New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1876-03-18

whatever II is floating. The best definition IN.
photographer give Is simply, conduct, behayiors
Etymologicaly, it Is the following Of mos or ul
whatever 1t may be. Our may be the public opipIo,
| around us, and well know how poor thing thaa
often Is. Or It may be sefrespect as we call n
and then there is nothing prevent rule falling with
when fall. Every of man is right his own
eyes, but the Lord treth the spirits" Or it may be thu
high and holy law Of God seen to be immensely aboys
IFS, and when tho Christian would never wish TO bsva
lowered for the accommodation of fallen humautv
choosing rather the fear and risk Of condemnation BY n
| than the loss OF that glorious idea.
| And this is religion-ths recognition of the DvineIaw
religion in Its grandcst 1t is the fear Of God"
the OF the Divine 10 its ineabe purity revealed
in that holy estimate before which all stand as bank
rups owing ten thousand talents without farthng In
pay Hence the impressiyeness OF that petition for
give debts" IL Is this religion this awe OF the
Divine that Christ soemnly breaches: 81 will show
you whom ye shall fear fear Him who hath powe,
land right, too, the word also means to cast into
Gchenna yea, say unto you, fear Him." 1t Is the sub
Unity Of this view that 1t levels in the dust all human
claims and seems to efface all the distinctions Of merit on
which we SO pride ourselves Mr. Moody brings yiydv
out in his those words OF Paul: "For there is
no difference and it corresponds to what Is expressed
by our mercful Savior in his luke Kill H. TO
those who told Him of the poor sinners whom Herod
slew, and whom the tower Of Sloan FELL "Itell
you nay-I tell you, naybut unless ye repent We shall
all likewise perish" Observation-Disclosures "a
the morality for man. The Evangelist duke, XIII II
tells us that 1T nnumerabe mul ituce so great
that they trOde upon another In that vast crogd
ochos there must have been, beside the priests good
many moral peope-noro scrbos, moral lawyers moral
reporters moral revenue collectors, moral pubcaus
perhaps prding themselves their humility and thank.
ing God that they not like those Pharisees Blu,
there Is made exception: tell you nayI tell you
nay-unlcss ye repent ye shall all likewise perish" Tie
same uncOmpromising language was held to that moral
man Ncodemus: Verify, verify, say thee, tina,
except man be born again he cannot the Kingdom
OF God"
Not only does Christ avoid the word "rellgon II nigh,
been sad but there u.s. in fact only place in the
English New Testament where il 1t would have
been wonder, indeed, If Of your correspondents
had not adverted TO it, IL Is James Ill., 27 20 often quoted
by The honest people distinguished for their deeds Of
charity: "Religon pure and uniefed, Is to visit the
and the widows in their actIon, aud to keep
himself unspoted from tho world Our moralists are,
in general enemies OF can't but how often have
we heard that canting whine: "Ah yes, men may talk
about believing but that il the religion for me- give me
James rather than Paul Away with that hard dogma OF
Justification by faith, that dour doctrine which Moody
breaches sankey sings, That gloomy Calvnsm so sub
yersiye OF pure morality No. no to visit the widows
and the fatheIess keep ones self nspoed from the
world that my idea of religions that Is the doctrine
for me-" appeal Mr. Editor, TO your own experience
OF mankind. How frequently Is such language
held by persons in no way distinguished Tor
visiting tho widows and tho fathcrless and
who instead OF being "unspotted," are, In
fact spotted by the world all over! How seldom tool
ever have you heard the text thus claimed by those
whose selfsacrcng religion learned from the OF
Of Christ has led them its continual fulhlment!
These abstract morasts arc not hypocrhcal or lnslr
cere; they really admire the truth. They find livery
useful In poetry and in novel writing. Sometimes, like
Dickens or Hawthorne, they may paint 1t with power
fl effectiveness compared with which the sober words
of the APOSTLE may cold and tame. But after ALI
II is With them neither religion morality. There is a
strange blindness which leads men TO credit to them
selves n virtue what they may thus admire IN the ab
stract, or which they may somc day think OF doing
Salvation by faith demands the whole heart II Is the
giving up by the bankrupt Of all his poor assets the
entire surrender Of the whole into the hands OF the
Reeemer with the earnest cry, Bc merfu to me, the
sinner" salvation by works is too apt 20 content Itself
with good intentions" It's professors" think they
can do Il any time Men mean relieve the widows and
the orphans and thus the good will goes for the good
deed Thus toO good works seem to them easier thah
faith They meau moreover some time before they die
IN rb ont the spots Of the world and this Is too often
the sum and substance OF their boosted morality.
But to short this strain o; moralizing let me cav
that the morasts Interpretation OF the text and the
feeling flowing from it, are both grounded mistake
The word ,eseid here dost not mean religion AT all IN
its root ground, principle That principle Is ever
the fear OF Cod and the reyerental love OK God That
from IL flows The term empOyed-a rare one even In
its classical usage-has, natyey, something OF an I'M
christian odor It nearer TO the idea OF super
suon Rtualism would well express it In its heather
sense and as thus originally employed, the rtuasts'
and the "noralsts" may fight about it between them
selves Saint James converts the word cleanses II nom
its heathen odor, and by doing makes beautiful
accommodation OF it hoer use He had no thought
Of representing morality religion. That would be
making the branch bear the root Instead of the root tho
branch. Morality, and especially deeds Of mercy, con
stute not essence the heart but the garment
OF religion. They are its outward ritual, IL We must
have q ritua-its outward ceremonial representing the
inward grace As Coleridge grandy says OF religion
its very robe Is righteousness" To make this robe
religion itself il 20 convert IL into tattered rag.
Pardon my proliXity, Nc. Editor; your moral CORE
spo ndents taking them all together, occupy several
col INNS, and could not properly answer them III less
space. iAfitk LEWIS
Schenoctady " Y, March 4. 1876