COR'NKLL' UNIVERSITY LIBRARY BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE SAGE ENDOWMENT FUND GIVEN IN 1891 BY HENRY WILLIAMS SAGE Cornell University Library BR45 .B21 1822 olin 3 1924 029 180 839 Cornell University Library The original of tliis bool< is in tine Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924029180839 THE USE AND ABUSE OP PARTY-FUELING IN MATTERS OF RELIGION CONSIDERED IN EIGHT SERMONS PREACHED BEFORE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, IN THE YEAR MDCCCXXII, At the Lecture foniuled by THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, M. A. CANON OP SALISBURY. BV * RICHARD WHATELY, M. A. FELLOW OF ORIEL COLLEGE. OXFORD, at the university press for the author. sold by j. parker, oxford j and messrs. kivington, st. Paul's church yard, and wateklqo place, london. 1822. TO EDWARD COPLESTON, D.D. PROVOST OF ORIEL COLLEGE, OXFORD, AS A TESTIMONY OF AFFECTIONATE RESPECT, AND AS A SLIGHT TRIBUTE OF GRATITUDE, FOR THE INESTIMABLE ADVANTAGES OF HIS INSTRUCTION, AND OF HIS FRIENDSHIP, THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED BY HIS FAITHFUL AND OBLIGED FRIEND AND SERVANT, THE AUTHOR. a2 CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION, p.xvii. LECTURE I. NATURE AND USES OF PARTY-FEELING. 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. As the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body : so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. I. Nature of party-feeling — consisting in the attach- ment felt for a body or society, as such, and in zeal for a common cause. — ^Tendency of mankind to unite them- selves in communities of various kinds- — originating in the tendency to afford and to desire sympathy, p. 5, 6. Importance of this principle— productive of discord as well as of concord, p. 10. II. Final causes of this principle — ^1. increased ardour in a common pursuit — 2. cooperation^ — 3. mutual regu- lation — 4. division of labour, p. 13. III. Application in religious concerns.— Christian community instituted by our Lord — brotherly love in- culcated, p. 17. Advantages of the Christian commu- nion of saints — increase of zeal, p. 18. Regular go- vernment of the Church, p. 21. Diversity of offices, p. 22. IV. Regulation of this principle^ p. 26. Plan of the ensuing lectures,, p. 30. aS vi CONTENTS. LECTURE II. PARTY- SPIRIT. James iii. 14 — 17- If ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom de- scendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, d^iMsh. For where envying and strife is, there is confimon and every evil work. But tTie wisdom that is from above is , ^rst pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be en- treated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. I. Character of party -spirit. 1. Preference of the means to the end, p. 35. — CaQses of this. Regulations and insti- tutions which are valuable only for the sake of preserving the society, p. 38, Distinctive marks, p. 39. 2. Over- readiness to form parties. 3. Uncandid partiality, p. 42. II. Faults conHected with party-feeling — 1. Vanity and ambition, p. 46. 2. Love of novelty, p. 46. 3. Love of controversy, . p. 47- 4. Pride and revengefulness, p. 49. III. Effects of party- spirit — 1. Extinction of charity, p. 51. 2. Scandal to the cause of truth, p. 53. 3. Propa- gation of error, p. 54. IV. Objection alleged. Necessity of parties, p. 60. Answer to the objection, p. 61. Utility of general rules, p. 64. LECTURE IIL A CARNAL MIND THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 1 CoR. iii. 3. Whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and dir- visi&ns, are ye not carnal, and walk as men P Necessity of a Christian temper for preventing the CONTENTS. vii evils of party-spirit, p. 70. I. Evil passions, which lead to party-spirit, how to be checked. 1. Desire of taking the lead, p. 73. 2. Love ornovelty to be kept under control, p. 76. 3. Restraint of a disputatious spirit, p. 82. 4. Love of triumph to be repressed, p. 84. n. Rules for keeping in check the spirit of party. 1, Preference of the means to the end to be guarded against, p. 86. 2. Cautions against the tendency to se- parate into parties, p. 92. 3. And against uncharitable bigotry, p. 95. LECTURE IV. ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE AMONG CHRISTIANS. RoM. xiv. 13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more : but judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. Judgment and treatment of those who really or ap- parently differ from us, without being at all or in any high degree blameable, p. 102. L Cautions against misunderstanding another's meaning, p. 103. — A com- plete adoption of the sentiments of any party, not to be inferred from a partial coincidence, p. 104. — False conclusions from another's principles not to be forced upon hinntjp. 109. IL Allowance to be made for the weakness of our brethren, p. 112. Gradual instruc- tion of those who are babes in Christ, p. 11 7. IIL Al- lowances to be made for differences of natural tempera- ment or acquired taste, p. 121. Some such differences allowable and unavoidable, p. 123. Characteristic di- versity of style in the inspired writers, p. 124. Our own peculiarities to be kept within due bounds, and those of others viewed with candour), p. 131. a4 viii CONTENTS. LECTURE V. CHRISTIAN CONDUCT TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 2 Tim. ii. 24^ 25. / The seroant of the Lard must not strive; hut be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instruct- ing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventu/pe will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. t Treatment of those wlio are guilty either of heresy or schism, p. 136. 1. Party-spirit to be expected in our opponents, p. 141. Errors and maintainers of error to be opposed separately rather than collectively, p. 142. Differences in doctrine to be extenuated rather than ag- gravated, p. 146. II. Bitterness oiF spirit how to be en- countered. Duty of " gentleness and patience with all " men," p. 149. Decided and unqualified condemnation of offenders by our Lord and his Apostles, not to be too closely imitated by us, p. 151. Bitterness in our own party to be censured, p. 151. The pride of our op- ponents not to be unnecessarily wounded, p. 152. III. Controversial eagerness in our opponents to be expected^ p. 156. Rashness and imprudence in controversy to be guarded against^ p. 158. Means to be used for repressing an excessive prevalence of controversy. I. Some errors to be left unnoticed, p. 162. 2. A didactic rather than a polemical style to be adopted, p. 165. 3. An erro- neous system not to be combated in detail, but as a whole. 4. Distinction between such reasoning as is cal- culated to reclaim those who are in error, and such as is intended to warn others against it, p. 170. CONTENTS. ix LECTURE VI. FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED QUESTIONS AVOID. 2 Tim. ii. 23. Foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strife. Recapitulation of the preceding, and outline of tlie following discourses, p. 174. I. Cautions respecting the subject-matter of our dis- cussions, p. 176*. 1. Presumptuous inquiries, and at- tempts at explanation of inscrutable mysteries, p. 177- Mistake of expecting a distinct knowledge of whatever is revealed, p. 187. Familiar acquaintance with terms apt to be confounded with accurate knowledge of things, p. 184. 2. Minute and insignificant questions, p. 189. 3. Undue attention to speculative questions, p. 19^. II. Cautions respecting the language of religious dis- cussions, p. 195. 1. Ambiguity of terms, p. 196, — fatal- ism and free-will, p. 197. — uses of the word Person, p. 198. — controversies concerning regeneration, p. 198. — 2. Undue importance attached to forms of expression, p. 200. — Utility of varying the analogous terms em- ployed, p. 201. 3. The fixed phraseology of a party to be avoided, p. 202. LECTURE VIL CONDUCT WITH RESPECT TO DISSENTERS. CoL. iv. 5. Walk in wisdom towards them that are without. Existence of schism one of the appointed trials of Christians, p. 206. The Laity as well as the Clergy bound to oppose schism, p. 210. I, Duty of adorning and recommending the Church X CONTENTS. we belong to by an exemplary life, p. 213. Fallacious- ness of forming any judgment respecting our Church from the conduct of some of her nominal members, p.218, II. Duty of zeal In the propagation of truth and refutation of error, p. 219. Occasional dissent considered, p.221. Utility of indirect opposition to sectaries, p. 225. Im- portance of supplying the want of places of worship, p. 227. III. Duty of conciliation, p,231, Christ's king- dom not of this world — hence we are neither to over- look the sinfulness of schism because the law does wisely in affording it toleration, p. 233 — nor to resort to any secular means of producing conformity, p. 234, LECTURE VIII. DIVISIONS WITHIN THE CHURCH. iCoR. i, 12, 13. Every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and lofApc^lms and I of Cephas ; and I of Ckeist. Is Chjist divided? '■ Neither heretical opinions nor separation from the Church, but merely internal disunion censured by the Apostle in this passage, p. 237. Advantages of a reli- gious society sufficiently secured in the English Churdi, p. 239. Advantages of our Liturgy as a standing mo- nitor, p. 241. Mischievous consequences of forming parties within the Church, p. 243. I. Rules for preventing or mitigating the spirit of party within the Church, p. 246. 1. Caution against extremes, p. 247. — Moderation of St. Paul, p. 249. 2. Importance of correctly inculcating such doctrines as have been most abused, p. 251. 3. Allowances to be made for differ- ences of taste and temper, p. 252. 4. Imputation of bad motives to be avoided, p. 253. 5. The language of a party to be avoided, p. 255 — but the terms to be CONTENTS. xt employed in their ordinary and unappropriated sense, p. 256. 