to deliver the individual mind from the -operation of an overwhelming social power, then it is seasonable to -insist on the principle of free inquiry; because then you have a dead -mass to disintegrate, ere any young and living force can urge its way. -But when you have won this victory, and when individualism ceases to -be devout and tends to party self-will, the hour comes to proclaim -the converse lesson, and break up the vain reliance on mere liberty -of thought. Depend upon it, Unity lies in profounder strata of our -nature than any tillage of the mere intellect can reach. Sink deeply -into the inmost life of _any_ Christian faith, and you will touch the -ground of _all_. Did we do nothing with our religion except live by -it; did we forget the presence of doubt and contradiction; did it -cease to be a creed about God and become simply an existence in God; -did we exchange self-assertion before men for self-surrender to -him;--we should find ourselves side by side with unexpected friends, -should be astonished at our petulant divisions, and replace the poor -charity of mutual forbearance by the free consciousness of inward -sympathy. For _us_ especially, who feel the temptations of an -exceptional position, is it the prime duty to live and move and have -our being in the divine sanctities that hold us, in that which we have -_not_ been obliged to throw away; else might our Gospel be no -fruit-bearing branch, drinking from the root of the vine, but a dead -residuum, withered and hopeless. Remember that, if Sin be not -_original_, all the more must it be _actual_, and the deeper should -its shadow lie upon the Conscience, and touch us with the mood of -faithfulness and prayer. If, in reconciling man with God, there is no -_vicarious_ sacrifice possible, so much the more remains over for -_self-sacrifice_, as the only path of communion and peace. If you will -have it that Christ is only _human_, so much the more Divine is your -humanity to be; you cannot assume _that_ as the type of your nature, -without at least owning that its essence lies, and its glory is found, -not in the natural man, but in the spiritual man; and by this very -confession, you renounce the low aims of the worldly mind, and take on -yourself the vows of the saintly. Let believers only be true to the -grace they have, and more will be given; and enter where they may the -many-gated sanctuary of the Christian life, they will tend ever -inwards to the same centre, and meet at last in the holiest of all. -Keeping a reverent eye fixed on the person and spirit of Christ, they -cannot but find their partial apprehensions corrected and enlarged; -for his divine image is complete in its revelation, and rebukes every -narrower Gospel. Moral perfectness, divine communion, free -self-sacrifice,--all blend in him,--indistinguishable elements of one -expression. In that august and holy presence, our divisions sink -abashed, and hear, as of old, the word of recall, "Ye know not what -spirit ye are of." Or if, through our infirmities, that gracious form, -appearing in the midst as we discourse among ourselves and are -perplexed and sad, do not suffice to open our eyes and make us less -slow of heart to one another and to him, at least in that higher -world, whither our forerunners are gone, his living look will perfect -the communion of saints. There at length the guests of his bounty will -find that, though at separate tables, they have all been fed by the -same bread of life, and touched their lips with the same wine of -remembrance: there, the voices of the wise, often discordant here,--of -Taylor and Wesley, of Enfield and Cowper, of Heber and Channing,--will -blend in harmony;--and the notes of the last age will not be the least -in that mighty chorus which crowds the steps of eighteen centuries, -and, converging to their immortal Head, sings the solemn strain, -"Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty! Just and true -are all thy ways, thou King of Saints!" - - - - -ST. PAUL AND HIS MODERN STUDENTS. - - _The Life and Epistles of St. Paul._ By the Rev. W. J. CONYBEARE, - M.A., late Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge; and the Rev. J. - S. HOWSON, M.A., Principal of the Collegiate Institution, - Liverpool. 2 vols. 4to. Longmans. 1852. - - _The Epistles of St. Paul to the Corinthians: with Critical Notes - and Dissertations._ By ARTHUR PENRHYN STANLEY, M.A., Canon of - Canterbury, late Fellow and Tutor of University College, Oxford, - &c. 2 vols. 8vo. Murray. 1855. - - _The Epistles of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans: - with Critical Notes and Dissertations._ By BENJAMIN JOWETT, M.A., - Fellow and Tutor of Balliol College, Oxford. 2 vols. 8vo. Murray. - 1855. - - -These treatises, bearing on their title-pages the names of our two -ecclesiastical Universities, give happy signs of a new era in English -theology. They show how effectually we have escaped from the morbid -religious phenomena represented by Simeon at Cambridge, and the -counter-irritants applied by John Henry Newman at Oxford; and come as -the returning breath of nature to those who have witnessed the fevers -of "Evangelical" conversion or the consumptive asceticism of -"Anglican" piety. On looking back, from the position now attained, it -seems wonderful that we could ever, with St. Paul's writings in our -hands, have been betrayed into either of these opposite extravagances: -for anything more absolutely foreign to his breadth and universality -than the Genevan dogma, or more at variance with his free spirituality -than the sacramental system, it is impossible to conceive. But it is -the peculiar fate of sacred writings, that the last thing elicited -from them is their own real meaning. The very greatness of their -authority puts the reader's faculties into a false attitude; creates -an eagerness,--an inflexible intensity,--that defeats its own end; -and, in particular, gives undue ascendency to the uppermost want and -feeling that may be craving satisfaction. Hence the tendency of -Scriptural interpretation to proceed by action and reaction; an easy -ethical Arminianism being succeeded by a severe Calvinism, and the -reliance on individual grace giving way before the advance of -sacerdotal and Church ideas. When the opposite errors have spent -themselves, the requisite repose of mind will be recovered for reading -just the thought that lies upon the page: here and there an eye will -be found, neither strained with pre-occupying visions, not scared by -sceptic shadows, but clear for the apprehension of reality, as God has -shaped it for our perception. At length we have reached this crisis of -promise; and critics are found who, instead of interrogating St. Paul -on all sorts of modern questions, listen to him on his own; and draw -from him, not a fancied verdict on the sixteenth century, but a -faithful picture of the first. - -And for this historical purpose, the writings of the great Gentile -Apostle are of paramount value, and justly occupy the inquirer's first -researches. The most considerable of them are of unimpeachable -authenticity. They are the very earliest Christian writings we -possess. They are the productions of a man more clearly known to us -than any of the first missionaries of the Gospel. They are _letters_: -abounding in disclosures of personal feelings, of biographical -incident, of changing moods of thought, of outward and inward -conflict. They are addressed to young communities, scattered over a -vast area, and composed of differing elements; and exhibit the whole -fermentation of their new life, the scruples, the heart-burnings, the -noble inspirations, the grievous factions, of the Apostolic age. The -Gospels and the Book of Acts _treat_ no doubt of a prior period, but -_proceed_ from a posterior, of whose state of mind, whose -retrospective theories concerning the ministry of Christ, it is of -primary importance to the criticism of the Evangelists that we should -be informed; and on these points the Pauline Epistles are the -indispensable groundwork of all our knowledge or conjecture. In them -we catch the Christian doctrine and tradition at an earlier stage than -any other canonical book represents throughout. Although the -narratives of the New Testament doubtless abound in material drawn -faithfully from a more primitive time, they are certainly not free -from the touch and tincture of the post-Pauline age. How powerful an -instrument the Apostle's letters may become for either confirming or -checking the historical records, may be readily conceived by every -reader of Paley's "Horae Paulinae." In fine, if it be a just principle, -in historical criticism, to proceed from the more known to the less -known,--to begin from a date that yields contemporary documents, and -work thence into the subjacent and superjacent strata of events,--the -elucidation of Christian antiquity must take its commencement from the -Epistles of St. Paul. - -Except in its general similarity of subject, the first of the three -works mentioned at the head of this article admits of no comparison -with the other two. It is rather an illustrated guide-book to the -Apostle's world of place and time, than a personal introduction to -himself. The authors are highly accomplished and scholarly men, and -could not fail, in dealing with an historical theme, to bring together -and group with conscientious skill a vast store of archaeological and -topographical detail; to weigh chronological difficulties with patient -care; to translate with philological precision, and due aim at -accuracy of text. They have accordingly produced a truly interesting -and instructive book: _so_ instructive, indeed, that by far the -greater part of its information would, probably, have been quite new -to St. Paul himself. His life seems to us to be injudiciously overlaid -with what is wholly foreign to it, and for the sake of picturesque -effect to be set upon a stage quite invisible to him. He was not -"Principal of a Collegiate Institution," accustomed to examine boys in -Attic or Latian geography; was not familiar with Thucydides or Grote; -was indifferent to the Amphictyonic Council; and, in the vicinity of -Salamis and Marathon, probably read the past no more than a Brahmin -would in travelling over Edgehill or Marston Moor. The world of each -man must be measured from his own spiritual centre, and will take in -much less in one direction, much more in another, than is spread -beneath his eye. He cannot be reached by geographical approaches. You -may determine the elements of his orbit, and yet miss him after all. -It is an illusory process to paint the ancient world as it would look -to an Hellenic gentleman then, or a university scholar now; and then -think how St. Paul would feel in passing through it to convert it. The -indirect influence of this kind of conception seems to us apparent -both in Mr. Conybeare's translation and Mr. Howson's narrative and -descriptions. The outward scene and conditions of the Apostle's career -are elaborately displayed; but more with the modern academic than with -the old Hebrew tone of coloring; and the English version, scrupulous -and delicate as it is, has, to our taste, a general flavor quite -different from the original Greek. Unconsciously entangled in the -classifications and symbols of the Protestant theology, the authors -are detained outside the real genius and feeling of the Apostle. - -Of a far higher order are the other two works,--produced, we infer -from their numerous correspondences of both form and substance, not -without concert between the authors. Indeed, the same explanation of -the merits of Lachmann's text (printed without translation by Mr. -Stanley, and with the adapted authorized version by Mr. Jowett) is -made to serve for both. So clearly and compendiously is this -explanation drawn, that, in the next edition of Lachmann, Mr. Jowett's -introduction might usefully be annexed to the great critic's rather -tangled and awkward preface. Of the superior fidelity of this -recension, we think no habitual reader of the Greek Scriptures can -reasonably doubt; and the recognition of its authority fulfils a prior -condition of all scientific theology. The text being chosen on grounds -purely critical, the notes are written in a spirit purely exegetical; -they aim, simply and with rare self-abnegation, to bring out, by every -happy change of light and turn of reflective sympathy, the great -Apostle's real thought and feeling. How very far this faithful -historic purpose in itself raises the interpreter above the crowd of -erudite and commenting divines, can scarcely be understood till it has -formed a new generation, and fixed itself as a distinct intellectual -type. It is not, however, an affair of mere will and disposition; but, -like most of the higher exercises of veracity, comes into operation -only as the last result of mental tact and affluence. With the most -honest intentions towards St. Paul, a critic without psychological -insight and dialectic pliancy, without power of melting down his -modern abstractions and redistributing them in the moulds of the old -realistic thought,--a critic without entrance into the passionate -depths of human nature,--a critic pre-occupied by Catholic or -Protestant assumptions, and untrained to imagine the questions and -interests of the first age,--_cannot_ surrender himself to the natural -impression of the Apostle's language. The disciple and the master are, -in such case, at cross-purposes with one another; the questions put -are not the questions answered; the interlocutors do not really meet, -but wind in a maze about each other's _loci_, not to end till the -unconscious interpreter has set his fantasies within the shadow of -inspiration. No such blind chase is possible to our authors. They have -achieved the conditions of fidelity; and bring to a task, in which the -truthful and sagacious spirit of Locke had already fixed the standard -high, the ampler resources of modern learning, and more practised -habit of historic combination. In the distribution of their work, the -difference of natural genius between the two authors has perhaps been -consulted, and is, at all events, distinctly expressed. Mr. Stanley's -aptitude for reproducing the image of the past, his apprehensive -sympathy with the concrete and individual elements of the world, fitly -engage themselves with the composite forms of Corinthian society, and -the most personal, various, and objective of the Apostle's letters. -For the more speculative Epistles to the Galatians and the Romans, -there was need of Mr. Jowett's philosophical depth and subtilty. The -strictness with which he restrains these seductive gifts to the proper -business of the interpreter, is not less admirable than their -occasional happy application. Instead of being employed to force upon -the Apostle a logical precision foreign to his habit, they are chiefly -engaged in detecting and wiping out false niceties of distinction -drawn by later theology, and throwing back each doctrinal statement -into its original degree of indeterminateness. It is not in the -notes,--which are wholly occupied in recovering St. Paul's own -thought,--but in the interposed disquisitions, which avowedly deal -with the theology of to-day, that a certain breadth and balance of -statement, and delicate ease in manoeuvring the forms and antitheses -of abstract thought, and fine appreciation of human experience, make -us feel the double presence of metaphysical power and historical tact. -The author, accordingly, appears to us, not only to have seized the -great Apostle's attitude of mind more happily than any preceding -English critic, but also to have separated the essence from the -accidents of the Pauline Christianity, and disengaged its divine -elements for transfusion into the organism of our immediate life. Mr. -Stanley appears to have more difficulty in unreservedly adhering to -the purely historical view, and clerically flutters, without clear -occasion, on the outskirts of "edification";--the critic in his notes, -the preacher in his paraphrase; conceding in act more readily than in -name, and apologizing for finding human ingredients in the Apostles -and their doctrines, as if it were he, and not _God_, that would have -them there. This tendency to blur the lines which he himself draws -between the temporary and the permanent in the Scriptures with which -he deals, is the only fault we can find with Mr. Stanley; whose -associate, clinging less to the past, in effect preserves more for the -present. To learn the external scene of the Apostle's career, we would -refer our readers to Messrs. Conybeare and Howson; to appreciate his -moral surroundings, and the problems it presented, especially on the -ethnic side, they may take Mr. Stanley as their guide; but for insight -into the Apostle himself, and outlook on the world as it seemed to -him, they must resort to Mr. Jowett. - -The Pauline Epistles are interesting, apart from all assumption of -inspired authority, because the elements are seen fermenting there of -the greatest known revolution both in the history of the world and in -the spiritual consciousness of individual man. Judaism was the narrowest -(that is, the most _special_) of religions; Christianity, the most human -and comprehensive. Within a few years, the latter was evolved out of the -former; taking all its intensity and durability, without resort to any -of its limitations. This marvellous expansion of the national into the -universal was not achieved without a process and a conflict. Divine -though the work was, it had to be wrought upon men, and through men, -whose character, interests, convictions, habits, and institutions -furnished the data conditioning the problem, and whose remodelled -affections and will supplied the instruments for its solution. The laws -of human nature, therefore, and the action of human events, necessarily -enter into the study of this great revolution; and it cannot be detained -out of the hands of the historian by any exclusive rights of the divine. -When we endeavor to trace the successive steps of faith from Mount Zion -to the Vatican, many parts of the progress appear to have left but -scanty vestige. We know the beginning, in the doctrine of the Hebrew -Messiah; we know the end, in the recognition of a Saviour of the world. -We know the intermediate fact,--that Judaism did not surrender its own -without a struggle, or readily give away the keys of its enclosure just -when it was passing from a prison of affliction into a palace of "the -kingdom." But within this general fact lies a world of mysterious -detail,--nay, almost the whole life of the early Church. Who began the -open breach between Messiah and the Law? how, and to what extent, did -the parties divide? what was their relative magnitude at different times -and in different places? and by what process was the difference -terminated, and the two extremes--Marcion on the one hand and the -Ebionites on the other--removed outside as heretics? The Christianity of -the third century is so little like the doctrine of Matthew's Gospel as -to perplex our sense of identity. No one can bring the two into direct -comparison, without feeling how much must have happened to shape the -earlier into the form of the later. Could we trace the flow and estimate -the sources of this change, the most wonderful of the world's -experiences would be resolved. The continuity, however, of visible -causation is often broken; there are everywhere many missing links in -the chain, and a chasm extending through a large part of the second -century. But a generation earlier we meet with materials of the richest -value in the Epistles of St. Paul; and by their aid the general -direction may be found by which thought and events must have advanced. -Otherwise, the change would seem as violent and inconceivable as a -convulsion that should mingle the Jordan and the Tiber. - -No doubt, the germ of the Gospel's universality is to be found in the -personal characteristics of its Author,--in the whole spirit of his -life, and the direct tendency of his teachings. He who found in the -love of God and love of man the very springs of eternal life; who -measured good and evil, not by the act, but by the affection whence -they come; who placed his ideal for man in likeness to the perfection -of God,--had already proclaimed a religion transcending all local -limits. Nay, if he opposed the "true worship" to the services at -Gerizim and Jerusalem, and could wish the Temple away, that obstructed -his direct dealing with the human soul and suppressed the inner shrine -"not made with hands," he must even have placed himself in an attitude -of open alienation towards the ritual of his people. At the same time, -his words seem to have left not unfrequently an opposite impression. -He comes, "not to destroy the Law and the prophets, but to fulfil" -them; "not a jot or a tittle is to fail." His most spiritual truths -and sentiments, instead of being announced as novelties grounding -themselves on his personal authority, are drawn out of the old Hebrew -Scriptures; and even the life beyond death he finds lurking in -patriarchal idioms and phrases heard at the burning bush. His -intensest polemic against the sacerdotal party goes on within the -limits of the system which they represent and yet corrupt; and his -bitterest reproach against them is that there is no reverence for it -in their hearts, since they hugely violate and trivially obey it. Far -from ever launching out against law _as_ law, or setting up faith as a -rival principle excluding it, he extends _precept_ to the last heights -of religion, _enjoins_ the divinest affections, as if _there also_ -obedience was possible, and duty and volition had their place. It was -not in a nature holy and harmonious as his,--type of heavenly peace -rather than of earthly conflict,--that the schism would be exhibited -between Will and Love; where both are at their height, there is no -rent between them. Nor was there need, in that meek, reverential soul, -to break with the past, in order to find a sanctity for the present, -and leave an inspiration for the future. Some things, once given for -the hardness of men's hearts, might be dropped, and fall