The New York herald., 1870-05-29
Fear .s an Element In Religion.

Irightened into tho pursuit OF rellgtOus lue.
Acting upon this conviction they make the
most of such disasters as recently bcfell the
people Of Richmond and the Missouri railroad
slaughter, upon which they ring sanctifed
changes oft and again. These terrible disas-
ters are pointed out as 30 many dispensations
of the Almighty to turn us from the error Of
our ways and to lead us to Himself, and God
is pictured more like fiend, who delights in
slaying mankind, than as Father, who
rejoiccs and seeks to save His children. 1t is
not surprising, therefore, that this style of
theology should awaken and bring forth
more Liberal and Christian school of thought,
wherein the mercy and love of God are made
more conspicuous attributes of His character
than His insatiate desire for justice and
revenge, and wherein lie may appear just
while He justiies the believer in Jesus Christ
His Son.
AS an element of religious power fear is the
very weakest and most igno5le that can be
invoked. Most men are naturally brave, and
can face danger, however great, OF whose
presence they are made aware. They are
thousand forms, each much more real and
terrible than any hell that Milton or Dante
has pictured, which are real only to human
faith and Imagination. The history OF Juda-
ism is history of religion begun, continued
and ended through the influence of fear;
and what facts does it represent? A
nation numbering three or four millions of
people, born in Egypt, yet owing no allegiance
to the land Of their birth; held in bondage
for several genera ions by the Egyptians, and
then s'with a mighty hand and an outstretched
arm" Jehovah brought them forth and planted
them in their own land. Great signs and
wonders had been wrought before them. The
choicest and best Of Egypt's treasures OF
wealth and persons had been destroyed, and
the departure of the Israelites had been made
as awe-nspiring as it could bo. At the Red
Sea they Witnessed the destruction of
Pharaohs grand army, and with its instruments
Of war they equipped themselves. journey
of about four months brought them to the foot of
Mount Sinai, on the summit of which the law
was given to Moses, amid circumstances of the
greatest reverence and fear. The sacred
historian tells us that s'the Lord descended
upon Mount Sinai in fire, and the mount was
altogether in a smoke, which ascended as the
smoke Of furnace, and the whole mount
quaked greatly. And there were thunders
and lightnings and thick cloud upon the
mount, SO that all the people that were in the
camp trembled, and so terrible was the sight
that Moses said he exceedingly feared and
quaked" But this impression did not last
long enough to keep the people from idolatry
for while Moses remained on the mountain to p
ip communion with Jehovah the people made
golden calf and worshipped 1t, and proclaimed
it as the god that had brought them out of
Egypt. And Aaron, their high priest,
was their leader in this idolatry.
For centuries afterward tho history of
the Jews is but the record of series of
prosecutions and deliverances, of SHINING and
repenting, without any appreciable good re-
suits flowing therefrom, until finally God dis
persed them to the four winds of heaven; and
to-day their enemies, in every country except
this, are following the same tack, and striving,
by prosecutions and repressive outrages, to
convert them to Christianity. But the most
favorable reports of success show that all
efforts in this direction are failures. Fear, as
an element in religion, has utterly failed to
produce in their minds or in their lives the
principles Of purity, virtue, goodness, love-
And it has equally failed with others also
The converts to Judaism, all together from
Moses time to our own, will not equal in mum
ers the converts made to Christianity in q
single year. The reason is obvious
We live under new dispensation. A new
covenant-the covenant of love-has been
made with us. And "God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son, that who
soever believeth in Him should not perish, but
have everlasting life" While it is true that
few men can be influenced to lead moral or
Influenced by love. 1t is the great power that
guides and controls mankind to-day, and not
withstanding the msny national and local
broils and tumults that prevail in all the earth
there is more of fraternal feeling, of pure sym
pathetic affection among men to-day than
there ever was. This gospel Of love has, during
eighteen centuries, nearly turned the world
up side down and literally changed the face Of
nature, so that the crooked places have been
made straight and the rough places smooth ;
and by and by, when He whose right it is to
reign shall come, the nations Of the earth will
gladly accept His sway. There is not in the
earthly life of Christ single incident that can
properly be construed as indicating any other
than the deepest affection for the race and the
was the prominent and controlling attribute Of
His life and character, and it is by love that
His followers must succeed in converting the
world. Fear has utterly failed. Men shrink
from the Idea of being coerced into paths oil
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