Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-04-16


affections, or rather their joint action, should
be most sedulously provided for. The Chris
tian character, the spirit Of charity, as the
ultimate in religion, should be presented in
all its brightness. Whatever draws the mind
from this is injurious. Zeal, elfdenial, de-
yotion to God and humanity is essential The
general course of instruction should tend to
produce these. Speculations awakening
scepticsm, or undue exercise OF intellect,
should be avoided. Great principles, on
which religious sentiment and practice rest,
should be strongly, frequently offered to at
tentiUn. The mind needs progress. Diff
Guilty is its stimulus. But should it not be
active chiefly in Analysing the true, in work
ing on what is substantial, in building on a
! foundation, ia developing the causes and con-
nections of what is known TO be real Z" He
wrote more than half a century ago The
present course of training is too technical.
1t does not communicate living spirit.
| The first lesson to the student should be that,
in order to communicate, he must receive and
be filled with the spirit Of charity. Living
charity should be the end II is true that
this spirit cannot be poured into them. They
must be excited to seek it for themselves.
But this must be presented as their most in
dispensable acquisition. The understanding
Of religion is exceedingly important but NOR
al and religious truth is best understood by
the moral and religious culture Of the soul.
The true spirit OF study is needed, an earnest
desire to look into the deep things of religion
from accordance of heart with its deep reali-
ties"
This indicates Channings method in the
ology. 1t is not the intellect alone, the meth
cd of the mere metaphysiciau, nor the emo
tons alone the method of the mere pietistic
| dreamer, but the method of the living Chris
tian, whose whole soul is alive, int llect and
affections vitalized by the spirit Of trust and
devotion.
The wings of Channing's faith had n wider
sweep than those of the ordinary tbeoogians
of his time, and 30 he scared above them ALL
and he saw and reported more and better
things of God than the men Of his time
dared TO believe. lie had faith enough in
Jesus to take Him at His word and believed
Him when He taught that man is the child of
God; and he deeply felt and clearly saw more
of what that mighty truth involved and i'm
piled than the ordinary theologan of his time
dared to believe. OF course he could not hope
to escape the inevitable. When he gave his
testimony as to what God was TO him, and
what man, he was said to be denier, her
etic. Just as Jesus was denier of the or
binary Jewish conception of God, and a her
etic in the eyes of the Sandhedrim, so was
Al. ~. 1
WAS denier of the horrible and awful things
previously reported touching God and mans
relation to Him. Claiming denied the truth
of what the Westminster divines re ported of
God because he adopted the divner method
Of Jesus in getting at the pind of God. and
because that method revealed to him more
and better things than the Westminster di-
vines had suspected. 1t is not needful that
90 into particulars. They are familiar to all
And 1t Is one Of the remarkRb BILE things of
these remarkable latter days, to find no less
notable a Parsonage than the grea: Boston
Monday lecturer, charging Charming with be-
ing negative theologian. As if it were pos
sible for man to hold any profound far
reaching truth concerning God. or concern
ing iran. without that truth negativing every
less comprehensive and shallow conception
or course Channing's yea and amen gave the
may to all the narrow, partial and belittling
representations of God then held among men
no need Of apology for it, either But
when Joseph Cook or anybody else tells the
world that Channing's influence as a theolo-
gian is waning, he can only be thinking of
Claiming as theologian in the ordinary
sense, as a Trainer or originator of a system
of dogmatcs, which he never was Chan
ming never was and never attempted to be a
theologian in Joseph Cooks sense OF the
term. He had a diviner business in hand
1t was against the dognatic system makers
and teachers that he felt himself called upon
to make war. But Channings influence as a
man who sought in the Christian way to get
near TO God, and simply and truthfully re-
port what he had revealed to his soul con.
corning God and concerning man, Channing's
influence as a theologian, in this, the divinest
sense, is not only not waning, but never was
it greater than at this hour And no one
knows it any better than the Monday lecturer.
If the lack or absence of vigorous conflict be-
tween the ayowed disciples of Channing's
'io1sA' Inp Iue a,o"ei u's',pieS
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us = .i-'a 1u'iii''.u truce iS
:, Ct,';',' - ~ " Tue """'"g
~ o'-'''l''ne 'uhueu'e ID d 'n.oioei"n' lei
those so regard It who eau ; but he surely is
bliud TO the signs of the times who does not
- - camps Is
~, ,t"s -, e-''' " ',ie ias' 'na' ie" II
Iay,. ana9l rn' '' " D1 'o"n1 'o,uay 1901,
49,; -, pm an" ueienu d.
&c., 49,, c.a-S; 1851 "a NY yeA'' ago
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