6. A similar caution to be observed with re- spect to the names of parties. II. Two opposite classes of errors to be guarded agains^, p. 262. 1. Injudicious introduction of religious conversation couched in cer- tain fixed forms of expression, p. 263. — Indifference as to the sin of schism, p. 26.S. — Injudicious austerity, p. 264. — ^Tendency to presumptuous explanation and to exclusively elementary preaching, p. 265. — 2. Opposite faults — aversion to religious conversation — dread of be- ing " righteous" overmuch — preference of orthodoxy to vital religion, p. 267. Defective inculcation of the great doctrines of the Gospel, p. 268. All parties to be op- posed as parties, p. 269. III. Difficulties and encouragements in pursuing the course recommended, p. 270. 1. Liability to unfriendly suspicion from each party, p. 271. — Loss of celebrity, p. 272. 2. Patient zeal may be expected to wear out obloquy and suspicion, p. 273. Support to be hoped for from the candid and judicious on both sides, p. 273. We are to be encouraged by the hope of approbation and final reward from Him who seeth in secret, p. 274. EXTRACT FROM THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OP THE LATE REV. JOHN BAMPTON, CANON OF SALISBURY. — — " I give and bequeath my Lands and " Estates to the Chancellor, Masters, and Scho- ** lars of the University of Oxford for ever, to *' have and to hold all and singular the said " Lands or Estates upon trust, and to the in- *' tents and purposes hereinafter mentioned ; *' that is to say, I will and appoint that the " Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford *' for the time being shall take and receive all " the rents, issues, and profits thereof, and (after ** all taxes, reparations, and necessary deduc- " tions made) that he pay all the remainder to " the endowment of eight Divinity Lecture " Sermons, to be established for ever in the said f University, and to be performed in the man- " ner following : E xiv 3 " I direct and appoint, that, upon the first " Tuesday in Easter Term, a Lecturer be yearly " chosen by the Heads of Colleges only, and by " no others, in the room adjoining to the Print- " ing-House, between the hours of ten in the " morning and two in the afternoon, td preach " eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year fol- " lowing, at St. Mary's in Oxford, between the " commencement of the last month in Lent " Term, and the end of the. third week in Act « Term. " Also I direct and appoint, that the eight " Divinity^ Lecture . Sermons shall be preached " upon either of the following Subjects — to coff- '* firm and establish the Christian Faith, and to "confute all heretics and schismatics^-upon the /' divine authority of the holy Scriptures-r^upbh " the authority of the writings of the primitive " Fathers, as to the faith and practice of the pri'- " mitive Church — upon the Divinity of our Lord " and Saviour Jesus Christ — upon the Divittity " of the Holy Ghost — upon the Articles of the " Christian Faith, as comprehended in the " Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. " Also I direct, that thirty copies of the eight " Divinity Lecture Sermons shall be alvvays [ XV ] *' printed, within two months after they are " preached, and one copy shall be given to the " Chancellor of the University, and one copy to " the Head of every College, and one copy to " the Mayor of the city of Oxford, and one « copy to be put into the Bodleian Library ; and " the expense of printing them shall be paid " out of the revenue of the Land or Estates " given for establishing the Divinity Lecture " Sermons ; and the Preacher shall not be paid, " nor be entitled to the revenue, before they " are printed. " Also I direct and appoint, that no person *' shall be qualified to preach the Divinity Lec- " ture Sermons, unless he hath taken the de- " gree of Master of Arts at least, in one of the " two Universities of Oxford or Cambridge ; *' and that the same person shall never preach " the Divinity Lecture Sermons twice." INTRODUCTION. To oppose the progress of false doctrines and of schism was among the principal ob- jects proposed by the Founder of these lec- tures. It is undoubtedly necessary for this purpose that the various articles of the or- thodox faith, especially such as from time to time may chance to be controverted, should be expounded and maintained ; and the duty of Church-union inculcated. But it is perhaps no less necessary, with a view to the. same object,, that we should be put on our guard against such conduct as may lead others into those faults, though we re- main free from them ourselves ; and that the cause of truth should be, as far as possible, protected from the detriment which it may receive from injudicious friends, as well as from enemies. Erroneous tenets may be unintentionajly aided in their progress, even by those wiio dp not adopt them ; b xviii INTRODUCTION. and schisms fostered, by those whd do not join in them. To suggest therefore such cautions as may be requisite for avoiding these evils cannot be deemed a superfluous task, especially as less -attention has been bestowed on this department than on most others ; and as better success may ^ten be hoped for, in preventing a malady, than, in curing it. Having been led, with this view, to at- tempt a delineation oi Party -spirit, and the faults of conduct and of temper connected with it, it was of course necessary to cha- racterize that natural BnA allowable feeling of attachment to the body we belong to, of which Party-spirit is the excess ; lest I should be understood as favouring the con- trary extreme, and condemning all social- feeling in religious matters, short of that which extends to the whole of our fellow creatures. x The principle, whose use and abuse in the concerns of religion forms the subject of the ensuing discussion, can hardly be said to have any well-established and precisely appropriate name irp^our language ; and is INTRODUCTION. xix in fact most commonly denoted by the French expression, " Esprit de corps;'* " Party-spirit" being a term seldom em- ployed but in an unfavourable sense : while '* Social-feeling" again, or " Philan- " thropy," would convey too wide a signifi- cation ; the principle in question being a certain limited social-feeling, distinct from that which connects together all mankind. That species of the feeling in question which more particularly falls under my present consideration, the Apostles seem to have denoted by a word QSHhahx^iei) which our translators render " Brotherly- " love :" but the use of this last term in that precise signification is not altogether established. I have therefore adopted the term ^^ Party -feeling" for this purpose; not as completely unexceptionable, but as appearing, on the whole, the best that could be found, without resorting to a fo- reign language. The discussion of this subject falls na- turally under three heads. I. The descrip- tion of Party-feelii^ as to its use and its . b2 XX INTRODUCTION. abuse : II. The rules and cautions to be observed, generally, for, securing the; advan- tages, and avoiding the evils, in question : III. The application of these rules to the present state of the Church in this country, fHThe first of these heads forms the sub- ject of the first two discourses ; in which the proper degree, and right direction^ of Parly-feelifig, and also its excess and per- version, are, respectively, treated of. In the discussion of the former branch, I have endeavoured to characterize generally that principle in our nature which attaches men to any Society or Body of which they may be members ; (which seems to arise from the disposition to afford, and to delight in, mutual sympathy)*— to point out Xhe final causes for which it was implanted by the great Author of nature, i. e. the good pur- poses to which it is subservient, when well regulated : — which are principally, first, in- creased energy in pursuit of a common ob- ject; secondly, regular cooperation ; thirdly, mutual control and regulation ; and fourth- ly, an advantageous division of labour: — and lastly, to offer some observations on INTRODUCTION. xxi the right employment of it in the Christian Church; whose Founder, knowing what was in man, enlisted the principle in question into the service of his Religion. In proceeding to describe under the name of Party-spirit the excesses and mis- applications of this principle, I have no- ticed three faults , as' , most especially cha- raeteristic of that spirit: viz. first a dispo- sition to prefer the means to the end, — ^the body itself, and whatever tends to support and strengthen it, — to the object itself which it originally proposed ; secondly, an over-readiness to form parties, on insuffi- cient grounds ; and thirdly, a narrow- minded and uncandid bigotry. To these are added, as causes and concomitants of Party-spirit, first, the desire of taking the lead; secondly, fondness for novelty ; third- ly, love of disputation ; and fourthly, the Pride which delights in triumph and in in- solent revenge. The evil consequences of Party-spirit are also noticed : viz. first, the extinction of Christian Charity ; secondly. Scandal to the cause of Religion ; and thirdly, the establishment and propagation b3 xxii INT0iMTCTION. of Error ; wbich= is the more readily re- ceived, in proportion as men are blinded by the spirit of Party. II. In treating of the next head, viz. the rules to be observed, generally, for avoiding the evils above described, it appeared advisa- ble, for the sake of affording a convenient aid 'to the memory, to arrange these rules under four heads : treating first of those which re- late generally to the discipline and regula- tion of our own minds ; secondly, of those which concern our conduct towards others ; thirdly, of those relating to the subject- matter on which we may be engaged ; and fourthly, of those which regard the language we employ. Accordingly I have endeavoured, in the third lecture, to delineate, and to suggest rules for cultivating and cherishing in our- selves such dispositions as may most