behind; but -God had ever lived, and left the trace of his perfectness upon the -elder times as on the newest manifestations of the hour. There was -enough in the Law, if only its fruitful seeds were warmed into life, -to furnish forth the Gospel. And so Christ presents himself as the -disciple of Moses, and in the Sermon on the Mount does but open out -the tables of Sinai. It was not, therefore, without honest ground that -his immediate disciples could defend him from the charge of being -unfaithful to the religion of his native land. And yet the instinct of -the priests and rabbis told them truly that he and they could not -co-exist, that his doctrine reduced their work to naught, and that, -whencesoever he might draw it, there was no doubt whither he must -carry it. The "witnesses" were not altogether "false" which they -brought to show his inner hostility to the altar ceremonial; and -perhaps his enemies, with apprehension sharpened by fear, more -correctly interpreted his tendency in this direction than his -followers, entangled in the cloud of a Judaic love. It was quite -natural that the real antithesis between the Law and the Gospel should -thus be first felt by his antagonists, whilst as yet it slept -undeveloped in the minds of his followers and in the habitual -expression of his own thought; and that its earliest proclamation -should be _their_ act, _their_ defiance, the cross on Calvary! - -This terrible challenge, fiercely protesting that the Law would hold -no parley with the Gospel, the Apostles, however, refused to accept. -They still denied their Lord's apostasy or their own; they had always -been, and with his encouragement, the best of Jews: nor did they -contemplate, so far, any change. The crucifixion was a Jewish mistake, -meant for the nation's enemy, but alighting on its representative; a -mistake, however, which God had counteracted by a glorious rescue, in -the resurrection of the crucified. The mischief being thus undone, the -day of Hebrew opportunity was resumed; the ministry of Jesus was not -closed; he yet lived and preached to them as before;--no longer, -indeed, in person till their better mind should re-assert itself, but -by "faithful witnesses";--no longer too in tentative disguise, but now -identified as Messiah by his exaltation above this world. Whatever -conflicts of mind the disciples suffered in the mysterious period -following the crucifixion, the operation of the resurrection and the -Spirit was at first simply to reinstate them in their prior -faith,--that the kingdom would soon be restored to Israel, and be -brought in by no other than their Master, already waiting for the -crisis in a higher world till God's hour should come. There is no -evidence to show that, on the transference of their Lord's life from -earth to heaven, they were carried into any greater comprehensiveness -or spirituality of faith: their convictions were more intense, but -held on in the same direction, being all included in one great -theme,--the speedy coming of Messiah's kingdom and the end of the -world. Nay, of so little consequence, in comparison with this -_general_ picture of expectation, was even the appearance in it of the -person of Jesus as its central figure, that Apollos, more than twenty -years afterwards, was making and baptizing converts, without having -ever heard of any later prophet than John the Baptist; and these -people are already recognized as "disciples," and then informed, as -needful complement to their faith, that, besides the crisis being -near, the person is appointed.[58] Here had evidently been, for some -quarter of a century, two independent streams of Messianic faith, one -from a rather earlier source than the other, but pursuing their own -separate way, till thus partially confluent at Ephesus. And what is -the relation between them? One of them baptizes into an impersonal and -anonymous hope, the other into the same hope with the name attached. -And when these two states of mind are set side by side, they are -regarded as the same in their essence, and differing only in -completeness. Nor is there anything in their mutual feeling to hinder -their instant coalescence. This fact defines in the clearest way the -position of the early Church; the ordinary Jew believed that Messiah -would _some time_ come, and bring in "the last days"; Apollos, that he -would come _erelong_; the Christians, that already _the person_ was -indicated, and would prove to be Jesus of Nazareth. All three -co-existed within the Hebrew pale, and the two last fall under the -common category of "disciples." - -It was impossible, however, that the contemplation of a Messiah risen -and reserved in heaven should affect all the believers in a precisely -similar manner. His personal attendants it would take up just where -the crucifixion had let them down; would give new force to their -previous impressions, new sacredness to their recollections, new -significance to his words and example, new reluctance to venture where -he had not led. The whole effect would be conservative, and tend to -fix them, with an inspired rigor, within the limits of the Master's -lot and life. Quite otherwise was it with the new disciples, who had -no such restraining memories of the human Teacher. _They_ began with -Christ above, and were tied down by no concrete biographical images, -no scruples of tender retrospect. They were free to ask themselves, -"What meant this surprising way of revealing Messiah 'in heavenly -places,' and letting his disguise first fall off in his escape from -local relations? The scene from which he looked down,--was it the mere -upper chamber of Judaea, or did it overarch the human world? Who could -claim him, now that he was there? Was it for him to examine pedigrees -to test 'the children of the kingdom'; or would he, as Son of David, -even come emblazoned with his own?" The mere conception of an ascended -and immortal being, assessor to the Lord of _all_, seemed to dwarf and -shame all provincial restrictions, and sanction the distaste for -binding forms and ceremonial exclusiveness. The withdrawal of Christ -to a holier sphere accorded well with all that was most spiritual in -his teachings and in himself; and could not fail to reflect a strong -light back on this aspect of his life, and give a more significant -emphasis to the tradition of his deepest words. In the mind of many a -disciple this tendency would be favored by a weariness towards the -outer worship of the temple, and a secret aspiration after purer and -more intimate communion with God. Especially was the _foreign_ Jew -obliged to confess such a feeling to himself. The very speaking of -Greek spoiled him for thinking as a Hebrew; for language is the -channel of the soul, and according as the organism is open, the sap -will flow. Accustomed to the simple piety of the Proseucha, where God -was sought without priest or sacrifice, and adequately found in -poetry, and prophecy, and prayer, the Hellenist acquired a tone of -sentiment on which the material pomps and puerilities of Mount Moriah -painfully jarred. Nor could he enclose himself contentedly, like the -Palestine Jew, within the sacred boundary that admitted the most -worthless son of Abraham, and shut the noblest Gentile out. Living in -heathen cities, dealing with heathen men, touched at times with the -sorrow or the goodness of heathen neighbors, his moral feeling fell -into contradiction with his inherited exclusiveness, and inwardly -demanded some other providential classification of mankind. -Accordingly, it was the Hellenist Stephen who first saw, in the -heavenly Christ, a principle of universal religion and a proclamation -of spiritual worship. When accused of defaming Moses and the Law and -the holy place, and setting up Jesus to supersede them, he boldly -reflects on the stone Temple, rooted to one spot, as at variance with -His nature who said, "Heaven is my throne, and earth my footstool," -and points to the earlier tabernacle, movable from place to place, -following the steps of wandering humanity, as truer emblem of a faith -that takes every winding of history, and a God who goes where we go, -and stays where we stay.[59] This noble doctrine doubtless expressed a -feeling common among the foreign Jews of liberal culture and fervid -piety; and when consecrated by Stephen's martyrdom, it would assume a -distinctness unknown before, and become the admitted type of belief -among the Christian Hellenists. That it was confined to them is -evident from the partial effect of the persecution in which Stephen -fell. _His_ friends,--perhaps we may say his _party_,--hunted from -house to house, fled from Jerusalem; but the Jewish Apostles remained -where they were,[60] apparently unmenaced and undisturbed. The -hostility of the city drew therefore a distinction between such Hebrew -Christians as the twelve, and the freer "Grecians" who proclaimed a -Spirit above the Temple and the Law. The former, constituting an inner -sect of Judaism, might hold their ground unmolested; the latter were -treated as apostates, and "scattered abroad." The essential, but -hitherto dormant, antithesis between the Gospel and the Law, had thus -burst into expression, and embodied itself in two sections of the -Church that grew ever more distinct; the Hebrew party concentrated in -Jerusalem, and remaining intensely national; the Hellenistic, -spreading itself on the outskirts of Palestine, and erelong fixing its -head-quarters at Antioch. Within this freer circle, first as -persecutor, soon as disciple, appears Saul of Tarsus. So congenial are -its tendencies and aspirations with his nature and his antecedent -position, that his hostile attitude towards it might well strike him, -on looking back, as a monstrous self-contradiction. A foreigner to -Palestine, a "citizen of no mean city," familiar with a trade that -bought from the shepherds of Mount Taurus, and sold to the Greek -skippers of the Levant, he knew the human side of the Gentile world -too well to rest in a narrow Judaism. We cannot imagine his fervid, -free-moving mind, content to live within the enclosure of Rabbinical -niceties, or able to find, in the materialism of the Temple rites, his -ideal of true worship. With sympathies essentially cosmopolitan, he -could scarcely fail to be disappointed, not to say repelled, by -Jerusalem,--so different from the dream of his young romance. Some -higher, fresher communion between earth and heaven, some wider -monarchy for God than over a mere clan, would be to him natural -objects of aspiration. Hence his first persecuting attitude towards -the Christian Hellenists was permanently untenable; and as he went -amongst them, words were sure to fall upon his ear, and holy looks to -meet his eye, that would smite him with a kindred affection. Whether -the death of Stephen left on his mind images which he could not -banish, and commenced a reaction which no plunge into fresh violences -could arrest, it is vain to conjecture. That it should be so, would be -only human; for in the life of passion, triumph and humiliation are -near neighbors, and often the last note in the song of exultation dies -down into the plaint of compunction. Certain it is, that shortly -afterwards it "pleased God to reveal his Son in him"; that, with the -suddenness characteristic of impassioned natures, he came to himself, -and found his proper work, "to which he had been set apart from his -mother's womb"; and that his new convictions were of the very same -type and tendency with Stephen's, and strongly discriminated from the -Messianic doctrine of the twelve at Jerusalem. The incipient breach -between Law and Gospel, latent in the Master, denied by the twelve, -bursting forth among the Hellenists, finally realized and defined -itself in Paul; whose intense impulses were too great for the custody -of his will; whose soul had wings to fly, but not feet to plod; who -felt himself the theatre of living powers not his own, and could find -no peace till, by communion with the heavenly Son of God, he -discovered a providential love universal as human life, and a way of -reconciliation quick and open as human trust and reverence. It is -easier to speak of the effects than of the nature of his conversion. -His writings exhibit its results, but only vaguely allude to its -occurrence, and never in terms at all resembling the recitals in the -Book of Acts, or abating their discrepancies. Of these narratives -(Acts ix. 1-9, xxii. 6-12, xxvi. 12-18) Mr. Jowett remarks, "There is -no use in attempting any forced reconcilement." (I. 229.) On the one -hand, "There is no fact in history more certain or undisputed than -that, in some way or other, by an inward vision or revelation of the -Lord, or by an outward miraculous appearance as he was going to -Damascus, the Apostle was suddenly converted from being a persecutor -to become a preacher of the Gospel." (I. 227.) On the other, "If we -submit the narrative of the Acts to the ordinary rules of evidence, we -shall scarcely find ourselves able to determine whether any outward -fact was intended by it or not." This, however, is of the less moment, -because it is evident from the language of the Epistle to the -Galatians (Gal. i. 15, 16) that,-- - -"Whether the conversion of St. Paul was an outward or an inward fact, -it was not principally the outward appearance in the heavens, but the -inward effect, that the Apostle would have regarded. Compare Eph. iii. -3: 'How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery (as I -wrote afore in few words).' - -"It has been often remarked, that miracles are not appealed to singly in -Scripture as evidences of religion, in the same way that they have been -used by modern writers. Especially does this remark apply to the -conversion of St. Paul. Not a hint is found in his writings, that he -regarded 'the heavenly vision' as an objective evidence of -Christianity. The evidence to him was the sudden change of heart; what -he terms, in the case of his converts, the reception of the Spirit; what -he had known, and what he felt; the fact that one instant he was a -persecutor, and the second a preacher of the Gospel. The last inquiry -that he would have thought of making, would be that of modern -theologians: 'How, without some outward sign, he could be assured of the -reality of what he had seen and heard.' No outward sign could, as such, -have convinced the mind of a man who fell to the ground amazed, unless -it were certain that his companions had seen the light and heard the -voice. Nor unless they had distinctly been partakers of the supernatural -vision could he ever have been satisfied that what they saw was anything -but a meteor, or lightning, or that the voice they heard was more than -the sound of thunder. No evidence of theirs would have been an answer to -the language of some of the rationalist divines: 'St. Paul was overtaken -by a storm of thunder and lightning in the neighborhood of Damascus.' -Such difficulties are insuperable; at best we can only raise -probabilities in answer to them, based on the general tone of the -narrative in Acts ix. But we may remember that the belief in some -outward fact was not the essential point in St. Paul's faith, and -therefore we need not make it the essential point in our own. - - * * * * * - -"It is not upon the testimony of any single person, even were it far -more distinct than in the present instance, we can venture to peril -the truth of the Christian religion. Weak defences of comparatively -unimportant points, undermine more than they support. He who has the -Spirit of Christ and his Apostles, has the witness in himself; he who -leads the life of Paul, has already set his seal that his words are -true. Were the other view supported by the most irrefragable -historical evidence,--had the sign in the clouds been beheld by whole -multitudes of Jews and Gentiles, believers and unbelievers,--it is to -the internal aspect of the event we should be more inclined to turn, -both as the more religious one, and the one which more closely links -the Apostle with ourselves."--Vol. I. p. 230. - -With the essentially inward character of this crisis, the substance of -the revelation involved in it strikingly corresponds. - -"It was spiritual rather than historical; a revelation of Christ in -him, not external information brought to him. It was the ever-growing -sense of union with Christ, imparted, not in one revelation, but many; -not only by special revelation, but as the inward experience of a long -life, from which his union in Christ with all mankind, and his mission -to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, were from the beginning -inseparable; as a part of which the image of the meekness and -gentleness of Christ formed itself in him, not without the remembrance -that he had 'seen' Him who was now passed into the heavens."--Jowett, -Vol. I. p. 216. - -Since the Apostle "nowhere speaks of any special truths or doctrines -as imparted to himself" (I. 72); since he never dwells on the life of -Christ, the miracles, the parables, so that it is even doubtful what -he knew of them; and since his whole appeal is either, (1.) to the -witness of the Hebrew Scriptures, or (2.) to historical testimony, or -(3.) to the assurance of the living Spirit,--it is evident that his -conversion chiefly gave him that inward image of Christ crucified and -risen, which attended him through all his years, and so lived in him -as to take the place of his personality, and coalesce with his -spiritual affections, and do the work of his will. - -Of the Apostle's mode of thought when fresh from his conversion no -memorial exists; his earliest extant writing being of a date fourteen -or fifteen years later, and the report in the Book of Acts not being -altogether reliable--as Mr. Jowett has shown[61]--for historical -accuracy. But we learn from his own remarkable statement to the -Galatians, that he kept aloof from the churches in Judaea, and was -unknown to them by face; that it was three years before he entered -Jerusalem, or saw an Apostle; that he then made acquaintance with -Peter, and met James, but without its affecting his independent -course, which ran through eleven years more ere it brought him to -Jerusalem again; that his errand, on this second visit, was to take -security against being thwarted by Jewish jealousies sanctioned at -head-quarters; that from James, Cephas, and John--the "seeming -pillars" of the Church--he learnt nothing that he cared to hear; that -they, on the other hand, could not gainsay the independent rights of -so fruitful an apostleship, and agreed with him not to cross his path, -if he would leave them theirs. The emphasis with which, in this -animated passage, St. Paul dwells on the separate sources of his own -faith, and disowns any obligation to the prior Apostles, renders it -certain that the biography, the discourses, the human personality of -Jesus, were indifferent to him; and that with only the cross and the -resurrection (contained as data in the vision of conversion) he could -construct his scheme. The unmistakable sarcasm of the expressions, -[Greek: oi dokountes],--[Greek: dokountes einai ti]--[Greek: oi -dokountes styloi einai],--betrays a state of mind, in regard to the -twelve, out of all sympathy with the grounds of their authority. And -the necessity, in order to agreement, of marking out for each, not a -separate geographical beat, but a distinct religious and ethnologic -ground, shows that, with external mutual toleration, there is yet -wanting the inner unity of an identic faith. Only in the absence of a -common Gospel would each party have to take its own, and spare the -other. Indeed, the difference was so fundamental as to involve -everything that St. Paul then, and Christians now, would deem -characteristic of their religion. - -The question was this,--"How might a born Gentile become a -Christian?"--"By becoming a Jew first, and then accepting Jesus as -appointed to be the Jews' Messiah," was the answer at Jerusalem. "By -believing in Jesus straightway," was the reply of Paul. With -irresistible force he contended that, according to his opponents' -view, the Gospel opened no door at all, and was simply nugatory. For -it had _always_ been possible for a Gentile to become a Jew; and if, -without this step, faith in Christ was unavailing, the real efficacy -must lie in what the Jew brought to Christ, not in what he received -from him; so that it was hard to say what good there could be in -passing on from Moses at all, or what essential difference between the -unconverted and the converted Hebrew. And, in truth, they were _not_ -strongly contrasted in Jerusalem; and in habit, thought, and feeling, -the twelve were probably much nearer to Gamaliel than to Paul. The -altercation between Peter and Paul at Antioch is full of instruction -on this point; proving, as it does, that the intensest form of ritual -exclusiveness--the refusal to partake at table with the -uncircumcised--was retained in the parent church, and enforced with -jealous vigilance. In the Syrian capital the Gentile disciples were -numerous, the Pauline comprehensiveness prevailed, and the -intercourses of life were unhindered by ceremonial scruples. Peter, -thrown amongst them on a visit, yields to the local impression, and, -as long as he can do so unobserved, falls in with their free ways; -feeling all the while, no doubt, like the Quaker from home tempted -into a ball-dress or regimentals. Soon, however, the strict brethren -at Jerusalem send to look after him or the Antiochians, and instantly -his liberality is gone; he is the prim Jew again, and the Gentile -dishes are all unclean. And who then are these new witnesses, that he -should fear their report? They are deputies from James, "the brother -of the Lord," who, on account of this affinity,[62] was the -recognized head of the Judaean Christians; and of whose ascetic -abstinences, and constant devotions _on the temple pavement_, till -"his knees were become like the knees of a camel," Hegesippus -preserved the tradition.