Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1843-01-24

ave Chrtsans Adopting ih.ir creed" -ys he
sblndy from cducsiion custom or party. too ma
nv hold their rel gion only BY rnos loose snd
uncertain pnufe. and are iamcn,ably confused "a
~, ,ri,,ns Of i, nature Hence they drcsd
Formidable shock to Christianity m every physical
d,sr0,,ry and m the oh.curay which surrounds
,b,m ina ginc danger 10 the truth IN every expo.
sure ofefror. lns,nsiblc 10 the real strength Of
th,ir position. they live N groundlcss alarm iof
n, security and accustomed to cherish faith IN IL
norrscc they nppth'nd IN every advance OF
know l,dgr the approach oithe enemy ofihcir sal
,aion But when we discover by means Of
Phrcnolory that religious feelings spring from
inna,e iaculIiss Of Vcncrotion, Hope, and Won
der, We perceive that religion can never be sha-
ken The church,s crcc1s omblems and ccre-
monies, which many individuals mistake FOR reg.
ION. are really It's of,ois They are the outward
symbol. by which the innate religious sentiments
nianissi their desires. and seek for qualification
They arc no more the causes Of religion, than
lacfontis and yiolins are the causes Of that love
of melody which csisis in the human mind, and
which prompts the intellect to produce them for
lis qualification request Of you, then clearly
TO Distinguish between the sentiment Of relgion-
which Is inherent IN the human mind AND lis
outward svmbos-which NAV assume various
forms at different tm,s and in different countries,
vet religion itself he not Tor one moment m dan
ger The founders Of your institutions have act.
I'd on this view and in your country they have
placed the pyramid Of religion at once on it. basis
Here 1t i. seen Standing in oil its native solidity.
simplicity. and beauty. wlihou, needing the aid of
human power to preserve 1t in its place
In the same spirit, YOU have trusted the presrr-
vaion Of the purity Of the Bible to the moral and
religious principles AID the interest. OF your prn
4
tent monopolIes on individuals and este blishod no
boards. with well paid secretaries, TO superntend
the printing OF the Scriptures, yet in your coun-
try the text is as pure as i, is in Britain, You
have learned by experience that an edition in
which errors are detected becomes ty the unan-
nous verdict OF your community, mere vase pa.
per IN the hands Of those who have produced It,
and that this operates as a most efiicaciohs check
against corruption.
The attention Of the Christian world hns lately
been called to singular fact which is instructive,
and think encouraging 10 you II is ihls-that
Protcstantism has made little progress in extend
ing itself in Europe, since the send OF the thirty
years war, and that the expansive power which
we believe all truth to possess has not been manl-
tested by since that epoch. at is truly remark
able saysa recent critic, 'that neither the moral
revolution Of the eighteenth century. the NOR.
al counter-rcvouon oil the nineteenth, should, IN
any perceptible degree, have added to the domain
of Proresranlism. During the former period what
ever was lost to Catholicism was lost also to Chris
tianl,y during the latter. whatever was regain
eddy Chris,iany in Catholic countries was regain
ed also by Catholicism" One cause of this pheno.
menon appears TO me 10 be, that the Protestant
kingdoms of Europe, in general have inflated the
Roman Catholic so closely, that they have in ma
nv rpspecs instituted Popisb churches under DIFF
frrent name. The Reformation proclaimed free
dom Of religions opinion; but the Protestant mon.
arches enacted creeds and endowed churches to
maintain them. They stiAcd opinion and bound
up the human mind in the letters of authority; -
and how could Protostantism, in other words re-
l'g'ous freedom, prosper or expand itself in such
circumstances You, almost alone, have done
justice 10 Professionalism; you have given it a far
! field and it. in your country, Popery should not
ultimately yield 10 it, Popery must contain the
greater extent Of truth