etFec- tiially counteract the faults described in the preceding discourse. The third and fourth lectures are devoted to the consideration of those principles which ought to direct our judgment and treatment of those who differ from us ; whether that difference shall, > INTRODUCTION. xxiii upon consideration, appear to be innocent and aHowable, or deserving of censure. With a view to the former of these cases, the principal cautions to be observed are, first, to beware of mistaking the meaning of any ohe, and irnputing to him sentiments which he does not really ientertain; se- condly, to liiake due allowance for weahr wess of intellect, backwardness in knowledge, and inaptitude for accurate statements; and thirdly, to allow also for such dif- ferences of natural or acquired temper and taste as imply nothing sinful ; differences which even divine inspiration, as we may perceive from the characteristic style of composition of each of the sacred writers, does not entirely do away. In treating of the rules to be observed in our conduct towards those who appear ciilpabhi it was necessary to revert to the same heads which had bee,n before con- sidered in a different point of view ; viz. in treating of the regulation of our own temper. For we must be prepared to find our opponents liable to the, same faults which we are to guard against in ourselves ; b4 xxiv INTRODUCTION. sucl> as, first, party tspirit ; secondly, un-' christian bitterness; and thirdly, fondness for controversy ; and it should be our study both to counteract, or at least avoid pro- moting, those faults, and also to take pre- cautions against the ill effects which may result from them. With respect to the last of these three heads especially, several cautions are suggested against rashly laying ourselves open to the arts of a subtle dis- putant : and against fostering insignificant heresies by imprudent opposition ; Or in- flaming the controversial spirit by assum- ing the polemical style, where the didactic would be more suitable ; and it is recom- mended to take a cotMprehendve view of any question that may be agitated, instead of being exclusively occupied in answering every cavil that may be brought forward : and carefully to suit the course of argu- ment adopted, to the peculiar object which may be in each case proposed; whether that be, to reclaim those who are tainted with error, or to warn others against being seduced by it. With respect to the subject-matter of INTRODUCTION. xxv the discussions we may be engaged in, St. Paul's precept must be observed, to avoid ^' foolish and .unlearned questions" as gendering strife ; under which head I have placed all such inquiries as are likely to lead to controversy respecting, first, matters too abstruse and mysterious for the human faculties to comprehend ; seedhdly, minute and trifling ; or thirdly, altogether speculative, and unconnected with practice. And under the first of these heads, two mistakes are noticed, which have an espe- cial tendency to lead to presumptuous spe- culation ; first, the expectation, oftentimes ill grounded, that j^// and distinct notions may be attained of whatever is relfealed'in Scripture ; and secondly, the mistake of supposing that we understand more clearly than we do, any thing of which the name is very familiar to us. The cautions suggested with respect to the language employed are, first, to be duly on our guard against the ambiguity of terms; secondly, not too rashly to judge of men's doctrines from their phraseology, — insisting too strongly on their employing xxvi INTRODUCTION. the same terms with ourselves ; and thirdly, to avoid adhering too closely to any such fixed set of expressions as have been made, or are likely to becomq, the cant language of a party ; which has a tendency not only. to gender *' strifes about words," but also, both to deaden men's attention to the things signified, and to lead to erroneous theories for explaining the doctrines in question . III. The third point originally proposed being the application of the principles above laid down to the existing state of the Chris- tian Church in this country, this subject naturally divides itself into two branches: the case of Separatists from the Church, and 'that of adverse parties within the Church, requiring, each, a distinct consi- deration. For in the one case. Party -feel- ing requires to be wisely regulated, and kept within proper bounds ; in the other case, it is to be deprecated, and as far as possible extinguished, altogether. In what relates to our conduct towards Dissenters, I have endeavoured to point out- the middle course between intolerant hi- INTRODUCTION. xxvii gotry on the one hand, and disregard of the virtue of Christian unity on the other ; and have recommended, as the most effec- tual means of counteracting the prevalence of schism, first, an Exemplary Life; se- condly. Zeal m the inculcation of truth ; and thirdly, a conciliatory and Christian mildness. With respect to the internal disunion which exists, or which may at any time be likely to arise, among the members of our Church, 1 have summed up and applied to the case in question such of the fore -Men- tioned rules as appeared the most likely to counteract the Spirit of Party within that Church : adding some cautions against certain opposite extremes which seem at present most prevalent : and concluding by giving a short sketch of the difficulties which those must be prepared to en- counter, who determine to keep clear of the Spirit of Party, and to steer between opposite extremes ; as well as of the en- couragements by which they are to be sup- ported. In the whole of the remarks that have xxviii INTRODUCTION. been offered there is little, I am aware, that can claim the praise of originaUtj, ex- cept of arranjgemeiit and application. But I conceived it would be no unprofitable task, especially in times like the present, to collect into a small compass, nnd €x-* hibit in an orderly form, a number of sijoh principles of conduct as are most requisite with a view to the counteraction both of Heresies and of unchristian Divisions ; arid which, though no one of them can be strictly said to he unknown, are yet only to be met with loosely scattered in the works of various authors ; and are> in prtictice, perpetually overlooked. The Utility of co- pious disquisitions on particular points of doctrine, is not disputed ; btit it is hoped that there may be also no less utility in a collection of such general maxims as are intimately connected with the attainment of truth in all matters df doctrine alikey> and with the preservation both of Chris- tian Faith and Christian Unity. In historical illustrations of the matters under discussion, I have been more spar- ing than some perhaps might deem advis- INTRODUCTION. xxix able: but as the necessary limits of the present wot-k would have precluded the possibility of introducing a collection of mdny instances to illustrate each point, (which in fact would have occupied several volumes) so on the other hand the selection of a, few such instances, might have been attended with this disadvantage j that since differences of opinion would have existed with respect to each case brought forward, some might have been inclined to doubt the justness of the principle itself laid down, in consequence of their not admitting its applicability in the instance adduced : so that the force of the reasoning might some- times have been weakened, by its being supposed to rest on the examples brought forward by way of illustration. I have therefore thought it better, for the most part, to state only the general reasonings by which each position is supported ; leaving each of my readers to select for himself, from the numerous and well known ex- amples that may be found, such as may appear to him to afford the most suitable illustration. And if by this means 1 shall XXX INTRODUCTION. in any instance have avoided also the risk of giving unnecessary offence to any one, I shall have succeeded the more complete- ly in conforming to the principles which I have all along studied to inculcate. LECTURE i. NATURE AND USES OF PARTY-FEELING. 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. A^s the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of thai one body, being many, are one body : so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body. JNO original and essentially inherent prin- ciple of, our nature is in itself either mis- chievous or useless. The maxim, that na- ture does nothing in vain, is not more true in the material, than in the moral world. And as each organ of the human body (however liable to become the seat of disease, Or to exceed its due proportion) is calcijlated to promote, in its natural and healthy state, some beneficial end ; so, in the mind also, whatever mischievous ex- cesses and perversions any principle of action may be liable to, (through our frail and sinful nature,) we may be assured that if it shall appear to he really a universal M 2 NATURE AND USES Lect.I. principle of our nature, it will be found, on a careful examination, to have been design- ed, and to be wisely adapted, to promote (when under due guidance) some good pur- pose. The good purposes indeed to which some of our natural propensities tend are so ma- nifest and so important, as sometimes to have drawn off men's attention from the propensities themselves, and led them to regard the desire of those ends as the sole principle of action ; thus, in many cases, mistaking (as has been well expressed) " the " wisdom of God for the wisdom of man"," and overlooking the wise contrivance of his providence in implanting such feelings and desires as lead us (as it were blindly) to the accomplishment of what He sees to be beneficial purposes. One of the most important of these prin- . Ciples, and one which is not in general suffi- ciently attended to, is that which binds to- gether the members of any community, class, or party, and renders the body to which they belong, considered as a