New-York daily tribune., 1859-02-15


religion needs priesthood ualees be that "roJ a!
prie,thood" in which there grades AMI 20
vh ch every Disciple, however learned nuesTDs',
belongs. How different this rehaioo the disciples OF
| which each his own priest from those rehglons
Which require sscerdotsl caste 10 s;uty their vol
umes their iegerdsry ard mystic lore How ferent
| from those religions which reqnire class OF nssi'
| caDs because the religions themselves are naRicl
Nothing can be more absurd ibsnto max faith in the
doctrines the pivo. OF ,ayaiion For his is 10 make
spch faith the test of character snce must tarn e1-
cu-yely ppoD our character sbetoer are saved or
C,t Bu. tuch faith ia lot absolutely subect ~ our
control and therefore cannot be test of character
To the qualified propOeiuon that men ca1rOt, anc
not, bound 70 govern their beli,s, confess 90
not ascent. Every man ia bonnd To believe that good
ness IL goodness spd wickedne.s is wickeoDess-ior
tbis be con do if bis moral affections right and II
| g in bic power 70 have them right. But when the
question Of the understanding rather tean OF the
heart then owpg 70 constitutional or educational d
fererces, one man will behave and another dlsbeheVei
! oze man will come 10 conclusion and another to
| another Hence, vi lie person must not he excused
for saying be cannot believe il wrong ~ lie and steal
he be for seeing sufficient evidence 10 war
rant the popular view Of the atoDement OF the Inn;
y Unoel.ef in the case II necessarily connected
with wicked heart. In the oherit may exist in con-
| nectcn with the boliest heart.
The conventional or doctrInsl religion s not adapted
| 20 make good ]. TEACHES that ~e must bsie We
the doctrines in order 10 be good AMI that it s egit
mate and vain TO seek 10 become good in any other
way Hence they who receive Tbs teaching lhst-aa
Hence too they lot expected TO be good and do
themselves expect 20 be good until they have be-
| ieyed them. Again msIy may never oe able 70 be-
heye them: and again many give abundant proc! IN
their lives that the doctrines may be believed wthou.
making the believer good. Moreover, Whatever the
gOodness Of those who are so strenuous Tor the doc
trnes there ia generally coupled with their strenuous
ness the unchaItable condemnation OF ell who ara
un sble TO believe them; ar this intolerance s TO say
the least great bleuis and drawback upon their
type Of goodness Only here and there is it tnat the
eoojness of these excessively docIinsl ionlss
r.es above this intolerance.
Absurd indeed is IL to require men, on peril OF psr-
dtiOD, TO subscribe 10 certain explanations of certain
facts in religion. The fact that Christ died for us sl
sTee TO- But il is held tDat We are as much bound,
that s important TO agree to certain speed
latODs about IT, and 10 certain systems OF faith bdllt
upon II, TO the fact itself. Again, We are agreed
that Cbris spoke the words of his Father But II '
held that must perish unless can bring ourselves
TO the conclusion that he was, in respect TO all the
essential attributes of Deity with his Father. Tne
fact too, that sh .l in the next life find II well with
the righteous ard III with the wicked, aad tina sll
should cherish deep and abiding sense OF their
accountability, is denied by none of u.s. But in vain
too, all this unless We Subscribe to certain views o
heaven and beD.
AZ welmay it be said that man must no. plow, nor
SOW nor leap, until he understand now his crops
grow, as tina, he must not enter upon religious HE
and expect TO be good, until he comprehend the
doctrines and philosophy OF religion. Al many points
IN them the most learned, vice and holy d-f widely
The masses Of coae do. Indeed, it Is not expected
that they should comprehend these things. Their
faith in them, as all honest theoogans will resdy al
nit is rot expected to be c0mpreh and intei-
gent, but only narrow, supeIsttious, blind.
have not been arguing that the prevalent doctrines
and philosophy of religion are false and worthless.
There is much of truth and vaae in them. All l
insist on is IL at the importance of full and precise
knowledge Of them lie oversted and that mistakes 10
regard to them not necessarily fatal For instance,
amanSnay be good, and yet not see that he who m
creased in wisdom and IN favor with God and wlo
A =. 4 al L.. n,G.r I-ph. .aAf
fessed his ignorance of the times of future events is
the all~ise and unchangeable God. man may be
good though he cannot the ressonabeDess OF tue
theory Of the twoiOd nature OF Christ, and conse-
quently cannot be able to reconcile with absolute
divine perfection either hs want this growth OF
knowledge. Again, man mag conceive that God
can delegate ~ Jesus another agent power enough
to enable him to build world; anu he may acquesce
even in the giving Of the name OF God to him who
wields this great power Of God. Nevertheless lie
may shrink from admitting the agent to be the very
God. So too, be may feel proper to WORSHIP Christ
although unconvnced that Christ is the one God For
he may hold that truth, wherever is is wortay to be
worshiped and that IN Christ s it's perfect psrsonn
cation. Now do not say that this man lie right in all
OF even in any Of this. But do say That however
wrong he may be in it, he may nevertheless De good
Another thing would say ia, man may be good,
aud yet not tail in with all the popular views o the
atonemeDt lie may that suffering one tor another,
even to the laying down of fe, is altogether reason
able But that God should be angry with his children,
ard should require innocent victim to appease ms
wrath, may strike tim an exceedingly unre asoDaoie
part OF the ecclesiastical machinery Ii may strike hun
as turning the loving Father into bloody pagan deity
man may be good, and Jet believe that the hearty
r.peutance of the sinner of itself sufficient ground
for his forgiveness He may even believe that Jesus
teaches this in the parable of the prodiga con.
That the early Christians interpreted the atonement
as majority of modern Christians do is peIh Fps true
for suc Interpretation would be very natural out
growth Of Jewish education. Beautiful and impress
i've to the Jew must have been the analogy, however
real or fanciful between the literal fsctce and Chrst
between the lamb slain for the sin OF an indVdusi
or fsmy, and " the Lamb of Tod wDicn tahe.n
away the SINS of the world" The argument for recev-
ing and relying on Christ derived from this an .osy
mnst have been very imposing to the Jewish mlud
But il is said that all this philosophy and all tlese
doctrines taught by Jesus. they were, ~ does
not follow that our misapprehensons of them woul1
make our salvation impois sibe. Bat how C IN We be
suIe that they all taught by him Ine Bloie
cannot make entirely sure OF IT. For IL, at the
most record of but the substance OF wnat Jesus
spoke-certaLly lot always OF his precise words. lie
did not write them. Nor were they written as they
fell rom his lips; probably until msny years AFTER
Hence We may not have much as the substance oil
what lie ssid in every recorded instance. Tue ldea
that the suthos Of their respective parts OF the oos
moved by God to write, word by WORD, ana tna.
by perpetual miracle, every word has oeen pre-
served from all possible change in isse and In It's con-
nections is quite too supeIstitous and absurd u oe
entertained by sry reasonable mind Another iact VI
great account l Interpreting the Bble Is that Jesus
vas poet and that few poets have ever spoken SO
6euratvely and byperbohcally. Tney who mi.tats
bis picture language for words oi pmosoPh.cai pre-
osion will he liable to construe hin very aosuruiy.
Let me no. be taken undertaking Jesus oy Gaming
him poet. The poet lie the superior being. ne dees
with the essence and soul OF things-comnon ihiH's
with but their bDdy ard phepomens. -
But TO return TO the chief duty lncalcated IN this
MISUNDERSTANDING in likeness 10 God. In sayloG
that this is 10 be attained by looking unto Jesus
tbats LOOK X