[63] It was clear, therefore, that Peter's -association with the Gentile Christians was exceptional,--a violation -of his professed rule, and of the allowed usage of the Apostolic -Church. To own brotherhood with the uncircumcised believer, was a -forfeiture of character, probably an outrage on his own conscience, to -the Christian Apostle! This was the result, among his first disciples, -of nearly twenty years' belief of Christ in heaven. There could be no -real sympathy between such an evangile and Paul's. It let him make -converts, but would not acknowledge them when made. It could not -resist the fact of his success, but treated his "children in the -faith" as in a doubtful case, left to Heaven's "uncovenanted mercies," -and needing to be put in a securer state, as soon as his back was -turned, and teachers could be sent to complete the task. Hence the -opposition that tracked the steps, and so much marred the work of the -Apostle, wherever he went; and in repelling which he wrote his chief -Epistles, and matured the form of his great theology. Mr. Jowett, -whilst allowing that this opposition was systematic and persistent, -and in some degree connived at by the twelve, is yet anxious to lay it -mainly to the charge of their followers, and defines the relation of -the two sections thus: "Separation, not opposition; antagonism of the -followers rather than of the leaders; personal antipathy of the -Judaizers to St. Paul, rather than of St. Paul to the twelve." (I. -326.) These are fine distinctions, and for this very reason likely, we -fear, in the rough movement of human passions, to be more ideal than -real. True, the feeling of a leader is ever apt to run into -exaggeration among the followers; nor probably was Apostolic control -over the mass of believers so complete as to exclude this danger. But -the Epistle to the Galatians is written by one leader, and speaks of -the others; and the impression it conveys is surely one of very -decided antagonism, and that, too, not accidental, but depending on -permanent differences of principle, which discussion did not smooth -away, and which penetrated into the very organism of daily life. In -the altercation with Peter, what was the point of Paul's rebuke? Did -he simply censure his moral weakness and inconsistency? Not so, or he -would have exhorted him to take whichever course he approved, and -stick to it. Did he find fault with his _exceptional_ act, of eating -with the Gentile Christians? Not so, for he did the same himself. The -thing he blamed was nothing less than the rule and usage by which -Peter _habitually lived_, and which, it is declared, virtually made -Christ of none effect. Here was a collision of irreconcilable -principles, and every subsequent occasion of personal contact, under -like conditions, would be as liable to produce it as the first. Nor -have we, in fact, any reason to suppose a closer approximation at a -later part of the Apostolic age. That Paul looked with any particular -respect on the other Apostles, is surely not proved, as Mr. Jowett -imagines, by his appeal (1 Cor. xv. 5) to their testimony respecting -the _fact_ of their Lord's resurrection, or by his claiming (1 Cor. -ix. 5) to stand on a like footing of privilege with them.[64] To -produce the spectators of an event as its proper witnesses, is no -expression of feeling towards them at all; and to say, "Are the other -Apostles to have the right of taking their wives with them at the cost -of the Church, and may not I take or decline my mere personal -maintenance as I think proper?" institutes a comparison in which it -is difficult to discover any strong sentiment of "respect." Nor do the -doctrinal agreements, of which, as well as of the personal relations -of fellowship, our author makes the most, amount to any substantial -concurrence, when we penetrate to the essence from the form. On both -sides, says Mr. Jowett, the disciples were baptized into the _same -name_. (I. 340.) Yes; but how different the _object named_ as present -to their thought; in the one case, the human life in its detail, with -the resurrection as its crown; in the other, the cross of Christ that -stands between them, and his life in heaven that passes beyond them! -Both sections, it is again said, find their _ground_ in the Old -Testament. (I. 341.) True: but the one on Moses, the tables, and the -holy place; the other, on Adam's nature, and the patriarchs' freedom, -and the prophets' insight; the one, moreover, using the ground to -intrench the Law for ever; the other, to drive the ploughshare over -its ruins, and make it a fruitful field. Once more, it is said that on -both sides there was a looking for "the day of the Lord," an -expectation of Christ's return to end the world within that -generation. (I. 341.) Assuredly, but with such differences in the -vision, that, in the apocalyptic picture of the one, Paul is not among -the Apostles, or his followers among the white-robed and crowned (Rev. -xxi. 14, and ii. 2, 14, 20); while in that of the other, the advent -will but perfect and perpetuate a union with Christ, already present -to their consciousness, and open to all who live with him in the -Spirit. In short, twenty years after the death of Christ, the two -elements that were harmonized in him, but are ever apt to part in our -imperfect minds, the ethical and the mystical, the historical and -spiritual, ascetic concentration and outspreading trust, fell into -determinate antithesis, realizing their conflict in the immediate -question of Jew and Gentile, and finding their respective -representatives in the twelve and St. Paul. - -Whether, besides and beyond this general development of the Christian -system, there was also a special development of doctrine into higher -degrees of spirituality within the mind of St. Paul himself, is a -question of less interest and more difficulty. Both Mr. Stanley and Mr. -Jowett find traces of such a change in the modified sentiment of his -later writings, and even make the Apostle himself depose to his own -enlargement of view. We must confess that this speculation, though -excluded by no antecedent improbability, appears to us less well -supported than anything in these volumes. It is ingeniously presented -and argued by Mr. Jowett in his introduction to the Thessalonian -Epistles; and by means of it he explains the marked absence from these -letters of St. Paul's usual topics and manner, and gets rid of the -objection urged on this ground to their authenticity. Applied at the -other end of the Apostle's career, the hypothesis accounts for the -prominence, in the Epistles to the Ephesians, Philippians, and -Colossians, of certain conceptions, doubtfully traceable elsewhere, of -the place of Christ in the hierarchy of the universe, and of his union -with his disciples as his "body." The pastorals may be left out of -consideration, as their mixed phenomena cannot be much used in the -service of this theory. The broad facts are undoubted,--that the four -great central Epistles (Galatians, Corinthians, Romans) must be taken as -our foci of authority for the characteristics of St. Paul; that, in the -earlier Thessalonians, these characteristics are overshadowed by the -more Judaic doctrine of the "day of the Lord," and in the later -Ephesians, &c., by the more Gnostic conception of a spiritual hierarchy -and pleroma. But these facts are quite overworked when set to prove our -author's thesis. In order to establish a process of personal -development, they ought to exhibit certain natural links of -psychological and moral succession, and not mere abrupt and unrelated -contrasts of subject. To look for such organic indications in the sparse -productions of the Apostle's pen, is to ask too much from a few -incidental letters, bearing to his whole life the proportion of a dozen -pages of random excerpts to a cyclopaedia. If only the matters treated be -different, the whole group of writings may very well express, in its -several parts and aspects, one simultaneous state of mind. If the types -of thought be such as could scarcely co-exist, the cause may be sought -as reasonably in a plurality of authors as in a succession of beliefs in -the same author; and only a most delicate combination of symptoms can -rescue the problem from this indeterminate state of double solution. Nor -ought we to forget, in weighing the probabilities, that the whole set of -Epistles comprising the phenomena of difference were written within nine -years; and that, ere the first of them was produced, St. Paul had been a -convert fifteen years, and had reached the age of fifty. The earlier and -longer of these periods is a more natural seat of mental change than the -later and shorter; especially of a change not apparent so much in -particular judgments and opinions, as in the whole complexion of -spiritual feeling and idea. - -But, we are assured, the Apostle directly testifies to his own -progress in doctrine; and intimates (2 Cor. v. 16) that there was a -time when he had "known Christ according to the flesh,"--had preached -him "in a more Jewish and less spiritual manner,"--though "henceforth -he would know him so no more." Mr. Stanley, explaining this -much-disputed phrase, says:-- - -"Probably, he must be here alluding to those who laid stress on their -having seen Christ in Palestine, or on their connection with him or -with 'the brothers of the Lord' by actual descent; and if so, they -were probably of the party '_of Christ_.' But the words lead us to -infer that something of this kind had once been his own state of mind, -not only in the time before his conversion (which he would have -condemned more strongly), but since. If so, it is (like Phil. iii. -13-15) a remarkable confession of former weakness and error, and of -conscious progress in religious knowledge."--Vol. II. p. 106. - -Did St. Paul then ever "lay stress on having seen Christ in Palestine"? -or on actual blood-connection with him? or on "something of this kind"? -To personal relations with Jesus in his ministry or family he had no -pretensions; and the spirit with which he had _always_ treated -everything "of this kind," is so apparent from his narrative to the -Galatians as to contradict Mr. Stanley's inference. Mr. Jowett gives the -phrase a different turn. Finding (Gal. v. 11) the Apostle charged with -at one time "preaching circumcision," he accepts this as synonymous with -"knowing Christ according to the flesh" (i. 12). This, however, would -imply that he was originally no "Apostle to the Gentiles," but insisted -on _mediate_ conversion into the Gospel through the law. Feeling the -irreconcilable variance of such an hypothesis with the autobiographical -notices in the Epistles, Mr. Jowett lowers his phraseology, and -attributes to St. Paul's early teaching only such sentiments as "_might -be thought_" to make him "a preacher of the circumcision." And so we -lose ourselves again in "something of the kind." Yet at last, in the -following passage, we find the critic's finger distinctly laid on the -doctrine which he proposes to identify with the Apostle's "knowing -Christ according to the flesh." - -"That such a change" (in the Apostle's teaching) "is capable of being -traced, has been already intimated. Both Epistles to the Thessalonians, -with the exception of a few practical precepts, are the expansion and -repetition of a single thought,--'the coming of Christ.' It was the -absorbing thought of the Apostle and his converts, quickened in both by -the persecutions which they had suffered. Not that with this expectation -of Christ's kingdom there mingled any vision of a temporal rule over the -kingdoms of the earth. That was far from the Apostle. But there was that -in it which fell short of the more perfect truth. It was not, 'The -kingdom of God is within you'; but, 'Lo here, and lo there.' It was -defined by time, and was to take place within the Apostle's own life. -The images in which it clothed itself were traditional among the Jews; -they were outward and visible, liable to the misconstruction of the -enemies of the faith, and to the misapprehension of the first -converts,--imperfectly, as the Apostle saw afterwards, conveying the -inward and spiritual meaning. The kingdom which they described was not -eternal and heavenly, but very near and present, ready to burst forth -everywhere, and by its very nearness in point of time seeming to touch -our actual human state. Afterwards the kingdom of God appeared to remove -itself within, to withdraw into the unseen world. The earthen vessel -must be broken first, the unbeliever unclothed that he might be clothed -upon, that mortality may be swallowed up of life. He was no longer -'waiting for the Son from heaven'; but 'desirous to depart and be with -Christ' (Phil. i. 23). Such is the change, not so much in the Apostle's -belief as in his mode of conception; a change natural to the human mind -itself, and above all to the Jewish mind; a change which, after it had -taken place, left the vestiges of the prior state in the Montanism of -the second century, which may not improperly be regarded as the spirit -of the first century overliving itself. Old things had passed away, and, -behold, all things became new. And yet the former things--the material -vision of Christ's kingdom--have ever been prone to return; not only in -the first and second century, but in every age of enthusiasm, men have -been apt to walk by sight and not by faith. In the hour of trouble and -perplexity, when darkness spreads itself over the earth, and Antichrist -is already come, they have lifted up their eyes to the heavens, looking -for the sign of the Son of man."--Vol. I. p. 10. - -If to announce the coming of Christ is to "know him according to the -flesh," St. Paul assuredly did not keep his resolve "henceforth to know -him no more." For the expectation reappears, without any perceptible -change, in his later Epistles; as in Rom. xiii. 11, 12: "Do this the -rather, knowing the time,--that now is the time to awake out of sleep: -for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed: the night -is far spent; the day is at hand";--and in Phil. iv. 5: "The Lord is at -hand."[65] Moreover, it is utterly impossible that _this_ element of his -teaching could be adduced in proof of his "preaching circumcision." It -had nothing to do with the question of Jew and Gentile; with the most -opposite solutions of which it is equally compatible. - -In truth, our author has here combined two passages, which throw no -light on one another, and has extracted from each what neither is able -to yield. The words (in Gal. v. 11) "if I _still_ preach circumcision," -do not really imply that the Apostle once _did_ so preach; though in an -accurate writer this sense might be insisted on. He is not thinking of -_his own_ former notions, but of _other people's_, continuing unaltered -after they ought to have changed. There _were_ persons who, in spite of -the dispensation of the Spirit, _still_ preached circumcision after its -significance was gone. This did not Paul; but he was charged with doing -so: and he says, "Well, if so, I am a Judaizer like you, and I cannot be -_also_ chargeable with teaching that the cross of Christ supersedes the -Law." The true sense is, therefore, given by the rendering, "If I preach -circumcision _still_,"--that is, as _still necessary_; and no tale is -told of the Apostle's earlier teaching. - -The other passage (2 Cor. v. 16) _does_ undoubtedly refer to a former -state of the writer's own mind, when he "recognized Christ according to -the flesh." But he alludes, we apprehend, to the period when he was a -"Hebrew of the Hebrews"; and had no conception as yet of a suffering, -dying, and heavenly Christ;--when he was full of the thoughts still -occupying the twelve, who did not take in the significance of the cross, -but carried past it their old Messianic notions. "There may have been a -time," he means to say, "when I thought only of a national, Israelitish, -historical Messiah, bound by the law of his fathers, and binding to it. -Had this been the true conception of him, then would it have been a -matter of privilege and pride to be near his person, to stand in natural -relations with him, and be mixed up with the incidents of his local -career. But ever since I understood the cross, and saw that Messiah's -life began in death, a far other truth has dawned upon me. When he gave -up the ghost, all the accidents of his humanity--his lineage, his -nationality, his earthly manifestation--were left behind and died away; -and they must carry with them into extinction whatever feelings had -collected round them,--family pride, Jewish exclusiveness, and the -memories of personal companionship. From that moment, clear of earthly -entanglements, Christ in the spirit draws to him a community of human -spirits,--one with him in self-abnegation, dying to the earthly past; -one with him in re-birth, living to heavenly union with God. Thus, if -any one be in Christ, it amounts to a new creation; his old self has -passed away; behold, all things have become new." The Apostle, -therefore, sets up the death of Christ, as cutting off, for all -disciples, the prior time from the subsequent; as flinging the former, -with all the human conceptions that cling to it, into eclipse and -annihilation, and beginning a new and luminous existence in the latter; -as breaking the very identity of the believer, and delivering him from -the thraldom of nature into the freedom of the Spirit. The cross had -already done its work ere St. Paul became a disciple. He had never known -his Lord but in the spirit; and the "Christ," whom he had "known -according to the flesh," was the Jewish Messiah of his previous and -unconverted conception. Mr. Stanley's objection, that the Apostle could -hardly have spoken of his unconverted state without stronger -condemnation, might perhaps hold, were the allusions to his fit of -persecuting violence against the Church. But there was no occasion for -self-reproach in describing the picture of a national Messiah, on which, -in common with his countrymen, he had permitted his imagination to -dwell.[66] - -Neither, then, from his own direct assertion, nor from comparison of -his several writings, _inter se_, do we learn anything of the alleged -_development_ of the Apostle's doctrine. There is no element in it, -that, from inability to co-exist with the rest, requires to be -assigned to a date of its own. The breach with Judaism, especially, we -conceive to have been complete from the first, and unsusceptible of -degrees; nay, to have been the initial principle of his conversion, -the secretly prepared condition or tendency of mind that rendered him -accessible to the Divine call, and open to sudden change in the -direction of his character. When first released from the formulas of a -Jewish Christology, and communing in spirit with a heavenly and -universal Lord, his mind would doubtless be met by a multitude of new -problems, and would work freely towards their resolution, with the -quickening consciousness of new light streaming in, and a grander -landscape of Providence opening before him. The very intensity of this -inward action, however,--the thirst it sustains for its own -completion,--forbids us to attribute to it a life-long duration; ere -fifteen years were passed, its force would be spent by having realized -its work, and attained the equilibrium of a holy peace. Whatever -subsequent changes occurred would be of a different nature, enforced -by the turn of the world's affairs; a mere remoulding or -reproportioning of inward faiths, in adaptation to the altered -pressures of the hour. Of such modifications, such retreat towards the -background of once favorite ideas, and advance of dim suggestions into -strong light, there are doubtless examples in St. Paul. The -expectation of Christ's speedy coming to close the world's affairs, -and realize "the kingdom," could not but dominate at first, and pale -every other interest and belief by the terror and glory of its light. -But there is a limit beyond which the strain of longing cannot be -sustained; as it subsides, the present and actual recovers power, and -pushes its problems forward, and gains once more the eye that had -looked beyond them. And so, after a while, spring up questions of -Christian order that will not bear to be put off;--how to live in a -world that, however near its doom, entangles the disciple still in a -web of difficult relations; how to touch the skirt of its idolatries, -and not be tainted; how to behave to wife and child in this last -generation of human affairs; how to seal up the passions that _ought -to die_ within the saints, but were not dead; how to prevent the gifts -of the Spirit from overbalancing themselves, on the heights of a -dizzied mind, into outrages on nature; how to preserve to the woman -and the slave, in their exulting reaction from degraded life, the -sense of modest reverence, and the appreciation of faithful service. -Day by day questions of this kind insisted on attention, and brought -out a fresh type of sentiments proper for their determination, and -offering to view a new side of the Christian thought and life. Nor, -again, could many years elapse, before the Jew and Gentile difficulty -changed its whole aspect, and expanded, from a petty scruple -compromised at Jerusalem, into a world-wide theology, regulative of -all future history. When it became evident that it was no question -about a small sprinkling of ethnic converts,--mere hangers-on of -Hebrew families and synagogues; when the delay of Messiah, and the -energy of Paul, gave occasion for thousands to pour in; when it seemed -imminent that Palestine should be outvoted and overpowered by the -growth of the foreign Gospel, the alarm of the Judaic Christians -became great. They tracked Paul's steps; their emissaries were -everywhere; their arguments and doctrine became more constricted, and -his more wide and free; and as the clouds visibly lowered over Israel, -touching him as well as them with gloom, all the more did he see the -sunshine flood the lands beyond; and his national trust assumed this -form,--that, maybe, the outlying heavenly light may creep back as the -dark hour passes, and again set the shadows moving on the hills it has -so long glorified. The Apostle died before the question settled -itself by the mere force of the facts,--by the utter breaking up of -the Jewish nation, and the inpouring Gentile numbers. Others waited to -be driven into catholicity by events; it is his glory to have -surrendered himself to the inspiration that implanted in him its -principle from the first. He lived, however, to see a mighty growth, -though not the final fruit; and the grand scale on which he conducts -the controversy, in his Epistle to the Romans, by converging -reasonings fetched from afar out of history, and aloft out of the -perfections of God, and deep out of human nature, shows how his -thought expands with the exigencies of experience, and advances to -fill the whole greatness of his opportunities. - -There can be no doubt that the earliest Apostolic Christianity consisted -mainly in the faith of Christ's coming again, "to-day, or to-morrow, or -the third day." This event, with its effect on the living, was _the one -only point_, Mr. Stanley conceives, on which St. Paul, in his great -chapter on the Resurrection, professed to have a distinct revelation:-- - -"On one point only he professes to have a distinct revelation, and -that not with regard to the dead, but to the living. So firmly was the -first generation of Christians possessed of the belief that they -should live to see the second coming, that it is here assumed as a -matter of course; and their fate, as near and immediate, is used to -illustrate the darker and more mysterious subject of the fate of those -already dead. That vision of 'the last man,' which now seems so remote -as to live only in poetic fiction, was to the Apostle an awful -reality; but it is brought forward only to express the certainty that, -even here, a change must take place, the greatest that imagination can -conceive."