body, a a Smith's Moral Sentiments. OF PARTY-FEELING. S distinct object of attachment. Not indeed that this part of our constitution has been by any means overlooked altogether; but it is seldom, if ever, that a comprehensive view of it has been taken : some particular branches of it have been noticed fully, while the wide extent and variety of its operation has been disregarded : and its evil or beneficial effects have been viewed separately, without tracing them up to their source, as modifications of what may be reckoned one common, innate principle of the human heart. Thus, the soundest among the ancients, while they very wisely pronounced man to be by nature a social being, impelled to form communities, not by any consideration of the advantages thence accruing, but by a sort of instinctive tendency, yet confined their attention almost exclusively to the political union ; which is only one among many which man has a tendency to form. And various writers have made just remarks on the extravagances of party-spirit, with- out however perceiving, or at least with- out pointing out, that these are only the 4 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. abuses and perversions of a principle, which, being essential to our nature, exists^ in a greater or^ less degree, in all mankind ; which is in itself (like all our other propen- sities) neither virtuous nor vicious, but is calculated, under the control of reason, to lead to important benefits. ^iThat it is not common to take a general view of this principle, in all its various bear- ings and modifications, is evident from this, that it can hardly be said even to have a name in our language. The practical effects of a man's attachment to his .coun- try, to his faction, to his fraternity, to his sect, and the like, are so different, both in nature and in importance, that our atten- tion is drawn off from the sameness of the general feeling which is at the bottom of all, and which appears different, chiefly from its being directed to different objects. And it is the same with other principles also : for instance, those who are not at all habituated to the investigation of human nature, are apt to be startled at being told that the princi- plie which actuates the conqueror in subju- gating empires, is essentially the same as OF PARTY-FEELING. 5 may often be seen in a child who is anxious to take the lead in directing the sports of his playfellows; and that, immensely as the effects differ, the cause in each may rightly be called by the same name, ambition. That principle then which I am now speaking of, that party-feeling, (if I may be allowed to give it such a name, in de- fault of a more precise one,) may be de- scribed as a certain limitation of the gene- ral social principle which binds together ,the human species: it consists in the at- tachment and regard men are disposed to feel towards any class, body, or association they may belong to, in itself, and towards the fellow-members of the same, as suck, over and above any personal regard they may have for them individually; and in a zeal for the prosperity of the society, and for the objects it peculiarly proposes, over and above what is felt for those objects in themselves, and what would be felt for them by each individual, supposing him singly to pursue them. It must be added, that men have a natural tendency to sym- pathize and unite with those who coincide 6 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. with them in any point ; and hence are led to form these communities or parties, as well as to feel towards those in which they may be placed, that attachment and zeal which have been just mentioned. 'v' Those who delight in analysing the com- plex principles of our nature, and referring them to their simplest elements, may per- haps without much difficulty trace up that of which we are now speaking, to our natu- ral desire of sympathy, and disposition to afford it. We take a pleasure in meeting ,with persons with whose situations and sen- timents we can sympathize : we are pleased likewise with the idea of their sympathy with us; from which consequently we derive ad- ditional ardour also in a common pursuit, and increased confidence in a common opinion : and hence arises a mutual attach- ment between those among whom this mu- tual sympathy exists. Whether however this or any different theory be adopted ; or whe- jther the party-feeling we are speaking of is to be referred to any more simple principles of our nature, of which it is the necessary . result, or is to be regarded as itself one of ^ OF PARTY-FEELING. 7 the primary elements, as it were, of the hu- man mind, is a question of no consequence to our present object : only let its existence and universality be admitted, and its effects referred to it, as their immediate source; not to any calculations of reason upon views of expediency. That there is^ such a principle in our na- ture, as far at least as regards the political union, was, as has been just remarked, strongly maintained by the wisest of the ancient philosophers. Cicero in particular (whose testimony is in this case of the more weight, from his being occupied rather in retailing the most approved doctrines of others, than in giving the results of his own inquiries) makes the desire of uniting in societies an essential characteristic of our nature : he denies that men are led to this, merely with a view to the mutual sup- ply of their wants; for if a man, says he, could command all things needful or desir- able for himself by the virtue of a magic wand, he would still covet the social union : and he maintains, that, as bees do not as- semble for the purpose of building a honey^ 8 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. comb; but, being congregated by a natural instinct, employ themselves in this joint work, so men also are drawn together by a natural associating principle, and not, ori- ginally, from a mere view to those advan- tages which result from their union. Id But moreover, even in those cases where a coalition of any kind is formed mani- festly and distinctly for the sake of promot- ing some common purpose, still the zed and the mutual attachment of the persons concerned, is not, even then, to be measur- ed by the value^ {i. e. the original value,) even in their own eyes, of the advantage proposed. Their beiHg engaged in a com^ mon pursuit, is generally found to bind them to each other, and to increase their eagerness for the object pursued, to a de- gree which even they themselves would never have anticipated.* Whj^t exertions and what sacrifices have been produced by patriotism (i. e. att?iohment to the poliiiecd community we belong to) is well known : it has often led men to resign cheerfully all personal objects, and even life itself, for the sake of the community; and thus to OF PARTY-FEELING. 9 forego all their own share of those eommon advaBtages, for whose sake alone, as some pretend', the community itself was formed. 'In this ease indeed there is an obligation of duty; the force of which has often, no doubt, had great influence in producing such conduct ; but we cannot pronounce a sense of duty to be in general the sole motive, nor, always, even a part of the motive, which leads to these results, if we cohsider both how little of a general sense of duty has apparently been felt by men who yet have plainly shewn themselves not destitute of patriotism,— how little many of them have been disposed, in any other case, to sacrifice their own to their neigh- bour's good ; — what flagitious actions, in violation of duty, some have perpetrated, with a view to the benefit of their country ; — ^nd lastly, how much of the same zeal and attaebment is daily shewn by the members of such factions, sects, or parties, as have not that claim upon the conscience. In fact, human conduct altogether would be an ' inexplicable riddle to any one who should deny or overlook the existence of Missing Page ' OF PARTY-FEELING. 11 speaking of is not only a source of union, but also of division ; — of discord, no less than of concord, (since it implies in its very nature, hostility to every thing that opposes the interests and objects of the party adopt- ed ; a jealous aversion to every rival party, and a tendency to subdivide, and separate into fresh parties, upon any point in which a certain number coincide with each other, and differ from the rest) and that thence it has had a principal share in producing and keeping up almost all the contests that have ever existed, from the most gi- gantic wars between nations, down to the most obscure local controversies ; and has even given rise probably to more dissensions between individuals than were ever pro- duced by merely personal feelings : — if, I say, we consider all this, we cannot but admit that of all the principles which ac- tuate the human mind, this is one of the most remarkable, and in its effects most momentous. It was observed in the opening of this leefeure, that every one of our natural pro- pensities is calculated to answer, under the 12 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. control of reason, some good purpose: and the final cause of the one now under discussion, it is not difficult to perceive. Party-feeling has an evident tendency, un- der veise management^ to promote the' ob- jects of the body, whatever they may be : whenever (as is often the case) it tends to frustrate those very objects', that is always from some excess, imprudence, or misma- nagement; such as has often occasioned courage to lead to defeat instead of vic- tory. The object indeed which is proposed by a party may be itself bad j and then, the party-feeling, or whatever else conduces to the accomplishment of such a purpose, be-" comes mischievous : but this is to be laid to the account of the depravity of the per- sons concerned, and does not prove party-^ feeling to be itself an evil : for no one would deny such qualities, for instance, as industry or intrepidity to be in themselves valuable; though if possessed by an unprincipled man, their effects are injurious. Suppos- ing then the object proposed by a pi^ to be a proper one, (and it is their fault if OF PARTY-FEELING. IS t they propose any that is not) party-feeling, if it conduces (as I have said) to that ob- ject, must be allowed to be a useful prin- ciple. Now that it has- this tendency, is evident even from what has been already said : the strength of any feeling, and the ardour of any pursuit, are heightened, by mutual sympathy, and by mutual consci- ousness of that sympathy ; and men feel encouraged and confirmed in their comr mon belief by a sort of tacit appeal to each other's authority. Moreover, a party have the advantage of acting in concert, and thereby of cooperatirig far more effectually than if each acted singly and independently, in pursuit of the very same objects : they may consult together, and jointly form plans for simultaneous exertion, deriving strength, like the bundle of lances in the well known fable, from mutual support. They have likewise the benefit of mutual control and regulation, so necessary to prevent any individual member from inter?