The Rhode-Island Republican. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1809-1841, 1833-04-17

nuu unprinclf.t1 suOiss 70 impots utfl
on mankiod the phsUasies Of shair sickl
iy iniaginalions ms matters of the irst
Importance in the eye Of Hin who cfeal
ted Heaven and earth How happens al
that men who will without the least rel
morse destroy our regulations ID soeielII
and thereby take from The ns0olhs o. oui
children their daily lfend, are so very|
tender in regard to our soale~ rs il bel
cause they knosc .. rsAcb suora and sd
much better than t'is (saa no msds
them, what is best f. 1a iiaopiaess oil
the world. Is j; hsesose hey have like
Moses seen tie Ov,nsprsssns God face ID
face I! or is il, that liks she ala rairiaych.j
they have had the honor 10 wresle wi,l{|
angels For ourselves we make nol|
such pretensions. We look upon our||
fellow men, in matter Of religion, not as|
superiors or interiors. We -consider'
them as much the favoritcs of Heaven ns3
ourselves; and as possessing the right tot
worship their Creator in the mannerl
which they, and not we, think proper n
and whether they worship with certsinI
forms and ceremonies, or with no formsI
and ceremonies, or do no. even worship
at all, we consider that i Is no business
of ours. If we can do our ncighhor an
net Of kindness, or by our advice (when!
snliciicd) promote his worldly happisess,
we consider It n duty TO do 1t 1; ban neysrH
To Interfere with his religious creed un-
less i,e is disposed to seek tfulh by fair
and cnndid argument. We propose To
measure the fitness of things bg that
which is more certainly the gift of Gud
than any thing under the He ,vens, we2
mean the human intellect. Ifthis could
comprehend the nature Of God, or of
our own soul or the souls of oar fellow
men, we should be infinitely more enti-l
tied to claim the rign:s Of spiritual in-I
struetors, than the wisest of us now are
"But who by searching can find out God. II
or who can give US rational idea
Of the nature Of the human soHl.
Ages have passed away siuce the
scriptures Of the old testament were
written, aud are we one jot or title
farther advanced in our knowledge of
God than the people who lived in the
days of Moses Do we, who boast e.
much of our enlightened institutions,
knoD q whit more Of the nature Of thel
Being who made US .han ''ilie poor In
dian who sees him ia the clouds, orl
hears him in the wiads % Or do we,
who profess to believe in such an absur-
dity as triune God, think we do hon
or to our Creator in offering so palpatte
an insult to our reason the undoubted
gift Of that Creator! 1t may be said
hat our remarks SAVIOR of lnfdsiity.-
Be it so--we deem it infinitely better
to respect the still small voice Of con-
science which wispers within us than
the precepts of any man. or any book.
especially, when such preceepls or books
are demoralizing in their tendency. All
we know respecting the soul, comes
from within. Books can afford us no
evidence that we have a soul indepen-
dent Of consciousness. The most aud
the whole they contain are tho thoughts
of frail and imperfec! beings like our
selves; aud though good books are, un-
doubtedly. highly useful TO improve the
faculties we possess, they do not, never
did, and never will bestow those facul-
ties where they have been denied by our
Creator. Tell us nor then to despise
our reason.--Teach us not TO put out
the light shincing within us or what is
equally as bad If nol ucrss, teach us not
TO abandon that which we know man
did not and could not give us, for
what may be, for anght we know--the
nero work Of man. Religion is not de-
rived from books--i, springs fresh and
unpoluted from the fountain head Of in
teIligence.-lt is tho link which con-
meets man to 0ed--and If you break it,
the more of things humanyo pu, be-
tween tho mind and its author, the more
-. 4. Il. ~, and rnncusa ~ L., al a :..~e..