--Vol. I. p. 398. - -That this belief, where held at all, should be paramount and absorbing, -follows from its very nature. Accordingly, St. Paul, as Mr. Jowett -remarks, makes even the essence of the Gospel to consist in it:-- - -"It appears remarkable, that St. Paul should make the essence of the -Gospel consist, not in the belief in Christ, or in taking up the -cross of Christ, but in the hope of his coming again. Such, however, -was the faith of the Thessalonian Church; such is the tone and spirit -of the Epistle. Neither in the Apostolic times, nor in our own, can we -reduce all to the same type. One aspect of the Gospel is more outward, -another more inward; one seems to connect with the life of Christ, -another with his death; one with his birth into the world, another -with his coming again. If we will not insist on determining the times -and the seasons, or on knowing the manner how, all these different -ways may lead us within the veil. The faith of modern times embraces -many parts and truths; yet we allow men, according to their individual -character, to dwell on this truth or that, as more peculiarly -appropriate to their nature. The faith of the early Church was simpler -and more progressive, pausing in the same way on a particular truth, -which the circumstances of the world or the Church brought before -them."--Vol. I. p. 46. - -Only it is not on "a particular _truth_," but on a particular _error_, -that the "pause" of faith was here made;--an error found or implied, -as our author observes, "in almost every book of the New Testament; in -the discourses of our Lord himself, as well as in the Acts of the -Apostles; in the Epistles of St. Paul, no less than in the Book of the -Revelation." Mr. Jowett does not evade the difficulty. In an admirable -essay on this special subject, he frankly states the facts, traces -their influence on the early Church, accepts them as among the limits -which human conditions impose on Divine revelation, and shows from -them, how, even in God's highest teachings, he leaves much truth to be -drawn forth from time and experience. - -"It is a subject," he says, "from which the interpreter of Scripture -would gladly turn aside. For it seems as if he were compelled to say -at the outset, 'that St. Paul was mistaken, and that in support of his -mistake he could appeal to the words of Christ himself.' Nothing can -be plainer than the meaning of those words, and yet they seem to be -contradicted by the very fact, that, after eighteen centuries, the -world is as it was. In the words which are attributed, in the Epistle -of St. Peter, to the unbelievers of that day, we might truly say that, -since the fathers have fallen asleep, all things remain the same from -the beginning. Not only do 'all things remain the same,' but the very -belief itself (in the sense in which it was held by the first -Christians) has been ready to vanish away."--Vol. I. p. 96. - -It is the infirmity of human nature--an infirmity irremovable by -inspiration--to translate eternal truth into forms of time, to throw -color into the invisible till it can be seen, and look into any given -infinity till finite shapes appear within it, and it is felt as infinite -no more. The soul tries, as it were, every apparent path, from spiritual -apprehension to scientific knowledge, from deep insight to clear -foresight, from perception of what God _is_ to vaticination of what he -_does_; and abides alone with the Holy Presence, that will not tell His -counsels, but is ever there himself. From the world of Divine reality -into that of transient phenomena, there is no bridge found as yet; and -only He, whose footsteps need no ground, can pass across. We know -somewhat on both sides; but the chasm between vindicates its perpetuity -against all invasion. _Vision_ for faith; _prevision_ for science:--this -seems to be the inviolable allotment of gifts by the Father of lights. -And whoever overlooks this rule, and, inspired with discernment of what -absolutely is, ventures to pronounce what relatively will be, embodies -his truth in a form whence it must again be disengaged. The deepest -spiritual insight is ineffectual to teach _past_ history; it is equally -so to teach _future_ history. The moment you lose sight of this fact, -and expect the sons of God to _predict_ for you, you confound -inspiration with divination, and will pay the double penalty of missing -the truth they have, and being disappointed at that which they have not. -It is not always much otherwise with themselves; the light which they -_are_, they do not _see_; and that which shapes itself before them, and -becomes the _object_ of their minds, is but the shadow of human things, -deepened and sharpened, perhaps also misplaced, by the preternatural -intensity. By its very inwardness and closeness to the soul's centre, -God's Spirit may express itself chiefly in the unconscious attitudes and -manifestations of the mind; especially as it is these that often leave -the most ineffaceable impressions of character upon others, and may, -therefore, be the vehicle of a more life-giving power than any purposed -teaching or more conscious authority. The disappointment of an avowed -prediction, or the error of an elaborated doctrine, no more affects the -Divine inspiration at the heart of Christianity, than the -miscalculations and failure of the Crusades disprove their Providential -function in the historical education of mankind. Mr. Jowett takes up the -question from another side, and shows how the faith in a future life, -though not directly _given_, necessarily disengaged itself in the end -from the expectation of the coming of Christ. - -"We naturally ask, why a future life, as distinct from this, was not -made a part of the first preaching of the Gospel?--why, in other -words, the faith of the first Christians did not exactly coincide with -our own? There are many ways in which the answer to this question may -be expressed. The philosopher will say, that the difference in the -mode of thought of that age and our own rendered it impossible, -humanly speaking, that the veil of sense should be altogether removed. -The theologian will admit that Providence does not teach men that -which they can teach themselves. While there are lessons which it -immediately communicates, there is much which it leaves to be drawn -forth by time and events. Experience may often enlarge faith; it may -also correct it. No one can doubt that the faith and practice of the -early Church, respecting the admission of the Gentiles, were greatly -altered by the fact that the Gentiles themselves flocked in; 'the -kingdom of heaven suffered violence, and the violent took it by -force.' In like manner, the faith respecting the coming of Christ was -modified by the continuance of the world itself. Common sense suggests -that those who were in the first ecstasy of conversion, and those who -after the lapse of years saw the world unchanged and the fabric of -the Church on earth rising around them, could not regard the day of -the Lord with the same feeling. While to the one it seemed near and -present, at any moment ready to burst forth, to the other it was a -long way off, separated by time, and as it were by place, a world -beyond the stars, yet, strangely enough, also having its dwelling in -the heart of man, as it were the atmosphere in which he lived, the -mental world by which he was surrounded. Not at once, but gradually, -did the cloud clear up, and the one mode of faith take the place of -the other. Apart from the prophets, though then beyond them, springing -up in a new and living way in the soul of man, corrected by long -experience, as the 'fathers one by one fell asleep,' as the hopes of -the Jewish race declined, as ecstatic gifts ceased, as a regular -hierarchy was established in the Church, the belief in the coming of -Christ was transformed from being outward to becoming inward, from -being national to becoming individual and universal,--from being -Jewish to becoming Christian."--Vol. I. p. 99. - -With the Apostle Paul, however, the "coming of Christ" occupies the -place of our "future life"; the _living_ mass of disciples, waiting -till then for the "redemption of their bodies," fill the foreground -and largest space in the scene; the rising of the dead is the -subsidiary fact, needful to the completeness of the gift of life in -Christ. On this crisis, supposed to be so near, his eye was -exclusively fixed whenever he spoke of the Christian's "salvation"; -and could he have been told that no such crisis would come, that, for -fifty generations, the present order of the world would vindicate its -stability, we cannot imagine what shape his faith would have assumed; -whether he would have made light of all these centuries, said that -with the Eternal "a thousand years are but as one day," and still -opposed to one another the [Greek: aion outos] and the [Greek: aion -mellon]; or whether he would have found that the distinction was -evanescent, and the kingdom of God was to be not sent hither, but to -be created here; or how, in either case, he would have represented to -himself the state of the innumerable dead. These are questions which -did not arise for him; and it were vain to conjecture his solution. He -is engaged with other problems;--all, indeed, having reference to that -never doubted crisis, and arising out of its manifold relations, yet -so treated by him as to detach them unawares from their origin, and -give them a permanent place in the religious consciousness of men. -_Who_ were to be the subjects of that salvation? How were they -_qualified_? By what act of God's, and what temper of their own, to -reach the blessing? What present _assurance_ had they of this -approaching good? It is in dealing with these questions that St. Paul -darts from his objective theology into the deepest recesses of human -experience, and fetches into expression spiritual truths that -transcend their incidental occasion, and will remain valid while there -is a soul in man. - -In the Apostle's habit of thought there is a certain antique _realism_ -which renders many of his doctrines and reasonings almost -unpresentable before a modern imagination. With our sharp notions of -personality, of the entire insulation of each mind as an individual -entity, of the antithesis of inner self to the outer everything, we -are quite out of St. Paul's latitude, and shall be perpetually taking -for figures and personification what had a literal earnestness for -him. The universe is with him full of Agents that for us are only -Attributes,--the theatre of certain _real_ principles (_i. e._ -principles having existence independent of us), that carry out their -tendencies and history among themselves, and upon and through -individual men, as organs or media of their activity. Thus, _Sin_ is -neither the mere voluntary unfaithfulness of the transgressor, nor the -person of the tempter; but _both_ of these; and that not apart from -one another or alternately, but blended together under the conception -of a universal element of evil, having its objective focus in Satan -and its subjective manifestation in man. In like manner its opposite, -_Righteousness_ (Justification), is not exclusively human rectitude, -or the Divine justice, or _quasi_-goodness substituted for genuine; -but less ethical than the first, less forensic than the last, and -more ontological than either; that element, we may say, in the -essence of God which sets man at one with Him, and is the common -ground of their harmonious relation. Around these two contrasted -principles, others, equally conceived as real elements, and -misunderstood as mere attributes or phenomena, group themselves on -either side. With the former is _Death_,--the pair being _gemini_, not -simply joined by decree of God in time, but inseparable _in rerum -natura_, co-ordinates by physical necessity; and _Flesh_, the material -or medium that furnishes the endowments of sense, and instinct, and -the natural will, and affords to Sin its seat and hold upon us; and -_Law_, the discriminating light that parts the mixture of good and -evil, and, on entering into us, brings the slumbering evil into the -conscious state, and so makes it sin relatively to us, and -simultaneously shows us the good without adding to the force for -producing it. With the latter--Righteousness--are enjoined _Life_, the -positive opposite of Death, and, like it, a function of the moral as -well as the natural constitution, the immortal energy inherent in -sinless being; and _Spirit_, the absolute essence of God, present as -the vivifying source of whatever transcends nature,--a faint -susceptibility, felt only to be overmastered, in the sons of Adam,--a -conquering power, coalescing with the personality itself, in Christ -and his disciples,--and a spontaneous flow of higher life seizing on -converted men as organs of its charismata; and _Faith_,--the opposite -of Law,--the passing out of ourselves to embrace unseen relations, to -make conscious appropriation of the Spirit, and thus enter into union -with Christ and God. Even this most subjective of all the great -principles of the Apostle's theology, is more than a mere private and -personal act. As common to all the disciples,--the simultaneous gaze -that connects them as a whole with Christ,--its single threads pass -out and become a converging web. As something other than the act (of -obedience) which men were under bond to render, it is a new institute -of God, and, relatively to them, reads itself off as _Grace_. As -opposed to Law, in which there is a delivery of the Divine will _into_ -men, it involves a _drawing_ by Divine love of an affection _out of_ -men. And under all these aspects it acquires something of that -indeterminate character, subjective and objective at once, which the -associated elements possess in a much higher degree. The same mode of -thought is traceable in another form. The Apostle exhibits the -providential scheme of the human race by distributing them into two -successive _gentes_,--the earthy or natural, the heavenly or -spiritual; and lays down all the predicates of each direct from the -personal history of their respective heads, Adam and Christ. Whatever -is true of the founder is considered as known of the followers; the -phenomena of his being spread themselves inclusively to theirs. He is -regarded, not simply as a representative individual, while they are -the represented individuals; but as a _type_ of being within which -they are contained, and which in its history and vicissitudes carries -them hither and thither. Condemnation and redemption take place by -_Kinds_, and fall on particular persons in virtue of their partaking -of these kinds. Settle the attributes of the species, as found in its -archetype, and you know what to say of individuals. It is not -difficult to understand this way of thinking so long as the Apostle -applies it, as a naturalist might, to the _Adamic gens_; and argues, -that, being made of earthy materials ([Greek: choikoi]), and having -the focus of personality in [Greek: sarx], with no adequate -counterpoise of [Greek: pneuma], it is the seat of sin and death. But -it is less easy to follow the Apostle's meaning when he similarly -identifies Christians with Christ, and transfers, or rather extends, -to them all the great characteristics of his existence. They are -crucified to the world. They are "all _dead_" with him; they are -"buried with him" in baptism; they are "risen with him"; their "life -is hid with him in God." And while this is true of _living_ disciples, -he is no less "the first-fruits of them that sleep"; his resurrection -is but the first pulsation of an act that next proceeds to theirs, and -then completes the transformation of the living. All this is meant for -more than rhetorical analogy. With Christ, and in Christ, took place a -re-constitution of humanity. Of the new man, he was the ideal and -archetype; inverting the proportions of [Greek: sarx] and [Greek: -pneuma], and having his essence and personality in the latter, so as -to render sin an unrealized possibility and death a transitory -accident. The spirit in him which evinced its life-giving power in -raising him from the dead, is no more limited to his individuality, -than flesh and blood were the attributes of Adam only. It spreads to -the whole family of souls, springing up into his kindred; it flows -into them as they look up to him in faith, and are reborn to him; it -repeats in them the fruits it produced in him,--the sacrifice of -self,--the dying away of passion and pride,--the heavenly love that -darts upon the wing whither the bleeding feet of conscience fail to -climb,--together with many "a gift less excellent," of healing and of -tongues. The consciousness of this new heart, set free with Divine -affections, is immediate evidence of their union with Christ, of the -Real Presence of his Spirit within them, of their substantive -incorporation into his essence, and therefore of a restored harmony -and even oneness with God. To what extent the Apostle conceived that -this transformation of nature, by partnership in the properties of the -heavenly Christ, might be carried in the living disciple, it is not -possible to say. It amounted to "a new creation"; and among the "old -things" that had already "passed away," he probably included more than -the moral habits and feelings of the unconverted state; and conceived -that the same spirit by which these died out was purifying also the -bodily organism of the believer, and leavening it with antiseptic -preparation for its final investiture with immortality. That last -"change," like the resurrection itself, is not regarded as an external -miracle, suddenly forced on an uncongenial material by mere -Almightiness; but as the last and crowning stage of an internal -development, whose principle had long been active,--the emergence from -all entanglement with "flesh and blood" of that spiritual element -which in Jesus "could not be holden of death," and which, dwelling in -his disciples, already deadened and damped the vitality of the [Greek: -sarx], and would at last quicken the [Greek: soma] with imperishable -life. Thus it is that "Christ" is not to St. Paul an historical -individual, but a generic nature,--the archetype of a spiritual -species, sharing his attributes and repeating his experience. - -Cleared as a stage for these contending principles, the universe -witnesses their co-existence and antagonism from the beginning to the -end of time. - -The great drama has two main acts, and the cross of Christ divides them. - -The first is a descending period, accumulating the force of evil to a -pitch of frightful triumph. The second is an ascending period, at -whose goal the last enemy is gone. - -In the opening scene of the first, extending from Adam to Moses, both -Flesh and Spirit were there; not yet, however, in conflict; but the -latter sleeping as a mere susceptibility, and the former having its own -way in the instinctive life of man. The state was not one which, had the -comparison been made, would have accorded with the Divine will. It was -therefore really, though unconsciously, a reign of Sin, as was proved by -the presence of Sin's inseparable sign,--the generations _died_. - -The next scene was marked by the introduction of _Law_. The effects -were, to bring into full consciousness the sin before unmarked, and so -make it exceedingly sinful; to set man at variance with himself by -giving him discernment, and quickening his longing and his fear, -without any new spring of force; and actually to multiply -transgressions by enumerating and suggesting them. - -Hence, at the close of the period, an utter rotting away of human -society, and a confirmed moral incapacity of the widest sweep. The -spontaneous law of nature and the written law of Moses being equally -set at naught by Gentile and by Jew, any promises God might have given -fell through, from human breach of the conditions. This was the moment -seized for instituting a new creation; the promised Messiah of the -Jews being the vehicle of its accomplishment, and the link of -connection between the old and the new. - -All the Messianic conditions were _fulfilled_,--the right tribe, the -right family, the right personal marks and characteristics. But they -were also _transcended_. Along with the human infirmities and -liabilities was present, in this archetype of a new race, the Spirit -in such full measure as to constitute his proper self, or at least win -that centre by complete victory over nature and temptation and -surrender of all he had and was to a Divine