- fering, by his own fault or imprudence, with the common benefit of the bodv ; whence arise, in political communities, the advan- 14 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. tages of civil government. And lastly, thejr possess the advantage of a division of la- bour; by which each member may have that office assigned him for which he is best qualified, or which, at least, he may the better discharge, from being enabled to con- fine his attention to it, But indeed, be- sides this subordinate distribution ofofficesj the very formation of societies for the at- tainment of any good ends, may be regard- ed as in itself a kind of beneficial division of labour; and the tendency to form them, as implanted with a view to that benefit ; since by this means the exertions of each individual, by being limited to a narrower sphere, are bestowed with greater effect. And hence, 'in the case of the political union, the general prosperity of mankind is better promoted by the judicious exer- tions of each individual in the service of his own country, than it would be, if this general prosperity were the main and im- mediate object pursued by each, without any division into separate communities. Such then being the nature, and such OF PARTY-FEELING. 15 the final causes, of party -.feeling, it remains to inquire how far the Christian religion is accommodated to this part of our consti- tution. It is a remarkable characteristic of the Gospel, that it aims, at correcting indeed, and elevating, but not, at destroying our nature. Unlike the stoical philosophy, which taught men that they were to eradi- cate every passion, and live merely by the dictates of reason ; — unlike most false reli- gions, which inculcate precepts decidedly unnatural, such as, to renounce society, to abstain from innocent enjoyments, and sub- mit to self-inflicted tortures, — Christianity conforms to our nature wherever it is not depraved ; and thus aiFords a strong pre- sumption of its having proceeded from Him who " knew what was in man." And as there is no natural propensity, that is in itself evil, so there is none that in itself is condemned by Christianity ; though it seeks to direct all of them to higher ob- jects. Our Lord does not require men to despise applause, and to follow virtue solely for its own sake, without any thought of 16 ^ NATURE AND USES Lect.I. their conduct being seen and approved, but to seek the praise of their " Father who *' seeth in secret, and who will reward them '* openly :" he tells them not, to be indif- ferent about the future, and improvident ; but to lay up "for themselves treasure in " heaven," rather than accumulate the pe- rishable goods oCthis world: he does not exhort them to root out the feeling of pity, as a weakness, but to minister to the poor and helpless, for his sake ; and not to re- nounce human affections, but to love all mankind, including even their enemies. And instead of exhorting his disciples to lay aside all party-feelmgj and labour singly for their own salvation and that of mankind at large ; — instead of merely leaving a set of doctrines and precepts, to be adopted and obeyed by each insulated individual who might mpprove of them, he combined his followers himself into a distinct society, which we term the Church ; of which he is himself the head, and all Christians the naembers; of which he appointed the first, governors, and which he promised to be with always, even unto the end of the worW.' *0F PARTY-FEELING. 17 This' Christian fraternity then, this com- mufiion of saints^ had a formal institution ; it has a solemn initiation, in the sacrament of baptism ;■ — it haS rules of belief a:rid of con- duct for its members, in the holy Scriptures; it has a distinct object, the propagation and preservation of the faith, and the spiritual' welfare of its members ; — it has regular go- vernors to watch over its concerns ; and it stands opposed, in spiritual warfare, to the corruptions of unregenerate human nature, and the wiles of Satan, who is called " the " God of this world." This limited social- feeling, — this fraternal spirit, which Christ and his Apostles strove to cherish, was not designed indeed to supersede universal phi- lanthropy, but it was manifestly considered by them as a distinct duty from that. When our Lord said, " A new commandment I ' ' give unto you, That ye love one another," he cannot properly be interpreted as re- commending general benevolence; which, though undoubtedly a divine precept, could not justly have been designated as a new one, since even the heathen, however im- perfectly they practised this duty, were by 18 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. no means ignorant of it. He manifestly had in view the mutual love of Christians as such. And in like manner the ApostleSj when they exhort us to '* add to brotherly - " kindness, charity,"— to "honour all men, " and love the brotherhood," — *' to do good " unto all men, but especially unto them " that are of the household of faith," — are evidently drawing a marked distinction be- tween the two virtues, of philapthropy, and the spirit of Christian brotherhood. Thus did Christianity take advantage of this, associating arid coalescing principle of our nature, and enlist it, as it were, into her own service, by giving it a new direc- tion ; in order to secure, in the most im- portant of all concerns, those advantages which are the final cause of its being im- planted in our minds. What these advantages are, has been already slightly mentioned. All of them seem to have been proposed and secured by the embodying of the Christian Church. The increased zeal, — the encouragement, — and the consolation, which men derive from the consciousness that others sympa- OF PARTY-FEELING. 19 thize in their sentiments, their hopes, and their wishes, seems to have been regarded by the Apostles as of no small importance. St. Paul especially takes frequent oppor- tunities to remind his converts of their being fellow- members of one great incor- porated society, — of his own prayers for them, and sympathy with them, and anxiety for the success of their common cause, — and of the regard and interest felt for them by the members of the other local churches^ " We being many," says St. Paul to the Romans, "are one body in Christ, and " every one members one of another ;" and again, " Be kindly afFectioned one to an- '* other, with brotherly love ;" and again to the Corinthians, " Whether one member " suffer, all the members suffer with it, or *« one member be honoured, all the mem- " bers rejoice with it." And to the Thessa- lonians he writes, " We are bound to thank " God always for you,, brethren, as it is '* meet, because that your faith groweth " exceedingly, and the charity of every one " of you all toward each other aboundeth, " so that We ourselves glory in you in the c 2 ao NATURE AND USES Lect. I. " churches of God, for your patience and " faith." He seldom indeed begins an epistle to any church without his own and his fellow labourers' prayers and good- wishes ; or concludes it, without mention- ing the sympathy and interest felt for them by their Christian brethren. The. proofs indeed! of the divine origin of CUrisitianity are so strong, and its import- ance to each individual believer so greaJi, that, considering the case abstractedly, it might seem needless to attempt confirming a man's faith in it by appealing to the au- thority of others who believe the same ; or heightening his zeal in the cause, by setting before him. their example : and certainly; the early converts at least, were not led to. embrace the Go^el by any tendency to comply with pEevailing notions. But such ia, human nature, that we cannot com- pletely trust to. a man's always conforming his belief to reason, or his practice to his belief; but must resort to the aid of every secondary motive that can be brought, into play. And undoubtedly none of these have, more influence on faith and feding OF PARTY- FEELING. 