The Press.
London, England, 1855-04-14 00:00:00

ittraturt.

Tice Witness of the Spirit. Sermons preached
before the University of Oxford. By the
Bishop of Lincoln. London: Skeffington.
THESE sermons, as may be supposed from the
audience to which they were addressed, are
mainly of a doctrinal character; they are
argumentative, touch on metaphysical themes,
and favour the language and allusions of
science.—Ex. gr.:—

It may be said indeed that the language of Scripture is
not only framed on the phraseology, but accommodated to
the ideas of the age when it was revealed, and to the state
of knowledge psychological, no less than physical, which
had then been attained, and that as we find little difficulty
in modifying scriptural statements of natural laws or
phenomena by the more accurate science of modern times,
so there is no reason why we should not consider the terms
by which spiritual influences are expressed, as adjusted to
the ideas and belief then prevalent, and to be now trans-
lated into their equivalents in the present advanced state of
mental and moral philosophy.
This is the kind of statement for whi ch Charles
Fox was celebrated, when he represented his
opponent's argument so forcibly that his
friends feared he could not possibly answer it.
Dr. Jackson admits the premises in the above
passage, but denies the conclusion. Yet are
we to suppose that he is prepared to give up
all the physical miracles of the Bible and
limit the influence of supernatural power to
the spiritual world ? His language leads to
that inference, though we cannot suppose ho
intends it.
Of his fondness for scientific allusion take
the following, directed to show why the per-
ception of religious may be more difficult than
that of physical truth:—
It is obvious how many disturbing influences must be
set at work, when the truth or falsehood of such claims
and obligations is in question ; how many hopes, and fears,
and desires ; how great a mist of prejudice, distorting some
facts, magnifying others, concealing others ; what a phan-
tasmagona of objections, bright with the borrowed colours
of the feelings, and refracted to undue magnitude by the
wishes of the heart.

Generally it appears to be the aim of Dr.
Jackson to reconcile the claims of science and
revelation, and to remove the doubts which
rationalism may urge against Christian theo
logy. But we cannot think highly of his
success. He is, for example, willing to ac-
knowledge that in science modern intellect is
fast advancing to clearer perceptions of truth
or fact :

In every science new discoveries are making daily. The
landmarks of knowledge are perpetually being moved for•
ward. Acknowledged facts are shown to be vulgar errors ;
and popular belief has ceased to be a guarantee, or even a
presumption, of truth.
But the corruption of our moral nature pre
vents us, he intimates, from obtaining equally
clear views of religious truth :

Each doctrine, being practical and involving certain
duties, acts upon the moral choice ; and accordingly as this
is warped by natural pravity, or rectified by divine grace,
the presumpt►ons for and against the doctrine may be
partially or impartially considered, and the conclusion may
be error, or truth.
This is hardly satisfactory ; as in purely in
tellectual processes there seems no ground for
establishing the distinction the author con-
tends for, and it is previously intimated that
there are natural reasons which may warp our
perception of scientific as well as of religious
truth.
b Several of these sermons are on predesti-
nation and on the influences of the Spirit.
The one from which we have quoted is entitled
" Faith a Gift of the Spirit." Yet faith is
described as a "habit of the intellect," and
belief, so far as the intellect is concerned, is
presumed to incline with the balance of
evidence:—
-

- -
It seems to be a law of the intellect, that belief neces-
sarily follows the preponderance of apprehended proof, as
the scale falls in which the weight is greatest. We can no
more refuse to believe what is proved, or believe what is
destitute of apparent proof, than the eye can reject or
change the forms and colours thrown by external objects
on the retina.
The operation of the Spirit is supposed to
take effect, not in influencing the intellect,
but in removing the impediments which our
corrupt nature opposes to the reception of re-
ligious, as distinguished from other forms of,
truth. This looks like refining too far. We
doubt whether faith properly so called has