New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-09-07

sOHdlty OF substance ana eleehuc' VI hiiHNi w"
an unsurpassed mastery of words and felicity OF IL
lustration. At the same time, he finds grave deii-
cieneies both in its scope and execution cohsaered
as religious philosophy, or an attempt to organize
rational religion, its logic being sometimes so loose
as to permit point-bank contradictions even III the
same sentence. The writer then proceeds TO define
his own views with regard to the true relation OF
Thcism to Christianity which he concciVeSt 10 petne
great religious problem of modern philosophy Inc
ground of all worship, in his opinion may DC set
forth as follows "The one great postulatc OF rea-
SON. however exercised is the unity OF the UNIVERSE
the mutual harmony Of all facts and truths. Adap-
tation and law lie at the very bottom OF all exist
ence. Every apparent discord and fortuity must DC
merely on the surface of things, and ultimately
receivable into the underlying AID eternaly self
concorlant Law. This cannot be proved without Il
begging Of tho question, nor doubted Without lhe
suicide Of intelligence: hence II must be taken Us
automatic, and is perhaps all that the Immortal
Lebntz really meant by his principle OF SUFFICIENT
Reason Now, man is by nature woishlpine OF
religious being: the tendency to worship Is a per-
manent and universal element OF his constitution
If the above postuate be admitted, this idct points
70 the existence of an Object TO whom the SOULS
worship is duo in 'he nature OF things IL mo UNI
verse be self-consistent whole, and perfect III all
its adaptations, then the religious tendency is no'
an aimless instinct leading nowhither, but pro-
phe:c impulse guiding TO the center OF ali Beng
In other words if reason is possible, ieliSioh i
rational Now the possibility. and ratiohalliy Oh
religion imply the objective personality OF the Cd
ect of worship, or what is the same thing, oneness
Of nature in the worshper and the Worshiped'
The lowest form Of fetichisIn ascribes personal
attributes 10 its idol stone the highest form oil
monotheism still ascrbcs personal attributes to God.
No thing, no impersona entity, can nationally DO
the object of worship prayer, which, as Dr Hedge
truly says is 'thc universal thing IN religion
p 9gl. And tho personality must be objective, uI"'
is, not panthcistic personality first ATTAINING SELF
consciousness in the breast OF the worshippoI; for
PRAYER TO one self or to the race or TO tho uncon-
scous Al would be an absurdity or otiense against
reason. The only object of q rational worship must
be Person. Moreover, personality, being to rca-
son an ultimate and unanaiyzalle idea, must be
supposed to be etcrnally and necessarily the same
in its essence; whence follows tine generic identity
Of all personalities the principle that all personal
beings must be supposed to possess intrinsicany q
common nature. From tho fist faint ghmmerings
Of personality IN the animal creation, through the
ascending scale of men, angels, afchangcls, and
whatever superior eXlstcnces oycrtOp these, up 20
tho awful and inscruable Source Of ALL the center
of conscious being is the undivided and indiylsbe
soiE From the tiny ephemeron that seems almost
a mathematical point, up TO that eteraM ihlhi'c
whose center is everywhere, and whose cfcuni-
ference is nowhere the hierarchy of existence
P,olemaic system of conccntric spheres; and the
outer forever includes the inner. Narrow as is tho
human, Il is yet concentnc with tho DIVINE
Whatever transcendent attributes belong TO God
and with insuilerable rLdanec shield from profane
inspection the eternal mystery Of The AN, Sun
Religion must believe them compatible with the
wisdom, power, and goodness, without which he 10
no God 10 her The human, 90 the poor extent OF
its tether comedies with the divine: Gods good
ness Justice. love are identical in nature with ours
and ON 10 other suppostion will an honest man call
them by those names DR.. Msnsel teaches Di-
vino Morality, an occpta Jrstita, which be con-
cedes to be incconcilable vith human ethics. For
and rugged words Of John Stuart Mil, which, with
Bishop Thirwall, We cannot read without beng
thrilled with sense OF the ethical sublime; -
will call 10 person good, who is not what mean
when Gpply that epithet to my ielow-creaiuresi
and if such being can sentence me To he'll for not
so calling him. 10 hell | will go" The article con-
cludcs with statement concerning the present
posiion OF Christianity in the world of intellectual
ANALYSIS and COMPARISON. disguise IL as We may
Christianity is eGecting radical change OF base
in these latter days The spirit Of the age Is little
too strong for human manipulaiiols: attempts to
control 1t only rc-illusiratc Tie truth Of the Old
story of King Canutc and the sea. The authority
Of the Bible, as the ultimate ground OF religious
belief is absolutely destroyed for modern thought
and another must be found for religion Is indc'
qtructiblc. Outward authority, superior to reason,
is a dream Of the dark ages and inialibc author
i,y. whether outward or inward is only iactious
want Of superstition. The soul was not meant to
run Oh inevitable railroad tracks. The liability TO
err is part of its constitution, and part Of the
plan Of Gods providence. The soul itself taken in
it's nature history Development, and prophetic
latoncies, is the only possible basis OF rational
theology. Jesus spoke with authority,'-the au-
thority of an iumncd soul trusting itself as word
Of God: and when, in later times, Christianity
slipped its moorngs, and anchored to the Church,
tho Bible. or to Jesus himself, it forgot its own
inherited law, and made fatal change of base
which modern Iheism 10 destined to reverse and
rectfy. In taking the soul itself as the ultimate
ground Of religion and court of appeal, Thcism but
returns TO tho Christianity Of Jesus himself, and of
every other pure and dcyout Thcst it but reforms