21 and practice, than the example and syiil- pathy of others. Where indeed is the man who can presume to say, that his faith would he equally firm, if no one held it besides himself? or that his feelings and his con- duct would be the same, if he found that, in both, he stood perfectly single ? Again, the regular government of ariy society, and the miitaal instructioh and as- sistance, the admonition, exhortation, and correctionj whi©h its members may receive from each other^ with a view to the further- ance of the common cause, and their being enabled by this means to combine their ex- ertions, — to act in concert, on plans jointly devised, — and to hold together in one body, instead of interfering with each other, are aitiong the advantages to be derived from their union. And these accordingly were not overlooked by the Apostles : " Obey *' them," says St. Paul, " that have the rule *' over you, and submit yourselves ; for they " watch for your souls as they that must '* give an account :" and again, " Let uscon- " sider one another, to provoke unto love " and to good works ; not forsaking the c 3 22 NATURE AND USES Lect. I. " assembling of ourselves together, as the " manner of some is, but exhorting one *' another." " Ye younger," says St. Peter, " submit yourselves to the elder; yea all " of you be subject one to another." " Con- " fess your faults," says St. James, " one to " another, and pray one for another, that " ye may be healed." And Timotheus, whom St. Paul so carefully instructs in his episcopal duties, and charges to " preach, " reprove, and exhort," was especially left by him at Ephesus, to " charge some, that " they preach no other doctrine ;" and thus to prevent disorders in the Church. Lastly, one of the most important advan- tages which the members of any embodied society possess, is, the distribution of dis- tinct offices among different individuals ; which is usually called the division of la- bour. In the political community it is well known how much the increase of national wealth, and the other objects proposed by the civil union, is by this means promoted : but any other kind of association also may, upon the same principle, secure to itself similar, if not equal advantages : and the OF PARTY-FEELING. 23 Christian Church especially, may possess them in' a most important degree. Besides the benefit of having a certain number of Christians set apart as ministers of the Gospel, (not indeed as the only persons engaged in God's service, but as more pe- culiarly and exclusively devoted to it, and withdrawn from other occupations,) besides this, I say, there is an opportunity for a still further division of labour among these last ; — still narrower spheres of action may be taken by different Christian ministers, without any fear that other departments should be neglected. Some may devote themselves more especially to the instruc- tion of youth, others, to the edification of their adult hearers ; some, to the critical study of the sacred text, others to the as- certaining and defending of the doctrines contained in it, or to researches into the belief and practice of the primitive church ; and some again may employ themselves chiefly in collecting the results of the learned labours of others, throwing them into a popular forin, illustrating, and enforcing them : some, may be champions of the faith c 4 24 NATURE AND USES Lect, I. agai«8t heretics, some commentators, some missionaries. In short, the diversity of useful employments, in the common cause of our religion, may be no less than that of the spiritual gifts among the ancient Chris- tiaps : a diversity which, as it tended ul- itisnajtely to the promotion of a single end, St. Paul exhorted them to regard as a bond of more perfect union, not a source of jea-? lousy or division : and he compares it to the diversity of functions of the several members of the body, which cooperate for the common welfare of the whole. " As the " body," says he, "is one, and hath many " members, and all the members of that one " body, being many, are one body: so also " is Christ. ' For by one Spirit are we all ** baptized into one body For the body " is not one member, but many. If the foot '* shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am " not of the body; is it therefore not of the " body ? And if the ear shall say, Because I '* am not the eye, I am not of the body ; is it *' therefore not of the bqdy ? If the whole- *' body were an eye, where were the hearing ? ** If the whole were hearing, where were,the OF PAJRTY-FEELING. ^ 35 " smelling? .... Ye," says he, "are the " body of Christ, and members in particu- " Ijar." Au4 again, ^* Are all apostles? are "all prophets? are all tj^chers ? are all " workers of miracles ? have all the gifts of " healing.'' do all speak with tongues ? do " all interpret?" * These diverse gifts and offices were in- tended, as he continually reminds his con- verts, to conduce the more effectually to the one common end, the stability, and edifica- tion, and augmentation of the community, — Such being then the advantages, and such th€ divine sanction of the Christian commu- nity, it is clearly the duty of every believer in Christ to use his best endeavours for preserving its vigour and its unity. He is an unworthy and pseless member, who has no spirit of fellowship with his brethren,^- no inclination to unite, sympathize, and cooperate with them : he is a. corrupt .and mischievous member, who either himself creates, or provokes others to create, ground-/ less divisions and dissension in it. The one fault may be characterized as a defect of that partysfeeling we have been speaking 26 NATURE AND USES Lect.I. of, (a defect at least of that particular branch of it which concerns the Christian, considered as such;) the o)tber, as an excess and abuse of that same feeling. The one may be compared to the fault of a citizen who is destitute of patriotism, and indif- ferent to the welfare of the state ; the other, to that of the factious and rebellious, in whom a similar coalescing principle is di- rected to a different object, and pushed to a vicious extreme. It has been already observed, that party- feeling is a source of disunion as well as of uniouj^^of dissension as well as of agree- ment ; since attachment to any party im- plies hostility to every opposed or rival party. And in addition to this, it has also been mentioned, as a part of our con- stitution, not only that men feel attach- ment to the party or community of which they are already members, but also that those who have any thing of dodtrine, sentiment, or practice in common, are in- clined to coalesce and combine togetherj into a body, and keep that body distinct from such as differ from them on thes6 OF PARTY-FEELING. 27 points : when therefore this tendency is carried to excess, minor points of coinci- dence will unitq with each other, and se- parate from the rest, part of the members of that body so formed : and hence it is the very nature of this feeling, when not duly controlled, to produce not only bitter animosity between opposite parties, but also internal divisions in each ; — not only to inflame them one against another, but also to subdivide and multiply them ; and thus to destroy its own works, by separating into hostile factions the very persons whom it had originally drawn together. Men are loth to recognize the operation of the same principle in different cases, when its opera- tion is in the one beneficial, and in the other mischievous; but an attentive ob- server will be compelled to admit, that the same inclination to combine with those who agree with them on any point, or have any thing in common with them, and to keep apart from, or oppose, all others, to- gether with a strong attachment to the party they belong to, has often led the same men, at one time to perform the most 28 NATURE AND USES Lect.I. ixnport£uit services to the state, in contests with fbreign enemies, and, at another time, when uncontrolled by virtuous principilb and sound discretion, to produce in that viery state the most ruinous factions : and that the same spirit which supported the infant Church against its pagan enemies/ became, when perverted and corrupted, the fruitful source (especially in the more flourishing state of the Church) of furious contentions, and obstinate schisms. Our Lord, who saw the excesses and de- pravations to which party-feeling is liable, as well as its advantages,*-^rts abuses as well as its utility, — charges his disciples to " have " peace one with another;" and offers up, in their presence, a solemn petition to the Father for their unity. And his apostles also are frequent and earnest in exhorting their converts to maintain the strictest union and most perfect concord among themselves, and to be on their guard against such as " caused divisions among them." Those who, in their dread of strife and party^violence, would seek to preserve this union by abstaimng frOm all mention of OF PARTY-FEELING. 29 e^?ery doctrine that is likely to afford mat- ter of controversy, — by laying aside all for- mularies, and confessions of faith,— and by regarding with indifference all varieties of opinion among professors of Christianity, — would in fact put an end to the very exist- ence of the society itself, whose integrity and concord they would preserve. In pre- venting hurtful contentions, by giving up everything that is worth contending about, they would be rooting out the wheat along with the tares ; and for the sake of extirpat- ing noxious weeds, would be condemning the field to perpetual sterility. And after all, it would be but an apparent union that would result; since the members of the same nominal Church could have but little sympathy with each other's sentiments and designs, when they knew them to be essen- tially at variance with thein own. It seems indeed little less than a contradictibn, to speak of a religious community, whose members are radically different in religion. We are not then to hold a society toge- ther by renouncing the objects of it ; nor to part with our faith and our hope, as a means of attaining charity ; but rather seek 30 NATURE AND USES Lect.I. to combine the three ; and by earnest zeal, without violence or bigotry, — by firmness, accompanied with moderation, discretion, and temper, — by conciliating adversaries, without sacrificing the truth, — and by hearty yet mild cooperation with friends, to obtain the advantages of party-feeling, yet avoid its evils ; and promote peace, with- out falling into indifference. In most ages of Christianity indeed, the excess and abuse of party-feeling has been the more prevalent, or at least the more conspicuous, of the two opposite faults just noticed : and the cautions and admonitions of our Lord and his Apostles against it, are still as applicable as ever, and will con- tinue to be so, as long as human nature shall remain the same. It is proposed then, in the remainder of these lectures, to offer some remarks on the evils which arise from the perversions and the inordinate violence of party-feeling, and on the means by which those evils may be prevented, or cured, or alleviated. In the course of this discussion, my ob- ject will be, not to defend the faith against heretics, and the Church against senarat- OF PARTY-FEELING. 