Love. As he had baffled -and held off Sin, Death had so far no business with him. Yet what was -to be done? for there were conflicting claims upon him. Sinless in -himself, he was of a sin-doomed type, the _likeness_ of sinful flesh -([Greek: homoioma sarkos hamartias]), and therefore liable to the -incidents of such a race. This was at least his property by nature. At -the same time, he was internally and essentially of the opposite type; -the image of God ([Greek: eikon tou Theou]), and so, foreign to the -mortal fate, at once imperishable and life-giving. In the person of -this double nature, the contest between the antagonists must come to -an issue; and while _both_ gain their due, it is the last triumph of -evil, the first opening of eternal good. Sin, recognizing in his -suffering and mortal frame its own physical counterpart and shadow, -strikes him with death, exerting for that end its own "strength" and -instrument, "the Law." But in thus carrying its course upon the -guiltless, it overreached and spent itself; and the Law, lending -itself to such an act, fell into self-contradiction, and disappeared -in suicide. He died, therefore, in virtue of what was really foreign -to him, as _representative_ of a Sin which was not his, but which yet -involved him, as human, in sorrow and mortality. But no sooner had -this happened, than his "Righteousness" vindicated its power. He came -out of death, which _could not keep_ one so holy; and now, escaped -from nationality, and placed aloft as the ideal of the new humanity, -his vivifying spirit penetrates the heart of men below, and, taking -them on the side of faith and love instead of will, kindles a divine -fire that burns up the dead elements of the "old man," and wraps the -"heavenly places" and the earthly in a common blaze. By spiritual -affiliation with him, his disciples enter the essence of all holy and -immortal natures. And so it comes to pass, that, through the incidence -of sorrow and death in the wrong place, an objective power of -"righteousness" is set free, that reconciles mankind with God, and -restores them to sanctity and life. The past and the future of -humanity were concentrated, just at the turning point between them, in -one person; the natural element, bearing the burden of the past, -perished and fell away; the spiritual and divine principle, containing -the germ of the future, asserted its inextinguishable life; and from -heaven evinced its self-multiplying power, making him only "the -first-born of many brethren." - -Thus was the second act initiated, which also presented two successive -scenes. During the first, the Christ was still in heaven; and his -Spirit on earth, having the community of disciples for its organ or -"body," stood in presence still of the opposing powers. In the world, -it encroached upon the province of evil continually, and reclaimed a -citadel here and there. In the Church, if it infused as yet no -_perfect_ grace, it left its "earnest" everywhere;--ecstatic gifts and -mystic insights; hearts set free from pride and scorn, and brought to -the meekness and gentleness of Christ; the self-seeking will -surrendered; the anxious conscience led to trust; the tangles of -thought smoothed out by a wisdom not its own; and outward distinctions -reduced to naught by faith, and hope, and charity. Nevertheless, Satan -disturbed the [Greek: kosmos] still; and even the children of the -Spirit were but prisoners yet, and felt the tent of nature but a poor -abode. They had yet to wait for their full adoption; when the -tabernacle in which they groaned being dissolved, they should be -invested with an unwasting frame. - -This was reserved for the final scene, the coming and the reign of -Christ. At this culminating crisis, the antagonism which in Adam was as -yet unfelt from the ascendency of nature, was to die out and cease on -the absolute triumph of the Spirit. Physically, death was to disappear; -the departed being finally reinstated in life, and the living "clothed -upon" with their new garment ere yet they were stripped of the old. -Morally, the remnant of inner strife and temptation, that even the faith -of saints might leave unappeased, would pass away, aspiration be -harmonized with achieving power, and in conscious presence of the -objects of deepest affection and reverence the sighs of separation would -cease. As soon as resistance was over, and there was nothing to subdue, -the separate function of God's redeeming and sanctifying Spirit would -find no work; "the kingdom would be resigned to the Father"; "the Son -would be subject"; and "the Trinity would cease." - -Whether the Apostle's vision of trust was really of universal success, -and included even those who should still be found astray at last, is a -question difficult of direct determination; but not very doubtful when -tried by the general scope of his doctrine. Mr. Jowett's judgment, -given in the following passage, truly seizes, we think, the feeling of -St. Paul. The author is commenting on the parallel drawn between Adam -and Christ, especially on the words, "As by one man's transgression -sin entered into the world, and death by sin," and has shown that they -do _not_ teach any imputation of Adam's sin. - -"It is hardly necessary to ask the further question, what meaning we -can attach to the imputation of sin and guilt which are not our own, -and of which we are unconscious. God can never see us other than we -really are, or judge us without reference to all our circumstances and -antecedents. If we can hardly suppose that he would allow a fiction of -mercy to be interposed between ourselves and him, still less can we -imagine that he would interpose a fiction of vengeance. If he requires -holiness before he will save, much more, may we say in the Apostle's -form of speech, will he require sin before he dooms us to perdition. -Nor can anything be in spirit more contrary to the living -consciousness of sin of which the Apostle everywhere speaks, than the -conception of sin as dead, unconscious evil, originating in the act of -an individual man, in the world before the flood. - -"On the whole, then, we are led to infer that in the Augustinian -interpretation of this passage, even if it agree with the letter of -the text, too little regard has been paid to the extent to which St. -Paul uses figurative language, and to the manner of his age in -interpretations of the Old Testament. The difficulty of supposing him -to be allegorizing the narrative of Genesis is slight, in comparison -with the difficulty of supposing him to countenance a doctrine at -variance with our first notions of the moral nature of God. - -"But when the figure is dropped, and allowance is made for the manner -of the age, the question once more returns upon us,--'What is the -Apostle's meaning?' He is arguing, we see, [Greek: kat anthropon], and -taking his stand on the received opinions of his time. Do we imagine -that his object is no other than to set the seal of his authority on -these traditional beliefs? The whole analogy, not merely of the -writings of St. Paul, but of the entire New Testament, would lead us -to suppose that his object was not to reassert them, but to teach, -through them, a new and nobler lesson. The Jewish Rabbis would have -spoken of the first and second Adam; but which of them would have made -the application of the figure to all mankind? A figure of speech it -remains still, an allegory after the manner of that age and country, -but yet with no uncertain or ambiguous interpretation. It means that -'God hath made of one blood all the nations of the earth'; that 'he -hath concluded all under sin, that he may have mercy upon all'; that -life answers to death, the times before to the times after the -revelation of Jesus Christ. It means that we are one in a common -sinful nature, which, even if it be not derived from the sin of Adam, -exists as really as if it were. It means that we shall be made one in -Christ by the grace of God, in a measure here, more fully and -perfectly in another world. More than this it also means, and more -than language can express, but not the weak and beggarly elements of -Rabbinical tradition. We may not encumber St. Paul with the things -which he 'destroyed.' What it means further is not to be attained by -theological distinctions, but by putting off the old man and putting -on the new man."--Vol. II. p. 166. - -On surveying the picture of time and the history of humanity that lay -beneath St. Paul's eye, the question naturally arises, What is its -significance and value for us? Manifestly not those of an absolute guide -through the labyrinthine depths of the Divine counsels. "We can scarcely -imagine what would have been the feeling of St. Paul, could he have -foreseen that later ages would look not to the faith of Abraham in the -Law, but to the Epistle to the Romans, as the highest authority on the -doctrine of justification by faith; or, that they would have regarded -the allegory of Hagar and Sarah, in the Galatians, as a difficulty to be -resolved by the inspiration of the Apostle."[67] We cannot say of him -less than Mr. Jowett says of a greater than Paul, that in many places -"his teaching is on a level with the modes of thought of his age." (I. -97.) The ultimate point towards which all the lines of his expectations -converged, and all the history of the past appeared to gaze, we know to -have had no existence where he placed it; and as the whole scheme was -laid out to lead up to this, it might seem to disappear as the fabric of -a dream. Yet it is not so; and the very fear implies that we look in the -wrong place for the permanent amid the evanescent in the Gospel. -Religion--revealed or unrevealed--is no production of the systematizing -intellect,--inspired or uninspired. The workings of constructive thought -follow, not lead it. Their function is not creative, but simply -adaptive;--to find a settlement and orderly method of being and growing -for some new principle of divine life, or for some old principle in an -altered scene; to ward off from it uncongenial elements, remove dead -matter that chokes it, and surround it with conditions whence it may -weave its organism around it and send deep roots into the mellowed soil -of humanity. Divine truth is the coming of God to man, pathless and -traceless: theologic thought is the retrogressive search of man after -God, not by "_His_ ways which are past finding out," and invisible as -night, but necessarily by such tracks as the age has opened and another -age may close or change. - -The manifestation of supernatural realities to the human soul involves -so much which is mysterious and unique, that only under great -qualification can we compare it with the known mental processes. But -were we to conceive of it less by the analogy of scientific discovery, -and more by that of artistic apprehension, many an embarrassment would -be saved. In a work of high art, you give a Phidias or a Raffaelle -_his subject_; he necessarily takes it from that which stirs the heart -of his time, and has a solemnity for his own and you do not find fault -that there is mythology in the group, or Mariolatry in the picture. -Through the conceptions of one time there speaks a feeling for all; -and the representation may be immortal, when the thing represented has -long been historical. Nor is it that it only reflects honor on its -author's name. It springs from an inner harmony with the very heart of -things, and it gives a new expressiveness to life and nature, and -leaves behind a self-luminous spot in the world, where there was -"gross darkness" before. Hence it looks into the eyes, and finds the -soul of one generation after another; and, amid the change of -materials and the succession of schools, keeps alive the very sense by -which alone "materials" can be wielded and "schools" exist. With just -the same result do the accidental and temporary media fall away from -early Christianity; disengaging a residuary spirit that takes up the -life of all times, touches a consciousness else unreached, and -breathes upon the face of things, till the meanings writ there with -invisible ink come into clearness before the eye. If it pleases God, -instead of spreading at our feet the things to be seen, rather to -quicken our vision till we see them where they are, it is revelation -all the same, only deeper and more various; not an incident of -position, but a power that can migrate in place and time, and read the -Providential perspective everywhere. This profounder insight into -divine relations it has been the especial office of St. Paul to -awaken; and none the less that the flashes by which he gives it are -incidental, and do not proceed from the Rabbinic lamp which he holds -up to his apocalyptic pictures. Indeed, it is he, in great measure, -that has carried Christendom into regions other than his own. His -thought is everywhere penetrated with an intense heat, leavened with -lightning, that fuses the mass containing it, and runs off alive for -other media to hold it. The revelation to him of Christ in heaven set -in action all the resources of his nature, and gave them a -preternatural tension. The sentiments which found satisfaction, the -intimations which came into expression, in his form of doctrine, are -now for ever _human_, fixed in the self-knowledge of men by his -faithful words, and sure to transmigrate into other forms, when their -first embodiment will hold them no more. And so much is the Apostle's -later exposition of his hope divested of what is special to himself, -that to all ages since it has struck upon the ear of mourners along -with the very toll of the funeral bell; and though often indistinct to -their mind, it has jarred with no falsehood on their heart, but -sounded like an anthem in the dark,--great music and dim words. It -needed only time and events to transmute the doctrine into that of a -future life. For it included--in order to meet the case of those who -had "fallen asleep"--the conception of a path, through death before -the time, "to depart and be with Christ"; only that this was the minor -provision, the by-path of the early few. Reopened, however, as it -always was when a disciple passed away, it became an evermore familiar -track; and experience had but to negative the opposite direction by -leaving it untraced, in order that the upward track should become the -_via sacra_ of human faith. And can any one doubt what the -justification by faith means, when construed into the language of -universal experience? It means that God wants more from us, and also -less, than the anxious will can do; more, because he wants ourselves; -less, because he does not want our niceties of work. It means that we -are called to spiritual heights we strive in vain to climb; that the -most patient feet, step after step upon the ground, will but stand -upon the earthly mountains after all; and it is the fiery chariot of -love and trust that must bear us into heaven. It means that there is -an affectionateness in God that looks to what we are, rather than what -we do, and more readily speaks to us of communion than of obedience. -True, this is but another way of saying what our religion elsewhere -more ethically expresses, that God requires our perfect service, and -yet has forgiveness for what is imperfect. But this statement, though -it means also that heaven is open to the pure, intent, and single -heart, touches a spring less deep and strong. It divides the integral -and living fact, even in regard to God, by describing it as a demand -of the whole, and then a subtraction of a part; and so exhibiting it -rather as a dissolution of justice, than as truth and wholeness of -love. And the Pauline doctrine appeals with far more immediate power -to human consciousness, especially to that third of mankind whom a -fervid enthusiastic mind renders little accessible to the cold -solemnities of duty. And, finally, if we are insensible to the -grandeur of St. Paul's teaching as to the universality of the Gospel, -it is not more because it is entangled with the question of Jew and -Gentile, than because the sentiment has become the common atmosphere -of Christendom, and we feel not its freshness, because it blows not on -us as a breeze, but _only_ as our breath of life. Let Mr. Jowett -remove from us the spell of our indifference. - -"Let us turn aside for a moment to consider how great this thought was -in that age and country; a thought which the wisest of men had never -before uttered, which even at the present hour we imperfectly realize, -which is still leavening the world, and shall do so until the whole is -leavened, and the differences of races, of nations, of castes, of -religions, of languages, are fully done away. Nothing could seem a -less natural or obvious lesson in the then state of the world; nothing -could be more at variance with experience, or more difficult to carry -out into practice. Even to us it is hard to imagine that the islander -of the South Seas, the pariah of India, the African in his worst -estate, is equally with ourselves God's creature. But in the age of -St. Paul, how great must have been the difficulty of conceiving -barbarian and Scythian, bond and free,--all colors, forms, races, and -languages,--alike and equal in the presence of God who made them! The -origin of the human race was veiled in a deeper mystery to the ancient -world, and the lines which separated mankind were harder and stronger; -yet the 'love of Christ constraining' bound together in its cords -those most separated by time or distance; those who were the types of -the most extreme differences of which the human race is capable. - -"The thought of this brotherhood of all mankind, the great family on -earth, not only implies that all men have certain rights and claims at -our hands; it is also a thought of peace and comfort. First, it leads -us to rest in God, not as selecting us because he had a favor unto us, -but as infinitely just to all mankind. To think of ourselves, or our -Church, or our age, as the particular exceptions of his mercy, is not -a thought of comfort, but of perplexity. Secondly, it links our -fortunes with those of men in general, and gives us the same support -in reference to our eternal destiny, that we receive from each other -in a narrow sphere in the concerns of daily life. Thirdly, it relieves -us from all anxiety about the condition of other men, of friends -departed, of those ignorant of the Gospel, of those of a different -form of faith from our own, knowing that God, who has thus far lifted -up the veil, 'will justify the circumcision through faith, and the -uncircumcision by faith'; the Jew who fulfils the law, and the Gentile -who does by nature the things contained in the law."--Vol. II. p. 126. - -What the doctrine of universality in the Divine government was to that -age,--as new and transporting,--is in our own "the clear perception of -the moral nature of God, and of his infinite truth and justice." This -is one of the many deep sayings, sad and wise, quietly dropped by our -author in a series of disquisitions, that show, among other things, -how well he understands its scope. Everywhere his care is to disengage -Christianity from the theological conceptions fastened on it by a -coarser age; and, having restored the purity of its moral vision, to -enlarge its horizon to the whole extent of modern knowledge and -experience. Penetrating beneath the figures natural to St. Paul, the -very changes of which show them to _be_ figures, he finds that nothing -can be more abhorrent from the Apostle's thought than the doctrine of -"satisfaction," which is hunted down, in every form, with exhaustive -and indignant logic; that even the analogy of sacrifice "rather shows -us what the death of Christ was not, than what it was"; and that to -draw us into union with Christ, to fix our eye on his pure -self-renunciation as "the greatest moral act ever done in this world," -to keep us in a mood that harmonizes our trust in God with our -distrust of ourselves, and to suggest more than it can explain of hope -and peace to a reconciled world, are the real functions, as of his -death, so of all the stages of his existence. This pure type of faith -emerges, we venture to affirm, without straining the rights of the -interpreter. The rest and freedom it gives to the mind is singularly -evident in the fine essay on Natural Religion. The author sets forth -from the Christian centre, and, consciously marking where he passes -the boundary of the apostolic view, surveys and brings to its -religious place the whole outlying realm of nature, history, and life, -that was unknown to Scripture, but is fact to us. The great Gentile -religions, now discriminated and interpreted, and ascertained to -follow certain laws of development; the breadth in philosophies, purer -and brighter as history passed on; the Natural Religion, which is the -counterpart of these in Christian times, and holds its place by the -side of revelation; and the ordinary state of character in morally -good but unspiritual persons, (state of "nature" rather than of -"grace,")--are reviewed and estimated with a breadth of observation -and a delicacy of reflection singularly impressive. Indeed, the -literature of religious philosophy affords few nobler productions than -this essay. With how true a hand and bright a touch is the following -picture drawn! We will but hang it up in our reader's imagination, and -leave him to commune with it alone. - -"It is impossible not to observe that innumerable persons,--may we not -say the majority of mankind?