New-York tribune., 1877-05-16
RELIGIOUS PROGRESS.


CrINp,s OF TdE "R-II'iON OF TIE ttl'H"
frRou ruE RUGuL,E CORRESPONDENT oI rHH iR'bVN,I
LONDON. April l3.-A new volume Ga essays uS
Mr NJ. u. Conway has just appeared uadeg the tte
Idols AID Ideals with an Essay on Chisue'"'N
0rHbucr 4 Coz This las, essay was published sep
or,tely q few months ago, and, writes iue"G'
hrourlt on "a var which shook Holloway 70 its cen
Ter and LEFT the Eastern question nowhere MI
Couvov's evening congregation iI that district nav
inc grown TOO large fol its little ron tiui'h' '0
tanned a lease of the fine han called the AIhe'F'il'
This the Vicar OF Holloway, after Gle manner Oh hi'
kind resented Hc undertook to piedch down the
new faith, threatening with eternal penalt'S
those who let the hail. who happen 10
be mainly his parlsmoncrs. DOUBT
ing however. whether his own anathema
,yould iusnrc the complete damnation Of the heretcs
and their lessons. ne called TO his aid the Christian
Evidence Society That society sent four clcrgymen
-Bampton aud Hulsean lecturers, men OF proved
courapc against infdels-whO discharged four ser
mons at Mr. Conway. which were published lEey
also printed in the local paper SIX reviews OF the
pau.phlct on Christianity iucludlng, among otheI
amenities incident to theological discussion, an
elaborate aud bitter accusation of Atheism lhls
Mr. Conway did not himsclf directly answer lie
sent the book and the review Of II to the lTeAaeht
OF the Christian Evidence Socicty-no less person
than tbe Archbishop # Canterbury Prmate of AL
thcro was or was not any Atheism in the book. The
Archbishop behaved maufully. He wrote Mr. Conway
long letter declaring that he could ind no Aiile-
ism iu hl, teaching and expressing hls dlsapproval
of the fashion of mputnR names and doctrines 10
pcoplc who dsclaimed them. So the Vicar ana the
Christian Evidence Society feu by this shaft ie2th-
cred from their own wing. a week or two SINCE
vote of the shareholders Of the AihenTum ratlhed
by5I To- G the leIting of the hall to Mr. Conwaya
congregation Although nearly every shareholder
l. an or hodox Christian, they no reason why
Holloway laymen should be more orthodox than the
Archbishop uf Canterbury. So ended one more effort
NJ persecution IT had the result which persecution
usually has. II promoted the freedom which II
stroyc to stiAe Ii has doubled Mi Conway CON
eregatjon increased his salary, and circulated Ins
book The strife went on torslx months ITS record
oecupviug ON au average some five columns week
in the Holloway paper.
Asto t,e non Atheistc character of Mr Conways
essay. the iudgIncut Of the frst prclate OF the
Church Of ENGLAND may hc accepted a. decisive.
But Lee certainly would not pronounce it orthodox.
On the Christianity Of the CEurch, the Christianity
of tradition and history, Mr.. Conway does certainly
make war In Judging the tree by it's frui!s'
writes he a. must affirm my conviction that the
fruits Of Christianity though not altogether evn.
were prrpoudcTantly evil" He sums up his erlii-
cism ON 1t i'm Il compeudIous sentence: The chet
root of its evil was that 1t taught mankind that
their supreme duty is TO believe certain PROPOSE
tious: aad tliat the very worst SIN man or woman
can commit is 20 disbccyc those propositions. Mr.
CONWAY ~ i'm the good and night sense OF the word,
frec-thinkcr. TO him. naturally, nothing is more
abharIeut than the effort TO reprcse free thought,
and the effort to set u in place Of it. the Church
and every sect that for 500 years has called Itself
Christian has tired TO do, the dcSpotlsm of dogma.
This plain speaking will shock and PAIN many
worthy people: certainly much 90 Nh Conway's re-
rret himself lind-hcartcd man. But thev may
find some alienation Of their distress III the thought
that it is not after all, the best part or essence OF
Christianity ON which Mr.. Conway passes sentence.
II he condemns Christianity such as the professors
Of Christianity have made it, lie j. far from con-
demIrg the religion, the virtues, the ideas which
they label Christian. These not declining; It rs,
Roman Catholicism and Calviusn that are deciin-
ing: srctariaus1u Of all kinds and the human fab
Ilcs reared by - many hands and alleged TO be Of
divine origin.
You perceive that Mr. Conway takes a sanguine
view Of the growth OF freedom. Other rec mt OBJ
servers have thought Ronansm was never greater
power than at this moment. Nh. ConwaSs remark
that Christian enthusiasm is spent, may not after
all be inconsistent with that view Neither is be at
n loss for the means OF supplying the yold which the
disappearance Of Christianity must leave. man
os so emotional nature as Mr. Conway could not
le inseusible TO the emotional and other religious
wants of tle world in general. lie gives glimpses
into the future as he would have it, and believes 1t
will bc when the existing "baTbarous' religion
shall have yielded to the advances Of civilization.
We shall still have Bible, but 1t Will not be the
Hebrew Scriptures and New Testament only II is TO
he enlarged by adding TO il the manifold scriptures
now rejected which make up the canon Of revCa-
tion To Humanity-a Sacred Anthology in fact.
l. 11fft to ufri pf lINi1 ~
and 30 held as one of a high and holy fraternity of
peers and teachers, stretching through all ages,
whom no one race clam, who speak from univcT-
Eal reason and right. As for God and Immortality,
some better notions to be hoped for than those
contributed by what Mr. Conway calls the strongest
manifestations Of Christian enthusiasm in our time,
viz: Mormonism Shakerism MoodyIsm, and Spirit
rapping. quote the passage which seems 10 con-
tain the most exact account of what Nj Conway
expects from the Religion Of the Future:
All our hope Of new light row comes Of the liberia
tion of the human mind IN every part Of the world
from these otheT-vordv methods which have 50 con-
sWCuousiy failed; aud tho concentration of INC
combined energies Of all the mind. heart and wealth
of the earth 10 the work of clyllHng religion and
raising II 70 equality with our material and seen
tiGc progtess. We have found that gazing INTO the
sky tocs uot reveal God; Jet Us try what viii
conc of exploring the earth. and man, and history.
The Chinese sage said Co men, Since you do NOT
YET know man, how can You know Godg Since you
do Irif comprehend life, how can Nou comprehend
Ccathf' some Of us ne.lcvc-I belcve-thot eyes
tuvlcc liuu phantom gods have caught gIAPScs ot
divine i.ir 100 the evolution of nature, and the
mystical movement of the heart of man. Already
some lave listened deep, and heard sweet music
. 10 which t.c ages Keep uIuc and MAJ ever marches
= 10 q Hspp' destiny.
~, Universe j., tLc shrine Of Reason; il is Tic
Llos.. L..., lt Is tae tcmpic Of Conscience. These
7ye hey, derived from 10, aud from as they sta re-
o. ~ lU fhdt perfect tTst which surround