31 ists, by bringing home the charge of error against the one, and of schism against the other ; (for in this most important office, there are perhaps enough, who are, and have been, successfully employed;) but ra- ther to warn the orthodox and the church- man against such errors in their own con- duct as may occasion, or aggravate, or prolong, the evils of heresy and schism in others ; — to examine, in short, and guard against the faults, tiot so much of our op- ponents, as of ourselves ; a subject which is not at all less necessary to be attended to, than the other, but which is riot so often discussed, and is much more likely to escape our attention. If it be possible (as it certainly is) that he who himself holds the truth, may contribute to occasion another's falling into error ; and that a schismatical party may be produced, or its violence ex- asperated, or its existence protracted, by those who do npt join it, it cannot but be of high importance to consider the means of avoiding such faults : especially when it is recollected, that the arguments used against adversaries, however sound and ingeni- ous, may, in many instances, never reach 32 OF Pi^RTY-FEELmO. Lect. I. them at all ; of when they do, will often be listened to with prejudice ; so that fre- quently they will do little more than con- firm those who are already convinced : whereas the admonitions addressed to our own brethTen, will be likely to obtain a hearing at least, if not a favourable arrd a profitable hearing. Before however we Seek for preventives or remedies for a disease, it is desirable that we should thoroughly understand the nature of it. I propose therefore in the en- suing lecture to consider the nature and origin of the excess and, abuse of. party- feeling, — the combination; of it with other principles of the human miiid, and the' effects to which it has led. May He of whose body we are members, — who has promised his support to the Church mi- litant on earth, — ^and through whom we hope to join the Church triumphant in heaven, — vouchsafe to aid our exertions^ — to direct our inquiries, — and to lead us^ b^ his Spirit, into all truth ! LECTURE II. PARTY-SPIRIT. James iii. 14 — 17. Jf ye have hitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, ami lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envy- ing and strife is, there is confttsiorf. and every evil work. But the ijOisdom that i^Jrom above is first pure, then 'peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of merey and goodfrmtSj, Vfithaut partiality and teitfiout hypocrisy. As there is no original principle of our na- ture that is not d^jsignfed to answer some good purpbsie, so ther^ is none that is not liable to become mischievous, when ill- regiilated, and misdirected, and excessive : and those which^ under the Control of rnoral principle and discretion, are the niost bene- ficial, are commonly the most hurtful also, when they escape from that control. Suoh D 34 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. accordingly is the case with that party-feeling which has beep already described, as the principle which leads men readily to com- bine and embody themselves, in parties and societies, of various kinds ; — which heightens their zeal in any common cause; — and which makes the body they belong to, an object of regard in itself, distinct from the individuals composing it : sometimes in- deed when no regard is fdt for them ; nay, even when (from the nature of the case) each one of them is a rival, and an object of jealousy. This principle then, under various names and characters, produces energy and co- operation in various departments of human life. In the form of patriotism, it preserves the existence, and promotes the prosperity of states ; and in many other shapes also exerts a most extensive and important, and often j, most salutary influence. Its excesses and perversions are propor- tionably mischievous. It is liable not only to prevail in too great a degree, and be- come too predominant, but also to operate unduly, in cases where it ought to be ex- PARTY-SPIRIT. 35 eluded ; and to pursue its objects by impro- per means. All these may be called, (con- formably to the received language of the best moral writers) excesses of various kinds ; in the same manner as we usually reckon among the excesses of anger, not only its ex- treme violence, but also, its being too ea- sily excited, — too permanent, — directed to wrong objects, — and the like. I. The most remarkable, and most pro- perly characteristic, excess of party-feeling, is the tendency to prefer the means to the end >-^the permanence, and prosperity, and aggrandizement, of any party or society, tq the objects themselves which it proposes, or professes to propose, and for the sake of which, it is established. When men shew an extravagant and dis- proportionate eagerness for that which is the object of their joint efforts, it is not easy to pronounce how much of this fault is fairly to be laid to the account of exces- sive party-feeling, and how much may be attributed to an original over estimate of the end proposed : but when they become comparatively indifferent to that very end, D 2 36 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. and yet still adhere and devote themselves to the party, — when (as is frequently the case) the original purpose seems nearly or entirely forgotten, by every member of the body, and yet the body itself still holds to- gether in full force, and maintains its dis- tinct existence,— we may then decidedly call ^uch a disposition an excess of party-feel- ing ; and something of this nature is usual- ly intended by the term, party -sprit ; that name being most commonly applied in an unfavourable sense. Instances of this are very numerous. Many remarkable ones have occurred among the Jesuits, who having been form- ed into a compact and carefully-regulated society, evinced a proportionate degree of the party-zeal and attachment which are thus generated and kept alive. Had their object been originally the propagation and maintenance of the Gospel of Him whose name they adopted, and had they kept steadily to that object, the institution might have been highly beneficial. But, as in other cases, so, most remarkably in this, (7Pnl fnr thfi spniil'lt.v and infliifinne of their PARTY-SPIRIT. 37 order, nearly swallowed up their zeal for their own professed object : they were often ready to compromise the cause of religion, for the sake of advancing the interests of the body : and there are even said to have been individuals among them, who were ready to sacrifice in the cause of the society, every selfish object, — every comfort and enjoyment of life, and even life itself, though at the same time they were not even believers in the truth of Christianity. Thus too, examples abound in every page of history, and present themselves continually before our eyes, of men who with little or no mixture of personal mo- tives, but acting almost entirely from a perverted patriotism, are ready to sacrifice without scruple, for the glory and aggran- dizement of the state, not only themselves, but also the lives, land the property, and the happiness of their fellow-citizens, (con- sidered individually,) though the security of these is the very object of civil society. One circumstance which most especially tends to lead the members of any party into a forgetfulness of their legitimate and ori- D 3 38 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. ginal purpose, is the necessity, or at least expediency, of paying attention to other objects, distinct from this. Almost every society has some regulations and institu- tions, whose immediate end is the preserv- ation of the society, and which have no in- trinsic value ; like the fortifications of. a town, which are worthless in themselves, but are essential to the security of the citi^ Zens' habitations and goods ; and whose defence is therefore the more carefully at- tended to, because, were these abandoned, nothing would remain that could be effectu- ally defended. Of this character are liiany parts of the constitution of our own country, and of other states ; which have no imme- diate tendency to increase the happiness of the subject, but only, to maintain a propier balance in the government, — to secure the due enactment and administration of laws, — and in short, to preserve the society in its existing form : these accordingly are guarded with commendable vigilance, as important rights, and are sometimes term- ed, not improperly, the bulwarks of the con- stitution. PARTY-SPIRIT. S9 Moreover, it is generally found desirabje that a party should have some external marks and badges of distinction, — often an arbitrary symbol, — ^to indicate their internal sentiments and dispositions ; that the mem- bers of it may be kept apart from others, and mutually known among themselves, and held together. These are like the stand- ards in an army; which the soldiers are taught to defend at all hazards, because, though, in themselves, not worth defend- ing, they are the signs by which they are to distinguish friend from foe, and by which they are to be kept together in proper or- der. Accordingly we find the members of any sect, society, or other body of men, (especially if living mingled with others,) always disposed to adopt as a mark, either some peculiarity in their language, habit, or mode of living, or the observance of some peculiar ceremony, often having as little natural connexion with the objects of the party, as the military standard has with war. All these signs of distinction have the 3flfect, not only of keeping the party unit- id and entire, but also of increasing men's D 4 40 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. attachment to it. The human mind is so formed, as to take an interest in every thing that is, in any way, a peculiarity; and party-feeling is roused and invigorated > by every circumstance which reminds the par- tisans of their being a distinct body, and of the tie subsisting between them. And here it may be worth while to remark, by the way, that one advantage, at leasts of the numerous ceremonies and marks of disitinction which were enjoined to the Is- raelites, may be perceived from wh^t has been just mentioned. A small nation, sur- rounded by idolaters, whose pro&xne rites had so much that was seductive to unculti- vated minds, needed something more to preserve them from contamination, than the intrinsic purity and sublimity of their reli- gion : every distinctive sign or observance that could remind them hourly of their be- ing a peculiar people, ^nd separate them widely from the rest of mankind, was re- quisite to preserve the essential parts of their institutions from being lost or cor- rupted, f^ Now as every thing that men have been • PARTY-SPIRIT. 