--who have a belief in God and immortality, -have nevertheless hardly any consciousness of the peculiar doctrines of -the Gospel. They seem to live aloof from them in the routine of business -or of pleasure, 'the common life of all men,' not without a sense of -right, and a rule of truth and honesty, yet insensible to what our -Saviour meant by taking up the cross and following him, or what St. Paul -meant by 'being one with Christ.' They die without any great fear or -lively hope; to the last more interested about the least concerns of -this world than about the greatest of another. They have never in their -whole lives experienced the love of God, or the sense of sin, or the -need of forgiveness. Often they are remarkable for the purity of their -morals; many of them have strong and disinterested attachments, and -quick human sympathies; sometimes a stoical feeling of uprightness, or a -peculiar sensitiveness to dishonor. It would be a mistake to say they -are without religion. They join in its public acts; they are offended at -profaneness or impiety; they are thankful for the blessings of life, and -do not rebel against its misfortunes. Such men meet us at every turn. -They are those whom we know and associate with; honest in their -dealings, respectable in their lives, decent in their conversation. The -Scripture speaks to us of two classes, represented by the Church and the -world, the wheat and the tares, the sheep and the goats, the friends and -enemies of God. We cannot say in which of the two divisions we should -find a place for them. - -"The picture is a true one, and, if we change the light by which we -look at it, may be a resemblance of ourselves no less than of other -men. Others will include most of us in the same circle in which we are -including them. What shall we say to such a state, common as it is to -both us and them? The fact that we are considering is not the evil of -the world, but the neutrality of the world, the indifference of the -world, the inertness of the world. There are multitudes of men and -women everywhere who have no peculiarly Christian feelings, to whom, -except for the indirect influence of Christian institutions, the fact -that Christ died on the cross for their sins has made no difference; -and who have, nevertheless, the common sense of truth and right almost -equally with true Christians. You cannot say of them, 'There is none -that doeth good; no, not one.' The other tone of St. Paul is more -suitable: 'When the Gentiles that know not the law do by nature the -things contained in the law, these not knowing the law are a law unto -themselves.' So of what we commonly term the world, as opposed to -those who make a profession of Christianity, we must not shrink from -saying, 'When men of the world do by nature whatsoever things are -honest, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good -report, these, not being conscious of the grace of God, do by nature -what can only be done by his grace.' Why should we make them out worse -than they are? We must cease to speak evil of them ere they will judge -fairly of the characters of religious men. That, with so little -recognition of His personal relation to them, God has not cast them -off, is a ground of hope rather than of fear,--of thankfulness, not of -regret."--Vol. II. p. 416. - -FOOTNOTES: - -[58] Acts xviii. 24; xix. 7. - -[59] Acts vii. 44-49. - -[60] Acts viii. 1. - -[61] See especially the Notes on Paley's Horae Paulinae, Vol. I. pp. -349, 252. We subjoin in this connection a just and striking remark of -Mr. Jowett's. In inquiries of this sort, it is often supposed that, if -the evidence of the genuineness of a single book of Scripture be -weakened, or the credit of a single chapter shaken, a deep and -irreparable injury is inflicted on Christian truth, and may afford a -rest to the mind to consider that, if but one discourse of Christ, one -Epistle of Paul, had come down to us, still more than half would have -been preserved. Coleridge has remarked, that out of a single play of -Shakespeare the whole of English literature might be restored. Much -more true is it that in short portions or single verses of Scripture -the whole spirit of Christianity is contained. Vol. I. p. 352. - -[62] Was it in reference to this mere _family-title_ to a _spiritual_ -authority that Paul says of the Jerusalem Apostles, "Whatever they -were, it maketh no matter to me; God accepteth _no man's person_"? -(Gal. iii. 6.) - -[63] Ap. Euseb. Hist. Eccles. II. 23. - -[64] In proof of an essential unity of teaching, Mr. Jowett quotes -Paul as declaring that what they preached against him was "_not -another_" gospel, "for there was not, could not, be another." (I. -340.) But far from bearing this conciliatory turn, which is out of -character with the whole context, Gal. i. 6 affirms that what his -opponents have been preaching _is_ (1.) another gospel; and yet (2.) -_not_ another gospel, (not so good even as that,) but mere disturbance -and perversion, the negation of a gospel. - -[65] Compare also Rom. xiv. 10; Phil. i. 6; 2 Tim. iv. 1. Nay, the -very passage in which he renounces the "knowing of Christ according to -the flesh," contains the doctrine (2 Cor. v. 10). - -[66] With a curious inconsistency Mr. Stanley fixes _at the Apostle's -conversion_ the date after which he would no longer "know Christ -according to the flesh"; yet in the very next note declares, that this -state of mind must be referred to a more recent period than the -conversion. - -"[Greek: apo tou nun], from _the time of my conversion_." It is to be -presumed that this is also Mr. Stanley's interpretation of the [Greek: -nun ouketi] of the next clause, which only repeats specifically of -"Christ" what has just been said universally. - -"[Greek: ei kai egnokamen kata sarka christon], even though I have -known; granting that I have known." [Greek: ginoskomen], i. e. [Greek: -kata sarka], "henceforth we know him no longer.... The words lead us -to infer that something of this kind had once been [prior, surely, to -the "_henceforth_"] his own state of mind, _not only_ in the time -before his conversion, ... _but since_!" - -How then can the "_henceforth_" serve as the _terminus a quo_, if the -same state lies on both sides of it? - -[67] Jowett, II. 142. - - - - -SIN: WHAT IT IS, WHAT IT IS NOT. - - "Now the end of the commandment is Charity, out of a pure heart, and - of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."--1 Timothy i. 5. - - -The Apostle gives us here a very simple formula of Christian perfection. -He was not fond of long lists of the virtues, such as the moral -philosophers draw up; and though he does sometimes pass through a -series, it is with a peculiar result. Look at any book upon human -ethics, and you are astonished at the number of qualities that go to -make up a good man: the ramifications of duty seem never to terminate: -you scarcely know how a soul like ours can hold so much: the further the -author proceeds in his enumeration, the less does he seem able to -stop,--his divisions breaking into subdivisions, and the subdivisions -opening new varieties,--till life appears to pulverize itself under his -definitions, and become an infinite complexity of moral detail. St. -Paul's enumerations, on the contrary, instead of running down into -multitude, run up into unity; each term is apt to be larger than its -predecessor; he seems impatient of scattering his exhortations, as if -each had a business of its own, and rather forces them as he proceeds -into denser compression, till he flings out some term of power that -holds them all. The graces with him do not present themselves apart, -like garden plants that may be tended and watered one by one; but all on -the same organism, as the leaves and the blossoms of a single shrub. He -felt that in reality the virtues do not add themselves up and subscribe -to the final result of a holy soul: but the one simple soul lives -itself out into the direction of all the virtues; and there is a certain -mood, a temper, a climate of the soul, which grows everything beautiful -at once, and without which, while one adornment is elaborately nursed, -the rest will be apt to droop and die. This blessed and productive mood, -felt to be _one thing_, ought to have _one name_: and the Apostle calls -it _Charity_ or _Love_; and presents it sometimes as the greatest of -graces, sometimes as the unity of them all. - -But this simple grace is to have a _triple source_. In the midst of the -garden of the Lord the Apostle plants but a solitary tree of life,--his -divine and fruitful Charity. Only it must be nursed by the threefold -root, of which should any part be wanting, the beauty of the form and -the healing of the leaves will soon be gone. "Charity out of a pure -heart,--and a good conscience,--and faith unfeigned." The Heart, the -Conscience, the Faith, must all be right; and it is no Pauline Charity -that is not sustained by concurrence of them all. And, observe _the -order_. In the centre, striking its fibres deepest down into the -substance of our world, is the _Conscience_, the _Moral_ element of -life; and on either side, held to their due balance by its intermediate -power, we find the _Heart_,--the fresh _human affections_,--and the -Faith,--the _heavenly trust and aspirations_,--of our nature. Tenderness -and pity on the one hand, devotion and hope on the other, are to hold on -to the sense of duty in the midst; and there only will a noble and -majestic Love arise, casting no baneful shade upon the earth, and in its -branches giving no shelter but to birds that sing the songs of heaven. A -charity, therefore, that flows _only_ from the genial heart, that looks -with kindly complacency on all things and persons, and with a sort of -animal sympathy licks every sore of humanity that lies at its -gate;--this is not the "end of the commandment";--for it has in it no -moral, no religious element: it condemns nothing; it worships nothing: -its eye neither flashes in rebuke, nor lifts itself in prayer: it is -sensitive to suffering, not to sin: and, if it can but wipe out pain, -will do it even upon guilty terms, and charm away a God-sent remorse as -freely as it would an anguish of the innocent. And, on the other hand, a -charity that flows only from the sincerity of faith, and limits itself -to the fellowship of belief; that feels perhaps _for_ many, but only -_with_ a few; whose warmest sympathies are little else than a -partnership of antipathies; that transfers to the infinite God the -narrowness of its own consecrated circle, reduces the universe to a -temple of orthodoxy, and turns the Heaven of Immortals into the -May-meeting of a sect;--this also misses "the end of the commandment": -for it abuses the true power of religion over life, and flings in the -branch of faith only to embitter, instead of sweeten, the waters of -natural affection; it blinds and bewilders the moral discernment, -overlooks undeniable nobleness, and glorifies not a little meanness; -and, applying its perverted admiration to the past as well as the -present, crowds the statue-gallery of history with ill-favored and -questionable saints, whose features have so grown to the mould and -pressure of a creed, that they look like casts of an abstract theology, -more than emblems of a living humanity. Take away the wisdom of -Conscience; and Charity, surrendered to mere affection, will fail to see -sin where _it is_; or, constricted by Faith, will suppose it where _it -is not_. Both errors will shape themselves into deliberate doctrines, -deviating on either side from the simple creed of our moral nature and -of Christ. Let us look for a few moments at the central truth on this -matter; and then glance from it at the lateral heresies. - -The central truth may be described under the phrase, _The Personal -nature of sin_. In affirming this, I mean both that _each man is a -person, and not a thing_; and that _his sin is his own, and not -another's_. If there is anything within the compass of heaven and earth -which we can be said to know from ourselves, and to have no need that -another should tell us, it is the nature of sin. There is no -arrogance,--there is only sorrowful confession,--in protesting that -_this_ is a matter on which we cannot be mistaken. It is the nearest of -all things to us; the shadow that follows us where we go, and stays -with us when we sit; the clinging presence that penetrates the very -folds of our nature, and is known only from within, where its fibres -strike and draw their nutriment. No external observer, though he have -the divination of a prophet or the glance of an archangel, can add one -iota to our insight into this sad fact, unless by sharpening our -sensibility to feel and interpret it better for ourselves; or by any -testimony, any miracle, take one line away of the handwriting of God -that burns and flashes on the inner walls of the soul. Here at least our -apprehensions are first-hand; and to trust them, to cast out as Satan -what tampers with them or contradicts them, is not scepticism, but -faith,--not infidelity, but faithfulness to the ever-living Word of God. -What the finger of Heaven has written, neither the tapestries of ancient -theology nor the varnish of the newest philosophy can permanently hide; -the light is alive, and will eat through, clearing its everlasting -warning and consuming our perishable work. - -What then does this first and last revelation declare human sin to be? -In the moments when we know it best,--when we cover our face because we -can hide our transgression no more,--when we cannot bear the placid -silence of things, and cry in our agony, "Smite us, O Lord, but tell us -what we have done,"--does He not answer us, "You have abused your trust; -I showed you a better, and you have taken the worse; I drew you by a -secret reverence to the nobler, and you have sunk by inclination to the -baser; I gave you a will in the image of my own, free to realize the -good, and you have yielded yourself captive to the evil; therefore have -you a burden now to bear, that none can lift off,--a burden which you -will feel it more faithful and wholesome to carry than to lose." This is -surely the tone in which the voice of God's Holy Spirit speaks to us -when we have grieved it: and if we believe it not, I know not whither we -should go; it is the highest oracle of truth below the skies, having -authority more positive even than the eye that assures us of the sun -above us, and the feet that tell us of the earth beneath. - -According to this oracle, then, the essence of the sin lies in the -_conscious free choice of the worse in presence of a better no less -possible_. And to make us guilty in its commission three conditions -are required;--(1.) Our mind must be solicited by at least two -competing propensities; (2.) We must be aware that of these one is -worthy and has a claim upon us, and the other not; (3.) It must be -left to us to determine ourselves to either of these, and we must not -be delivered over by foreign causes to the one or to the other. Take -away any of these conditions, and guilt becomes impossible. If the -mind has _not_ the option of two propensities, but is possessed of -only one, that single impulse, being its entire stock and constituting -its only possibility, affords no scope for good or ill, and leaves the -being a mere creature of instinct. Or if, while rival passions -struggle at his heart, he knows no difference among them, or only -this, that some are _pleasanter_ than others, then also he is -blameless, though he takes only what he likes. If, finally, while he -is drawn by conflicting tendencies and taught to regard _some_ as his -temptations, and solemnly set in the midst to choose, the whole -appearance of option turns out a semblance and a pretence, and the -matter is long ago determined outside of him and now only performs the -ceremony of _passing through_ him,--then, as before, he is -irreproachable: the strife within him is the illusion of mimic -passions wrestling for a dreamer's soul; and while the tragic agony -goes on within,--a dance of fiends, a rescue of angels,--he is -stretched all the while sleeping on the bed of nature, and cannot wake -but to find remorse and responsibility a dream. - -Accordingly, whenever we want to make excuse for our wrong-doing, the -false plea takes the form of a denial of one of these conditions. -"Blame me not," we say, "for _I knew of no other_ course"; or, "I did -not _think it signified_ which I did"; or, "I saw it all, but _I could -not help it_." Often the gnawings of self-reproach are felt upon the -heart at the very instant that these excuses escape the lips. But -sometimes they are the suggestions of _sincere_ self-deception, and -proceed from men who are their own dupes; and whenever this is the -case, the sense of responsibility is entirely dissipated; remorse is -extinguished; the confession of guilt is turned into complaint of a -misfortune; and the offender considers himself rather as the injured -of nature than the insurgent against God. These excuses then must be -wholly excluded, if the sanctity of the moral life is to be preserved. -They are the various forms under which the personal nature of sin may -be denied. They all assert that the _person_ either did not contain -within him the requisite conditions, or was hemmed in by natural -preventives, of true obligation. Whoever offers us such pleas is -justly regarded as self-condemned, and indeed as presenting a sadder -spectacle in his defence than in his transgression. Nor are they -improved in their character when they are expanded from excuses of -individuals into doctrines of churches; for they explain away the -essence of sin, and leave us without intelligible faith in anything -holy in heaven or on earth. Thus:-- - -Whoever maintains that the human heart is invariably wicked, and can -think no thought and prompt no act, except such as are odious to God, -mistakes the whole nature of moral obligation, and virtually excludes -it from the entire system of things. Confront this assertion with the -facts of life, and ask what it really means. Do you mean, I would say -to its defender, that, whenever two principles contend for the mastery -in a man's mind, he always abandons himself to the lower?--that no -one, in short, was ever known to resist a temptation? Such a position -is surely too bold for the paradox of cynicism itself, in a world -where there are many in want that do not steal, and in suffering that -do not complain; where a Pericles could administer the revenues of a -state, yet die without having added to his little patrimony; and a -Socrates could live pure amid corruption, and truthful amid lies, and -die the martyr of injustice rather than offend his reverence for law; -where not a school nor a family can be found that has not its annals -and anecdotes of conscience. You allow, therefore, that victors there -have been in many a temptation. Did it make then no difference to the -sentiments of God respecting them whether they were victors or -vanquished? Was it neutral to him whether they nobly held their post, -or basely betrayed it? Then you simply deny the holiness of God; for -you allow the greatest contrasts of character on earth, with no -responsive feeling, no variety of estimate, in heaven; and make our -human discernment, our natural admirations, more susceptible as moral -barometers than the Omniscient Perception. Or will you say that, -although men differ in moral effort, and withstand temptation in -various degrees, and the Infinite Eye sees through the whole history -with unerring exactitude, yet the entire scale of human character lies -below the point of Divine acceptableness, and in the view of perfect -purity is equivalent to mere variety of guilt? Then do you deny again, -only with a change of form, the personal nature of sin; for you try -the soul by the law of _another_ nature, and not her own,--by a law -beyond her ken or beyond her power; and while she is striving to be -faithful to her best thought against the seductions of the worse,--in -which alone the essence of all goodness dwells,--you tell her that her -God despises a conflict so far down, and that "this people that -knoweth not his law," however true to their own, "is cursed." What is -this but to make Moral Excellence something quite different in heaven -and on earth?