Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1849-09-07
Relioious.
AN INQUIRY.-WHATI IS THE TRUE RELIC
ION

natural inquiry arises Which is the True! They
certainly cannot all be true. There cannot be
TWO OF them, differing essentially as they do, that
are true. IL Is evident there can be only one
true religion in the world. All the rest must be
false essentially, or are so modified from the
true, as to destroy the spirit OF it, and render II
unsaYlng. That there Is true religion. Is evil
dent from the fact, that man Is naturally reig-
lous-that his very animal organization indicates
It. lie naturally from the instinct, which his
Master has stamped upon his soul, feels the need
OF some retlgi0n-that Is his dependence on
higher power and a consequent obligation OF
responsibility to such power! Ana besides,
II there be no true religion, then there can be
no false one. II there be no true coin there can
be no counterfeit. Ii there b. no such thing as
truth, there can be no such thing as error
Truth and error are correlatss, like Father and
Son. There cannot be one, without the other
80 then it is evident, that truth is somewhere
that there Is true religion in the lcOrlG The
important inquiry therefore is, w mere Is liz
There are those who reject the scriptures, as
being from God; and account them as having no
more authority than any other ancient book
There are, what are termed deists; who hold
there Is God, but deny that he gave US the
cripturcs-maintaining that we must learn his
viii, and our duty to INN, from the volume OF
nature, read by the light of our reason. They
mold that we can know, all VIC need to know,
through our own reasoning, in respect to our du-
y IN the present, and of our destiny in the world
to come. This is the religion OF such men in
general; although among this class, are those
who pretend to believe, that some part Of the
Bible IS from God, and that other parts are not
still 1t seems TO us, there must be a difficulty
IN the use OF the rui by which they slit tie
truth from the error ~ which they can say,
'thls Is from God, and that IS not in the same
chapter or book In doing this they certainly
nav 10 standard but their reason; and by this
standard men are known to differ universally
80 that one dcist might call this part of the BIZ
bic truth, and another call il error. That is, one
says IL is from God, and the other SAYS it is not
Now, i We SIT at their feet as pupils, how Shall
we know which is right? You viii readily per-
ceive, that the difficulty just mentioned is diff
terent thing from the fact, that christians, some
times disagree, in regard 10 the Interpretation of
passage OF scripture while at the same time,
they all hold it to be the word of God. In re-
gard 10 tins latter point, there is 10 difference
among evangelical christians. Nor indeed is
there any difference among them, as respects
The essential truths OF revelation. Besides, men
who deny that the scriptures are not divine,
should never appeal to them, as authority for
any re gIous opinion, any more than to Caesars
commentaries, Or to the Koran OF the MaAum-
medan. One IS az good authority Tor them as
the other. The difference OF Interpretation,
Wh.Ca occurs among christians, on some points
which are not ess initial to salvation, has been
made the butt Of r,l.ca!e by those who are de-
nominated infdels They siezo tits as the .oyi-
dence oftha JIkeae5S OF the views OF christians,
and 50 declare it to be. Bat may we not with
proprtty enquire OF such men, whether the diff
tercncCs OF opinion existing among them on the
subject of religion, are not more numerous, than
among christians! Where will you find two
uu)c!ieyers in the Divine authority of the scrip
lures, agreeing substantially, on any religious
point, except 1t may be to reject the scriptures?
We would therefore turn upon them their own
objection for as much as it is worth!
The truth Is, men reason may be respected
that Is, the power 10 reason-but mems rea-
SoRing IS often talacious. and sometimes even
foolish. The enquiry then is, has the deist
found thcrue religion? lie rejects the Bible as
a divine book, as a lamp to light his feet to hea-
ven, and takes the volume Of nature, and pro-
fesscs to read his duty there, by the light of his
often iallacious reasoning! Does not he, who
trusts his soul on thai, try an awful experiment?
1t is evident that the individual who rejects the
divine authority of the scriptures. must reason
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