New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1861-09-28
-4a5 alls IAdyertisemsnt.I 8
RELIGION OF REASON.
no HUMAN AUTHORITY IN RErre1ou
A Discourse i'm Peferbero by Gerris sm,,.
September 20, 1861.

Is it necessary that should recognize q, su,bor
the church, the sacred book, the sacred trado,ail
or any OF them? 1t is held to be, because thew teach
religion. admit that they teach it-for they euioio
the principle Of just dealing toward God and man. In
all Of them there or less dissertations and con.
nadlctons of the principle. But reat honor to the
history of man , they all enjoin it.
Nevertheless, these are not 10 be recognized AZ
authoritative sources of religious knowledge. Were
they indispensable to the understanding of religion.
there might be plausible Plea for their authoritative
ness. But they not. Religion, as Jesus explain,
it, is simply doing you cOuld be done Jy, or. az
Confucius, who lived five or Elk hundred years before
him. phrases it, Nerer to do 10 others wat you do MOI
irish them 10 do 10 you." The Koran spprehend, Il
when it says, I" One hour Of equity is Jetts5 than
serenity gears Of derOton." Religion being but Justice
is principle native to the human breast. Man need
not 80 away from himself to learn what it TO- In other
words, religion is natural and the more natural we
are, the more religious are. II is natural in respect
to human nature. 1t is natural in respect to all nature
For all nature and this includes all providence is full
OF the proofs and inculcations Of religion All things
as God made them testify for religion
Are any offended at my resolving religion into dry
Justice Justice without love Is admit dry. Bnt
doing in all things wonld be done by cannot be
without love; nay it cannot be without loving another
even as oursef. And such love Who knows it, who
has felt it, but be who is born again but be Who BY
divine influence is recalled from bis desertons of him
self, AMI brought back to bis nature and his God.
Religion then, being patent, Ineligible 50 sin.
pie, are not compelled to take it upon authority
And if not we must not. For the evil of leaning upon
authority is to be avoided wherever it Can be- Where
we can learn thing for ourselves. we must do % for
the sake of safety and of the heathfc and expanding
exercise of our powers Where we cannot, and are
Obliged to take refuge in authority we can Of course
do no better than submit to the rick of being deceived
and to the disadvantage of leaving faculties
ridden and unused. Two gentlemen propose voyage.
The ignorance OF compels hin 20 take the captains
word that the ship is sound and safe Far better offs
the other whose knowledge Of ships enables him TO de-
eide the point for himself.
Were il, however, necessary to take religion upon
authority, there is an especial aud strong reason
against taking it the authority Of the church. tie
book, or the tradition. This lie found first 10
the fact that they abound in much else than religion;
much else that is foreign, and much else that Is repug
nant TO religion. Even the church Of Chrstendon,
al, hough so much better than the Mohammedan aud
other churches is nevertheless full of eroe SO, too
are her books and traditions notwithstanding their
comparative excellence. And this reason is found,
secondly in the fact that we required TO receive
theee well the truths with which they
associated. These errors would be nearly, or quite
harmless were they not clothed with authority. But
uDhappily, they held to be under the stampo
authority as the truths. As undoubted by us and
as sacred Ia regard must be the story Of Jonah
and the whale, az the Sermon on the Mount; aud the
like parallel must be allowed TO obtain between the
command to slaughter the innocent little ones Of
every city," and the command 30 love God and man.
Reverend Doctors and Right Reverend Bishops would
be quickly deposed for rejecting the sh soryas tie
Sermon.
Only few weeks ago an Episcopal minister told me
that was sinful for opposing Slavery, and that the
little church with which am con nected would 70
sinful for receiving into ts membership the shave who
bad run away from his master, and had, TO ufe the
ministers very word, thereby "robbed" his master.
He proceeded to tell rue that were be slave he wouA
never consent TO accept bis freedom until his master
had granted it. Why, in the name OF common sense
did this minister talk 70 Simply because Le believes
that every line in the Billie comes from God and that,
therefore, any one line in it l. ust obligatory upon
his faith and practice any other line ia it. Il Is
scarcely necessary add that he is among the millions
who believe that the Bible is ia favor OF Slavery.
Very sad it 10 holding their reason In abey.
ance and receiving even what is truth upon The aa
thority of miacle-sustained or any otherwise oui.
wardly sustained religion. But far mere sad isit 10
see them, In the Of this minister, gupin2 dowp
the enormous absmdities which flow along with Tan
religion. And yet Il must be so with oil who shut
themselves up 10 authority religion. They mps Ge
cep the false along with the true, the nonsense %
we'll as the wisdom. Are many beginning 20 insist 90
the right Of reason to discriminate in such casesi II
is only because many are beginning to break away
from authority religion. II is natural TO remember ID
this connection how weighty an argument IL agans'
an authority or book religion that drunken Noans
belching has been allowed TO work 90 much misery.
For the slavery which existed before that set up u
our own hemisphere there was show OF nsb
and mercy, sinee il was, for the most partb
a communication Of the capital punishment usa-
ally inflicted upon the captives of war. But Amen
can Slavery reefs upon inierorty OF Tacei and ta'
curse belched forth by Noah IL the great authority t
it. Without this authority Christendom could not have
Slavery. In this curse the American Rebe1
have found the cornerstone for their Confederacy "
scores of millions Slavery has been the hard lot, simply
because halfa-dozen haes found in of the s4cge
books 9th Genesis) held, are all parts of sut
books, TO be teachings OF Gods religion. Costly ns
the sc TO those poor millions Nevertheless the church
es would give them up in exchange for The fices
page in all the writings Of Fox Fenelop, Wesley@
Hall, Edwards or Dwight, Charming or Parker, IyF
Beecher, or any other great aud good man since ~
page in the place of that scrap OF history eni ~
q Esther" or in the place OF the sensual "Song o.
Solomon" would horrify them by its blaspheuy FOL
they will have il that the writings Which, IA ~
perstitious and Ignorant age were chilled hop -
great heap OF Jewish writings aud ultimately coess
d in hook hsued tue Biole, do alone afford prod
eng diyinely Inspired. Perhaps they DO But wtdas
they DO every man has Ne iull night TO decide US
Thomas or John or David or any one else enPloysSssA
this culling. partial and unjust God have We hg
SEPARATION or the tight decide what bears proof q
belongs exclusively to any age or people. horsC'e
il is great mistake to suppose tbut such y LIN
when made in behalf Of the Bible viii maea p5sS
serve 70 sustain the appreciation OF rs merits.
fast sinking under the claim aud viii sink faster u
lees the arrogant and seuselcss claim be aeAions
From the tue broke Jail and escaped from my ee
siastical keepers have found 10y experience hsg
that they WHO attain 20 my freedom zee, rs tney s
orence and sublimity of the Bible: unui sSss
liberation, inexorabe authority required them 70 g's
all PARTS OF the Bible TO the sme eyel-io drag
tie words of him who spake as never maa 49, s,i
49,, ,arnlsiva asscriaton with passages OF t0ib s