--not veracity, not justice, not purity of thought, not -self-sacrificing love; nothing that here makes our hearts burn within -us as we look at the dear face of long-tried friends or saintly -strangers, or leaving the Jerusalem of the noisy present pace the -quiet road of history, talking by the way with the saviours of nations -and the prophets of a world;--not this, but some hidden charm that -finds neither place nor answer in our souls; so that the God who loves -it leaves us herein without a point of sympathy with him, or a -possibility of approach. In that case, he is a Being without moral -perfection; for, however you may apply to him a circle of holy -_names_, the things you denote by them are a set of unknown quantities -bearing no relation to our types of thought. Or, finally, do you -allege that the distinctions of character are not entirely different -in heaven and on earth; only that through all their varieties in the -natural man there is interfused a certain invariable taint, an -irremovable tinge of guilt,--a stain of _self_, a thought of _pride_, -a want of _faith_? Even were it so, still, if this be the constant -coloring of the soul, pervading it by nature and not personally -incurred, it is but a sad condition under which it is given us to work -out our problem, and not any unfaithfulness in dealing with it as it -comes: it is an inherent incapacity, which, however unlike the beauty -of God's holiness, he can no more regard with penal disapproval, than -he can hate the deformed or persecute the blind. - -Again, whoever teaches that men are, through and through, the -creatures of circumstance, with no more voice as to their character -than as to their birth, but are the predestined products of nature, -working partly within them and partly without,--no less surely insults -all moral convictions, and denies the reality of duty. For he -abolishes entirely the distinction between a person and a thing; and -conceives of every man as a mere _growth_ or _development_ from the -physiology of the universe, no more responsible for his place in the -scale of excellence, than the plant which, according to its seed and -soil, becomes the hyssop of the wall, the lily of the field, or the -stately cedar of Lebanon. All moral ideas vanish instantly at the -touch of this doctrine; and the solemn language on which Law and -Conscience have stamped their venerable impress, and ruled among the -nations "by the grace of God," is defaced in the revolutionary mint of -fatalism, and made current with the superscription of a pretended -equality where all are low, and liberty where none is free. It is -quite clear, that, if the soul has no originating causality, but in -every step she takes is simply _disposed of_ and bespoken by agencies -provided and set in train, without any question asked of her, she can -have no _duties_, she can win no _deserts_; she can incur no _guilt_, -merit no _punishment_; she is deluded in her _remorse_, and suffers a -vain torture in esteeming herself an _alien from God_. All that -remains is this: that by natural laws there may be pain consequent, -and known to be consequent, on some of the directions which we may -take; and it is at our peril that we enter on these paths. But so is -it at our peril if we go up in a balloon, or put to sea in a small -boat to save a drowning crew. You can get nothing out of this -consideration but more or less of _Prudence_; hope of happiness, fear -of suffering, can consecrate nothing as a _Duty_, but only present it -as _interest_; and if a man chooses to disregard his interest and risk -the result, I know not who, in heaven or earth, can tell him with -authority that he has no right to do it, or can say more to him than -that he is a fool in his folly. Who on these terms could cast himself, -in tears of penitence, upon the bosom of Infinite Mercy, and sob out -his prayer that he might be reconciled to God? Who would ever tremble -beneath the lash of a fiery reproach, and own, as it quivered over -him, that there was justice in the terror of its look? Rather must the -sinner feel himself the victim of a cruel doom; whom it is as little -suitable to punish, as to chastise the patient in fever, or torture -the cripple in the street. A doctrine which reduces duty to interest, -retribution to discipline, guilt to disease, holiness to symmetry and -good health, and God to the neutral source of all things good and -ill;--which frightens us with fears we may defy, but awes us with no -authority we can revere; which pities iniquity and smiles on goodness, -but only in order to patronize enjoyment;--whose faith in human nature -is a reliance on the ultimate docility of the wild animal man; and -whose worship of God is taken, like a morning walk, for the sake of -exercise;--is so alien from the whole spirit of religion, and such an -affront to the first instincts of conscience, that it can only escape -indignant condemnation by withdrawing altogether into the sphere of -natural history, and quitting as a foreign province the domain--whose -language it corrupts--of Morals and of Faith. - -Finally, those who teach that guilt and merit, with their penalties -and rewards, can be transferred, deny in the directest way the -personal nature of Sin. That men should find a foreign _remedy_ for -their perpetrated wickedness, is not less shocking than that they -should trace it to a foreign _source_. If they know what it is at all, -they feel it to be inalienably their own; which none could give them -and which none can take away. And nothing is more amazing than that -good Christians, who seem truly cast down in humiliation, oppressed -with the sense of their short-comings, penetrated with the sadness of -baffled aspiration,--and who therefore, one would think, must really -have a consciousness of the personality of sin, and know how it is -chargeable only on their individual will,--can yet obtain relief by -flying, as it is said, to the cross, and persuading themselves that -the evil has been stayed and cured by transactions wholly outside -themselves, and belonging to the history of another being. What can -possibly be meant by the statement that Christ has borne the -punishment, some eighteen hundred years ago, of your sins and -mine,--of people non-existent then, and therefore non-sinful? Can the -punishment precede the sin? Can it be inflicted and gone through -before it is even determined whether the sin will be perpetrated at -all? Or can merely _potential_ sin, which may never become actual, be -dealt with at ages distant, and its accounts be settled ere it arise? -If so, what is the death of Christ but the provisory accumulation of a -fund beforehand, ready to be drawn upon as the everlasting "treasure -of the Church," for the free discharge of guilty debts and the release -of divine obligations? And in what respect does this differ from the -Roman Catholic doctrine,--except that the treasure is at the -discretion of no chartered sacerdotal company, but is open on more -popular and looser terms? - -Moral relations, by their very nature, exclude all vicarious agency; -you cannot fall, you cannot recover, by deputy: the ill that haunts -you is the insult you have put on the divine spirit in your heart, and -it is as if you were alone with God. An interposing medium can as -little divert the retribution, as it can intercept the complacency of -the Infinite and Holy Mind. What more fearful charge could you bring -against any government, than to say that its penalties may be bought -off? A judge who accepts the voluntary sufferings of innocence in -acquittance of the liabilities of guilt, shocks every sentiment of -justice, and does that which the worst judicial caprice would never -dare to imitate. A law that does not care whether the right persons -feel its retribution, provided it gets an equivalent suffering -elsewhere, is an affront to the most elementary notions of right. And -an offender who can welcome his escape by such device, permits his -moral perceptions to be blinded by personal gratitude, and is content -to profit by a transaction which it would fill him with remorse to -repeat upon his own children. - -A Mediator may do much indeed to reconcile my alienated mind to God. -He may personally rise before me with a purity and greatness so unique -as to give me faith in diviner things than I had known before, and by -his higher image turn my eye towards the Highest of all. He may show -me how, in the sublimest natures, sanctity and tenderness ever blend, -and so touch the springs of inward reverence that, in my returning -sympathy with goodness, all abject and deterring fears are swept away. -He may direct upon me, from the hall of trial or the cross of -self-sacrifice, the loving look that prostrates the impulses of -passion and the power of self, and awakens the repentant enthusiasm of -nobler affections. He may renew my future; but he cannot change my -past. He may sprinkle my immediate soul with the wave of regeneration; -but he cannot drown the deeds that are gone. From _present sinfulness_ -he may recover me; but the _perpetrated sins_--though he be God -himself in power, unless he be other than God in holiness--he cannot -redeem. These have become realized facts; and none can cut off the -entail of their consequences: whatever the Divine Law has avowedly -annexed to them will develop itself from them with infallible -certainty. The outward sufferings by which God has stamped into the -nature of things his disapprobation of sin, and made it grievous here -and hereafter, stand irrevocably fast, clinging to guilt as shadow to -body, as effect to cause. This debt of natural penalty is one which -must be paid to the utmost farthing; by penitent and impenitent, by -the reconciled and the unreconciled alike: miracle cannot cancel, nor -mediator discharge it. In this sense,--of rescue from the penal laws -of God,--I know of no remission of sins; nor would Christians have -retained so heathenish a notion, had they not frightfully exaggerated, -in the first instance, the retributions of God by making them an -_eternal vengeance_; and so created a necessity for again rescinding -the fierce enactments of their fancy, that hope and return might not -be quite shut out. It is only in man, however, and not in God, thus to -do and undo. His word, whether of warning or of promise, is Yea and -Amen; and his great realities will march serenely on, and, heedless of -our passionate deprecations and fictitious triumphs, rebuke our -unbelief of their veracity. - -But while the past can never be as though it were not, the present may -lie in the shelter of reconciliation, and the future in the light of -boundless hope. The outer burden we have incurred we may still have to -bear; but once brought by Divine conversion to an inner sympathy with -God, and seeing by his light rather than our own, we can suffer our -wounds with a patient shame, and scarcely feel their anguish more. The -averted face of the Infinite has turned round upon us again; and the -pure eyes look into us with a mild and loving gaze, which we can meet -with answering glance, and feel that we are at one with the universe -and reconciled with God. - - - - -PEACE IN DIVISION: THE DUTIES OF CHRISTIANS IN AN AGE OF CONTROVERSY. - - "Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, - nay, but rather division."--Luke xii. 51. - - -Such was the account which the Saviour himself gave of a religion whose -promise was hailed by angels as an occasion, not only of "glory to God -in the highest," but of "peace on earth, and good-will to men." The -contradiction between the two passages is so obviously merely of a -verbal nature, that it can perplex only the blind interpreter who -penetrates no further than the letter of the sacred volume. I should -only be giving utterance to your own spontaneous reflections, my -friends, were I to tell you that my text speaks, not of the design, but -of the consequence, of the dissemination of the Gospel; and that it -indicates no more than a prophetic knowledge on the part of Christ of -the diversities of sentiment and feeling which would spring from the -diffusion of his religion. This prophetic knowledge, however, it does -clearly indicate; and this is a fact of no mean importance. The -unbeliever objects to Christianity, and the Roman Catholic to -Protestantism, the endless catalogue of discordant opinions which have -resulted from their prevalence; and to both we are furnished with one -reply. This infinite diversity indicates no failure in our system; it is -not an unexpected effect which startles and alarms us; it was foreseen -by the Author of our religion, and announced by him as the necessary -consequence of the genuine preaching of his Apostles. And though he had -this evil (if such it be) full in view, he did not retreat from the -office he had assumed, nor feel it at variance with his deep and tender -philanthropy, to implant among mankind a faith that should break up -their united mass into a thousand repulsive groups. - -He must then have known that his Gospel would carry with it blessings -which this seeming disadvantage would not cancel,--blessings far -surpassing the evils of division,--a peace which no jarrings of -controversy could disturb,--a good-will that could triumph over the -alienations of party. Were it my object, it would be easy to show that -the distribution of the Christian world into sects has achieved -incalculably more good than it has inflicted injury; that the rudest -conflicts of a militant theology are preferable to the hollow peace of -universal thraldom; that the fluctuating surface of human opinion, -with all its restless lights, is a fairer object than its dark and -leaden stagnation; that discussion multiplies the chances of truth, -diffuses the thirst for knowledge, leads forth reason from the mist, -converts prejudice into conviction, and gives to a dead faith a moral -and operative power. It would be easy to show that our religion, -especially since it has issued from the cloister into the light of -day, has accomplished a vast amount of good, with which no controversy -has been able to interfere; that it has imparted nobler sentiments of -duty, given to conscience a more majestic voice, raised the depressed -portions of society; that it has enabled moral refinement to keep pace -with the intellectual advancement of mankind; that it has given -modesty to the sublimest exercise of reason, by erecting towering and -eternal truths beyond whose shadow reason cannot fly. It would be easy -to anticipate the time when the benign principles of Christianity -shall mellow down the ruggedness of party feeling, and extract the -lingering selfishness that poisons discussion with its bitterness; -when the unrestricted and disinterested love of truth shall no longer -be an empty fiction; when the differences between mind and mind will -be but so many converging paths by which mankind, with one heart and -one speed, hasten to the same goal of certainty. But it is not my -object to insist on the advantages of controversy, or to predict its -future triumphs; but rather to warn against some of its dangers, and -to suggest a few thoughts which may throw light on the duties of -Christians in an age so controversial as ours. To me, reflecting on -the principles of the Association at whose anniversary I speak, no -topic seems more appropriate. Our grand uniting principle is, the -rejection of all creeds and human formularies of faith, and a simple -adherence to the sacred volume, as being "able," without comment or -interpretation, "to make wise unto salvation." We think confessions -enough have been tried, and been found wanting; that every such -attempt to produce uniformity is utterly chimerical, and an impotent -rebellion against the laws of the human mind. Believing then that -unanimity is one of the weakest dreams of the visionary and the -fanatic, we expect to see diversity of sentiment among Christians; we -cannot be surprised, and ought not to be displeased, to see the -religious world full of the activity of discussion. But since we agree -to abandon mankind to their divergencies of opinion, it is peculiarly -incumbent on us to consider what new moral aspect society assumes, -when distributed into differing denominations, and what new duties -arise in an age of doctrinal debate. - - * * * * * - -I. It is the duty of Christians to remember how many are their points -of union. - -Is our religion, my friends, a matter of the intellect only,--a mere -mine of inexhaustible speculation? I grant that it is in perfect -unison with the dictates of enlightened reason, and that it -administers the noblest stimulus and worthiest employment to the -faculties of the mind. But are not its ultimate dealings with the -affections? Does it not present to us new objects of love, new scenes -of hope, a new system of desires? Does it not unlock the springs of -human feeling, and pour the full tide of emotion upon the soul? What -else can so melt in penitence, so solemnize with awe, so prostrate in -fear, so enkindle with joy? What else can impart such majestic power -to human will to trample in the dust peril and anguish and -temptation, to conquer the solicitations of self-love, and pursue with -meek inflexibility deserted and solitary ways of duty? For the -greatest triumphs of our faith we must go where it is matched with the -passions of the heart, the impulses of unregulated nature, and see how -it prunes their exuberance, enriches their sterility, purifies their -pollutions, expands their littleness, refines their ruggedness. Now -these influences are common to every form of Christianity; its appeals -to the affections are not uttered in the vocabulary of sectarianism, -but in the universal language of the human heart. Some may prefer to -deck the form of our religion in the gorgeous colors of an imposing -ritual; some may throw round it the ample folds of mystery; others may -love rather the grace of its primitive simplicity; but beneath all -these varieties the same living figure breathes, the same radiant -features smile. Where is the system of Christianity that does not -present to our affections an Infinite Being, who has shadowed forth -his invisible glories in the splendors of the universe, who rolls the -silent wheels of time, whose presence, felt in other worlds, is -secretly shed around each human home, who traces the tear of grief and -lights up the smile of peace, who has an eye on every heart, and -carries on his parental discipline in scenes beyond our vision and -without an end? Where is the system of Christianity which does not -lead us to the Saviour as the image of the invisible God, as the -bright reflection of his character, and the noblest assurance of his -love,--which does not trace to Jesus innumerable moral blessings, and -call us to reverence him for guidance amid the intricacies of duty, -for light in the chamber of grief, for power of endurance amid the -struggles of suffering nature, and prospects of attractive grandeur -beyond the grave? Where is the system of Christianity which does not -cast upon this state the shadow of an eternal tribunal,--which does -not associate with sin the horrors of the outer darkness, and impart -an infinite value to every pure tendency of the soul, by inviting -virtue to a never-ending progression replete with ineffable joy? What -Christian has not enshrined in his memory and his admiration the most -beautiful and touching portions of the volume of our faith? Is there -a Christian parent that can read the invitation of the benevolent -Jesus, "Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not," -without a heart of love to the Heavenly Teacher, without a purified -conception of that kingdom which infantine docility alone can enter, -without an uplifting of prayer that no rude world may ever brush from -the mind of his child the morning dews of his innocence? Is there a -Christian sister that has not blessed the Divine Teacher, who, himself -touched by the sorrows that he quelled, restored the lost Lazarus to -his weeping and defenceless home? Is there a Christian mother who has -not lingered with the bereaved Mary around the cross, wondered at her -awful sorrows, and thought how in the watches of the night memory -would bring back upon her ear that last appeal, "Woman, behold thy -son"? The tears which flow at passages like these, the admiration with -which they burden the heart, the images of moral loveliness with which -they fill the imagination, are not the exclusive possession of any -sect; they are the unrestricted boon of God to the human soul. In -private, then, we all ponder the same book, gather from it the same -refreshing influence, the same impressions of duty, the same impulses -to prayer. And on our Christian Sabbath, while we tread the threshold -of differing temples, are they not all dedicated to Him "who dwelleth -not in temples made with hands," and regardeth not their trivial -distinctions? While the worshipping multitudes utter a various -language and ill-harmonizing thoughts, are they not addressing a Being -to whom language is but a breath, and human thought but like an -infant's dream, and who looks only to that heart of love that animates -them both? It is an exhilarating thought, that though on that sacred -day Christians may be separated by land and seas, gathered around -myriads of sanctuaries, and speaking in a thousand tongues, their -praises blend like kindred fires as they rise, and burst into the -courts of God, one brilliant flame of incense from the universal -shrine of the human heart. - -These, my fellow-Christians, are thoughts which we should cherish, to -convince us how much, amid all our diversities, we have in common; to -show us that the best, the living portion of our faith, is others' as -well as our own; and to soften those strange animosities that embitter -our weak tempers, and enfeeble the heavenly ties that encircle the -whole family of God. If there be any truth in the remark of a -philosopher, that the essence of friendship is to have the same -desires and aversions, how much ground have all Christians for mutual -love! Widely as their speculations may diverge, the great concern of -all is with God, the Infinite Father; with Christ, the commissioned -prophet, the merciful redeemer, the inspired teacher, the perfect -model, the heavenly guide; with eternity, the seat of our deepest and -most permanent interests, the receptacle of our lost friends, the -grave of virtuous sorrow, the home of the tossed and faithful spirit. -No one can live habitually under the influence of these grand and -affecting objects, and turn from them to condescend to the littleness -of a polemical temper. They will impart their own greatness to his -soul, and give him that best of powers,--the power over himself. Such -a one may use the pen of controversy without fear. - - * * * * * - -II. But I confess that the contemplation of these points of union -would impart little peace to our minds, or serenity to our tempers, if -at the same time we believed that the differences of our faith would -follow us into the eternal future, and determine our condition there. -I therefore observe, in the second place, that, amid all our -controversies, it is of moment that we should remember the moral -innocence of mental error. This principle, my friends, seems to me to -be intimately connected with our right of private judgment. We might -claim for men the privilege of free investigation, and affix no -temporal rewards or punishments to any system; yet this would be but a -worthless boon, if we upheld over any creed the penal menace of -eternity. We should thus only transfer the bribe from men's interests -to their fears; we should push our exclusion from earth, only to give -it a vaster theatre in heaven. As many Christians, not otherwise -disposed to be narrow in their spirit, have some lingering doubts -respecting this primary principle of Christian charity, suffer me to -say a few words with a view to establish the perfect innocence of -mental error. The exclusionist rests the burden of his argument on one -text, which, unhappily for Christian love, has been left somewhat -elliptical in its expression. "He that believeth and is baptized, -shall be saved; he that believeth not, shall be damned." Believeth -what? Transubstantiation, says the Catholic; miraculous conversion, -says the Wesleyan; the vicarious atonement, replies the Calvinist; the -Trinity, says the Athanasian Creed. Every one has an anathema for the -opponent of his favorite tenet; and the still, small voice of charity -is swept away by the conflicting winds of controversy, and dies -unheard. Let us see whether our Heavenly Father will not permit us to -open those gates of mercy which others have so sternly closed. - -It is not necessary for our present purpose to inquire what are the -salvation and condemnation of which the passage in question speaks. It -may be conceded without injury to our argument, that they have -reference to the destinies of a future world. Every reader of -Scripture will acknowledge that the unbelief which our Saviour -menaces, is unbelief in his Gospel, as preached by his Apostles, and -confirmed by visible miracles;--it is a rejection of Christianity. -From this it would seem clear, that no form under which the religion -of Christ is professed, however erroneous it may be, can be comprised -within the sentence of condemnation. But the argument of the -exclusionist is this:--My own system is, in my view, the only one that -is identical with the Gospel; therefore I must believe that those who -reject my system are exposed to the penalties annexed to the rejection -of the Gospel. It is surprising that so many should fail to detect the -fallacy of this reasoning. Compare the case which our Saviour is -supposing with that of the man who, in preferring one profession of -Christianity, rejects all others; and you will find that there are two -most momentous points of distinction,--the motive of the rejecter is -different, and the thing rejected is different. - -What can be more obvious, than that our Saviour refers to the hearer's -_intentional_ rejection of the Gospel,--a rejection of _his own_ -Christianity, not of his neighbor's. When punishment is held forth as -the consequence of any act, is it not always implied that the act must -be intentional? Is it not an understood principle of every law, human -and divine, that a deed of accident and inadvertence is exempted from -the penalties which, were it designed, it would deserve? To condemn -for murder the man who through mistake should administer a poisonous -draught for a restorative, would be as just as to put the erring -believer and the wilful unbeliever on the same level. To charge this -enormous immorality on God, would be the height of impiety. Widely as -the professing Christian may err, remote as his faith may be from the -truth as it is in Jesus, his intent is to believe; he yields his -assent, no less heartily than his wiser brother, to the evidence which -God has placed before him; he only mistakes what it is which that -evidence proves; he reverences, no less than others, the authority -which Jesus claims; but he does not discern all the truths which that -authority establishes. Strange would it be, brethren, if God, who in -all other cases looketh at the heart, should in this look at the -understanding only. - -But perhaps it will be urged that the same perversion of mind which -Jesus condemns is displayed by the modern inquirer, who does not -discern in the Gospel the great essentials of Christianity; that his -disbelief in them, in short, is not wholly involuntary. A few words to -this objection. - -I admit that faith is a compound result of the will and the -understanding; connected indeed most obviously with the latter, but -determined more remotely by causes having their seat in the former. In -the process of investigation, the last step, of weighing arguments and -making up the mind, is undoubtedly involuntary. When the evidence is -once placed before the inquirer, no energy of will can repel the -conclusion which is forced upon the judgment. When, however, we -perceive that the very same reasoning produces different results on -different persons, that one man is forcibly impressed by an argument -which to another appears weak and worthless, it becomes necessary to -account for these varieties in the effects of evidence. And there can -be no doubt that the perception of truth is very materially influenced -by the moral condition of the mind. How powerful are the arguments in -favor of the Gospel derived from the moral beauty and symmetry of the -system, from the originality and loftiness of our Saviour's character, -from the adaptation of his religion to the wants of the human mind -under all its countless varieties! And yet this species of evidence -will be wholly without effect on those whose minds are destitute of -moral sensibility and refinement. Moreover, it is notorious that the -sanguine are always apt to believe what they hope, the timid what they -fear; and the hopes and fears of conscience will exert this influence -on belief no less than any other. Prejudice which might be conquered, -indolence which ought to be shaken off, passions which blind and -corrupt the judgment, uneasy conscience which alienates the desires -from God, all these may exercise a powerful moral sway over the faith; -and for the influence of these every man is certainly accountable. - -But at the same time there is no reason to doubt that God has created -us with intellectual differences which are wholly involuntary, and -which must tend to fix the determinations of the judgment. There are -some men who, from their earliest years, seem incapable of admitting a -truth without double the evidence with which others would be -satisfied. Who then among us is to determine what mind is most -correctly strung? Is the man who admits a proposition on one degree of -evidence to condemn his brother who requires two? And is it credible -that God will accept of none but him whom he has himself placed at the -only true point in the gradation? Impossible! As well might we say -that his heaven is closed against the insane or the deformed. - -It appears then, my friends, that belief flows from causes partly -moral, partly intellectual. But can any human eye, I ask, discern in -what proportion they are mingled in any one's faith? Dare you say of -your differing brother, that he differs from a prevailing depravity of -heart, and not from constitutional causes? If not, then is there no -human tribunal to which opinion may be called. We are not forbidden to -love any fellow-creature, however remote his views from ours. As we -are unable to discover how far diversities of sentiment flow from the -will, we are bound to treat them all as if they were entirely -involuntary, and to leave to the Searcher of hearts the award of -approbation or displeasure. - -Again, the faith rejected in the case which our Lord condemns, is not -the same that is renounced by the erring Christian. What is the -Christianity, the disbelief of which is pronounced by Jesus to be so -dangerous? Is it the Christianity of Luther, of Calvin, of Arius, of -Wesley? No, but the Christianity of the Apostles, which they were "to -preach to every creature." Now in _this_ all professing Christians -believe; and from it they derive those views which, when once severed -from their origin and entering the province of human reason, so -rapidly diverge from each other. It is in vain to urge that _all_ -these systems, contradictory as they are, cannot coincide with -revelation; and that there must, therefore, be some that do not -constitute Christianity. The Gospel itself, considered as a -revelation, bears the same relation to all the rival creeds whose -credit hangs on its authority; like the beam of the balance, which -determines the scale neither way. Let me not be mistaken, my friends. -I mean not to say that all systems of Christian faith are equally -true, or equally accordant with the sacred writings; but that their -relative truth is undetermined by the authority of revelation, and -dependent on the correctness of the reasoning by which they are -deduced from Scripture. All begin with reverencing the Gospel; and -this screens them from our Saviour's condemnation. They then employ -themselves in reasoning on the sacred writings that lie before them; -and if they then separate from each other, it is through the same -fallibility of mind which multiplies opinions on other subjects, and -for which assuredly God will bring no man into judgment. The various -systems of Christian faith are but the diverging streams which flow -from the fountain of living waters: some may take a straighter, others -a more devious way; some may receive a scantier, others a more copious -admixture from a different source; some may roll over a purer, others -over a fouler bed; but _all_ contain the healing current which gushed -from the smitten rock, and all, I doubt not, are bearing onwards to -meet at last in the ocean of eternal rest. - -Why then, my brethren, must we be handling terrors which it is not -ours to distribute, and sending forth into the dark these fearful -guesses at judgment? Why must our feeble hand be playing with the -lightning, and letting loose the hurricane? Rather let us imitate God. -Does he brand the heretic with his curse? Does he pour the elements in -fury around his dwelling? Does he set a mark on him, that any one -finding him may slay him? See, the sunshine still smiles upon his -roof; the shower still refreshes his field; the charities and hopes of -life are still poured upon his heart. And cannot we cheer with our -human love the creature whom our Father disdaineth not to bless? Are -we so sinless as to stand apart in our holiness from the being with -whom the Majesty of heaven can condescend to dwell, whom Infinite -Purity stoops to cherish? At least let us wait for the disclosure of -those secret counsels which we dare to scan. It will be time enough to -hate when God condemns, to shun when God driveth away. Be assured, my -brethren, no soul ever perished for too much charity. "Be ye therefore -perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect." - - * * * * * - -III. It is the duty of every Christian in an age of controversy to make -an open, undisguised statement of his opinions, and of the evidence -which satisfies him of their truth. How seldom do you see that union of -courage and charity which the spirit of the Gospel should impart! Here -you find one who discovers nothing in the religion of his brethren but -errors to controvert; who cannot perceive any Christianity beyond the -peculiarities of his own creed, and thinks that all the evils of -society are to be traced to the opinions of which he has discerned the -fallacy. There, on the other hand, is one who, without perceiving the -difference between discussion and wrangling, entertains a foolish dread -of all controversy, and, as if the mutual good-will of mankind depended -on their uniformity of faith, suppresses his own views, and melts down -the distinctions which separate them from the views of others. The -enlightened Christian will acknowledge that both these are in the -extreme. Against the exclusive spirit of the former the preceding part -of this discourse may be a sufficient remonstrance; and I will conclude -with a few remarks in reference to the latter. It must be admitted that -the fear of making an open profession of faith is a not unnatural fruit -of the despotism with which society persecutes those who deviate from -its established modes of thinking. A vast machinery of refined -intimidation is prepared, to awe down every rising spirit that seeks to -emerge from the thraldom of authorized custom into the glorious liberty -of the sons of God. The charge of singularity, the smile of wonder, the -sneer of aristocratical derision, the cold recoil of suspicion, and the -open upbraidings of bigotry, are the keen weapons by which the world -hastens to assault the conscientious openness which it ought to hail and -venerate. Assailed by so many enemies, it is little wonder that the weak -and timid should fall into that "fear of man which bringeth a snare"; -and that this should often lead them to act where they should keep -aloof, and to be passive where they should act; to speak when they -should be silent, and oftener to be silent when they should speak; to -think within the barriers of established rules, or, when more -convenient, not to think at all. But however natural may be the origin -of this accommodating flexibility in the intolerance of society, it -receives no justification hence; it is utterly incompatible with that -Christian simplicity which is ever the same to men and to God, which -unfolds the character to the view in harmonious proportion, and would -scorn to appear other than it is. It can exist only in the mind that -loves the praise of men more than the praise of God. - -I cannot leave this concluding part of my subject, without remembering -that I am animadverting on a fault which has been peculiarly charged -on my own sacred profession. The ministers of the Gospel, it has been -said, the very men who should live under the constant eye of God, have -ever afforded the most signal examples of the fear of man. My -brethren, I confess it with shame: and it is a truth to which I can -never revert without feelings of indignant sorrow. Happily there have -been many noble exceptions, and in this place it is not difficult to -bring many before the view. But the more I read the past records of -the Church, and the more I study its secret history at the present -day, the more painfully strong is my conviction that the ministers of -the Gospel have been the most temporizing class of men. They are the -appointed investigators of sacred truth, employed expressly for the -purpose of opening the treasuries of divine wisdom and knowledge; and -yet from none has society gained fewer accessions of truth and light. -Though stationed by their office between heaven and earth, they have -gathered upon their souls more influences from below than from above; -though ordained to declare the whole counsel of God, they have more -often studied the taste than the wants of their hearers; though -encircled in the discharge of their duties by an arm almighty to -uphold, they too have felt afraid. My beloved friends, I know not how -it appears to others, but to me it seems that in the whole Christian -code there is not a duty of more clear and paramount obligation than -the honest, simple avowal of Christian truth. The first natural -dictate of the mind is to speak what it thinks on any subject of deep -interest and importance; and I am persuaded that a man must -sophisticate his conscience, must fill his judgment with forced -reasoning and false excuses, before he can come to the conclusion that -he had better keep truth to himself. Do you ask me, "What is truth? -Amid the conflicting sentiments of mankind, how is it possible with -confidence to take up any as exclusively just?" I answer, every man's -own convictions to him are truth, to him are Christianity; and that to -conceal them is to act the part of the wicked and slothful servant -who buried his master's talent in the earth. It signifies not that men -may obtain acceptance with God without thinking as you think; God -forbid that I should for a moment doubt that! But do you believe that -truth is better for man than error? Do you believe that they are not -both alike to his mental and moral condition? If so, it is -selfishness, it is sinful exclusion, to wrap yourself up in the -solitary enjoyment of your own convictions. For my part, I see nothing -but hypocrisy in the elaborate attempts which are sometimes put forth, -to make opinions look like popular creeds, by slurring over grand -points of distinction, by pushing forward apparent resemblances, by a -dexterous use of ambiguous phrases, and other arts equally worthy of a -Christian's scorn. Indeed, my fellow-Christians, we ought never to be -content till this great principle has been established,--that, in -obeying the noble law of Christian openness and sincerity, it is not -the business of the human being to calculate consequences _at all_; -that temporal expediency must in no degree enter into the -consideration. God is the author of truth, and he will take care of -its consequences; and I am well satisfied that, let appearances be -what they may, honesty will bring after it nothing but good. Even -suppose that we should be found to be in error: then, the sooner it is -exposed the better; and nothing is so likely to lead to its exposure -as the undisguised publication of its evidence. "Opinion in good men," -it has been beautifully remarked, "is but knowledge in the making"; -and it is by sifting the grounds on which opinions rest, by bringing -them into close comparison, and setting many minds to work upon them, -that truth is at length elicited; and he is no enlightened lover of -truth, who is an enemy to the avowal of opinion. It is to be lamented -that the world has been so successful in circulating the feeling, even -among the well-meaning of mankind, that there can be anything to be -ashamed of in opinion; for hence has arisen an association of fear, -and almost of conscious guilt, with one of the noblest and first -duties of the mind, the duty of thinking for itself. Let the inquirer -and the teacher keep their eye steadily fixed upon the Scriptures, -make it their single object to know and to communicate what they -contain; let them utterly forget that there are any inspectors of -their conduct, any listeners to their words, except God and their own -conscience; and I am satisfied that truth and charity will spread -together, and more union be produced among the now widely dissevered -portions of the Christian world, than any timid mediators, striving to -be all things to all men, will ever be able to effect. The alarmed -reconciler of inconsistencies may seem for a while to be successful; -he may keep together in temporary harmony those dissimilar elements -which more fearless spirits might separate; he may persuade men that -they agree when they are wide as the poles asunder; he may surround -himself by numbers, and multiply the directions in which his immediate -influence extends. On the other hand, the reformer who cannot conceal, -and who dare not pretend, who interprets most strictly the law of -Christian simplicity, may lose many supporters who ought to stand by -him in the hour of trial; he may be looked on with suspicion and -avoided as dangerous; he may be the centre at which a thousand weapons -are directed; he may seem to have been imprudent and premature, and to -have baffled his own cause by his indiscreet openness; he may go down -to the evening termination of his labors, accompanied only by a -faithful few, and cheered by no multitude of approving voices. But -wait till a generation has passed away, and then come and look into -the field occupied by these two laborers. Then you will find it proved -that numbers are not always strength; when gathered together by the -feeble bond of private influence, they are scattered when that -influence is withdrawn. The timid man has left no permanent trace -behind him; he has inspired no courage, provided no security for the -future, and the grass has grown over the road that leads to his -temple. But the man who has not feared to tell the whole truth is -remembered and appealed to by succeeding generations; his name, -pronounced in his lifetime with reproach, becomes a familiar term of -encouragement; his thoughts, his spirit, long survive him, gather -together new and more powerful advocates, and are associated with the -records of imperishable truth. - -Finally, the great evil of this disposition is, that it constrains the -natural action of the mind, and produces a weak vacillation of -character which paralyzes every virtuous energy. The grand secret of -human power, my friends, is singleness of purpose; before it, perils, -opposition, and difficulty melt away, and open out a certain pathway -to success. But alas! brethren, our Christianity has not taken from us -the spirit of fear, and given us in its place the spirit of power, and -of love, and of a sound mind. We still put duty to the vote. We shrink -from being singular, even in excellence, forgetting how many things -are customs in heaven which are eccentricities on earth. We fix our -eye, now on the tempting treasures below, then on the half-veiled -glories above; we open our ears, now to the welcome tones of human -praise, then to the accents of God's approving voice; and in the vain -attempt to reconcile opposing claims, we sacrifice our interest in -both worlds. It is melancholy to think what a waste of human activity -has been occasioned by this weakness; how many purposes which, if -concentrated, might have left deep traces of good, have been applied -in opposite directions; how many well-meaning men have laid a -benumbing hand of timidity on their own good deeds, and passed through -life without leaving one permanent impression of their character on -society. It is not want of an ample sphere, it is not poverty of -means, it is not mediocrity of talent, that makes most men so -inefficient in the world; it is a want of singleness of aim. Let them -keep a steady eye fixed on the great ends of existence; let them bear -straight onwards, never stepping aside to consult the deceitful oracle -of human opinion; let them heed no spectators save that heavenly cloud -of witnesses that stand gazing from above; let them go forth into the -struggles of life armed with the assurance, "Fear not, for I am with -you";--and each man will be equal to a thousand; all will give way -before him; he will scatter renovating principles of moral health; he -will draw forth from a multitude of other minds a mighty mass of -kindred and once latent energy; and, having imparted to others -ennobled conceptions of the purposes of life, will enter the unfolded -gates of immortality, breathing already its spirit of sublimity and -joy. Brethren, "how long shall we halt between two opinions?" - -THE END. - -Transcriber's Notes: - -Obvious punctuation and spelling errors have been fixed throughout. - -Inconsistent hyphenation is as in the original. - -Non-Latin characters have been replaced with the nearest Latin -equivalent for example [oe] (the oe ligature), was replaced with oe. - -Greek text is transliterated and surrounded by [Greek: ]. - -Page 139: Inserted a starting double quote. (... evangelical teacher; -"temple, sacrifice, ...) - -Footnote 20: Added a closing quote. (... _the people's_." The argument -...) - - - - - - -End of Project Gutenberg's Studies of Christianity, by James Martineau - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STUDIES OF CHRISTIANITY *** - -***** This file should be named 40387.txt or 40387.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/0/3/8/40387/ - -Produced by Delphine Lettau, Douglas L. 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