41 long accustomed to prize and regard, (from whatever cause,) becomes endeared to them by association, and at length appears, in their eyes, intrinsically precious, we need not wonder at finding that these secondary objects of a society, when they have occu- pied (as must frequently be the cas6) the larger portion of their attention, ;should in time come to be regarded as primary ; and should at length usurp an undue portion, if not' the whole, of their regard ; — -that while the fortifications (to pursue the illus- trations above employed) are sedulously guarded and kept in repair, the city itself should be suffered to fall to decay ; and that men should cling to their standard^ while they forget the cause in which they were enlisted, or remember it only as a pretext, without any sincere and hearty attachment to it. This may well be called, in St. James's words, " lying against the truth," and " hypocrisy." This undue preference then of the means to the end, — of the distinctions of a party, to the original purpose of it, — may be regarded as one grand characteristic of party-spirit. 42 PARTY-SPIRIT L:ect. II. II. Another kind of excess which deserv- edly bears the same name, consists in an over readiness ioform and fall into parties, on frivolous grounds or on improper, oc- casions ; by which it often happens, (as was remarked in a former discourse,) that a society is broken up by the undue opera- tion of the same principle that originally helped to form and maintain it ; and per- haps, while weakened by these groundless internal divisions, and split into a multir tude of petty factions, falls an easy prey to some common enemy, whom its combined force might have resisted; III. Lastly, party-spirit is justly charged; upon those who go all lengths of bigotedi partiality and narrow-minded prejudicfe, in matters relating to their party; — who are wanting in candour and charity towards those of another party, and unfa,ir in any contest with them ; who are strangers, in short, to that " wisdom from above, which is " not only peaceable and gentle," but also *' mihoxxt partiality " The great historian of Greece", who- a Thucyd. b. 3. 'J'i. PARTY-SPIRIT, 43 described, with such frightful vividness of colouring, the political party-spirit of his own times, and who pronounced, with the prophetic power which results from wide experience, acute observation, and sound judgment, that the like would be ever hable to recur, though in various forms and de- grees, has proved but too true a prophet. Much of his description may be applied with very slight, or without any, alteration, to many subsequent periods, not excepting the present ; and iespecially in what relates to that kind of party-spirit which has been last mentioned. No assurances, he says, or pledges, of either party, could gain credit with the other ; the most reasonable pro- posals, coming from an opponent, were re- ceived, not with candour, but with suspi- cion ; no artifice was reckoned dishonour- able, by which a point could be carried.; all recommendation of moderate measures was reckoned a mark, either of cowardice, or of insincerity ;— he only was accounted a thoroughly safe man, whose violence was blind and boundless ; — and those who en- U PAETY^SPIRIT. Lect. II. deavoured to steer a middle course, were spared by neither side. It is worth remarking also, with reference to the branch of party-spirit formerly no- ticed, how completely the welfare of the state, (the professed object of eaph party,) was sacrificed without hesitation by both ; nay, how each so far forgot their originally. real object, a preponderance in thegovera- ipent of an independent state, that each, by turns, were ready to subject themsehe^ as well as their fellow-citizens, to a foreign yoke. That all this should sound as much like a prophecy concerning the affairs of the Christian Church, as a narrative of what took place in the secular affairs of heathens^ is matter of sorrow, of shame, and of wonder. They indeed were not ignorant of the evil of such conduct; but they had not such strong motives for abstaining from it : they knew that " where envying and " strife is, there is confusion and every evil " work j" but they knew not that " thewis- " dom which is peaceable and gentle, de- PARTY-SPIRIT. 45 ^' scendeth from above," — from Him who has promised so richlj to reward it ; they knew not whose children the peacemakers should be called ; nor the blessing pronounc- ied upon the merciful. But the fact is, Chris- tians, as well as Pagans, are apt to apply their knowledge of what is right and wrong, to the ease of their neighbours, instead of their own; and to employ their moral judg- ment in detecting and justly censuring the faults of the opposite party, while they are blind to the same faults in themselves. No improvement in religious and moral know- ledge (if we thus look only to the mote in our brother's eye) can answer any purpose, but to increase our condfemnation. Besides the faults already mentioned, as, properly speaking, excesses of party-feeling itself, there are many other propensities also, which have an especial tendency ta mix themselves with this feeling, — to call it into action, — and to aggravate its mis- chiefs. Such are vanity and ambition; fondness for novelty ; love of disputa- tion,- in those who are, or believe them- selves, skilful disputants ; and lastly, that 46 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. PROUD SPIRIT, which delights in humbling, mortifying, and insulting others, and tri- umphs in taking vengeance for any opposi- tion or affront. Both the love of power and the love of fame, are so effectually gratified by a man's being one of the leaders or principal sup- porters of a party, that he has hence an ob- vious temptation to form or to cherish a party, in order to increase his own influ- ence, and shew his importance ; especially if (as is often the case) no other avenues to power and distinction appear to lie open to him. And many, doubtless, who have been influenced by these or other corrupt mo- tives, have been themselves by no means aware of the bias under which they were acting; but have effectually deceived their own consciences, by exaggerating, to them- selves, as well as to others, the importance of the cause they were engaged in''. Again, the love of novelty, — the pleasure men have in the idea of. being original- ^ Wesley seems to have been, in a most remarkable degree, unconscious of the ambitious feelings by which he was so much influenced. PARTY-SPIRIT. 47 thinkers, or, at least, of being able to shake off established prejudices, — to judge for themselves, and to despise the notions of the vulgar, — ^these, have a strong tendency to induce men to broach new doctrines or schemes of their own, or to adopt those proposed by another ; and thus to create and strengthen parties". Controversial ability also, real or sup- posed, contributes powerfully to generate, and keep up, and inflame party-spirit, by creating in the able disputant a fondness for controversy ^; in the same manner as the possession of military skill, and the com- mand of warlike troops, is apt to encourage a delight in war. Every one naturally feels a pleasure in doing that which he is con- scious of doing well, especially if it be what has long been his accustomed employ- ment. And though no one probably ever c Priestley, and many other unitarian writers, afford some of the most striking instances of the operation of this principle. d Many examples might be found among the meta- physical theologians who have written on the Calvinistic questions. 48 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. acknowledged, even to himself, a feeling of mortification at the abolition of a party, arid the dropping of a controversy, which might have employed the eloquence of his tongue and pen, or a jegret that his sword should rust in inglorious peace, yet no one who is acquainted with human nature, can doubt the existence of such feelings. Now controversy being almost always either the offspring or the parent of party, it is not wonderful that a love of disputa- tion should almost alwiays either give oc- casion to, or exg.sperate, party-spirit. And that the most trifling subject (if no more important one be at hand) will furnish, to those who are so disposed, matter for fu- rious debate^ division into factions, and narrow-minded bigotry, is remarkably ex- emplified in the celebrated dispute between the Realists and Nominalists, which so long and so vehemently agitated the public mind, till the reformation quelled it, by di- verting the attention of the disputants to a more interesting subject : a sufficient proof that Religion was not the cause of these acrimonious contests, but only furnished PARTY-SPIRIT. 49 the matter of them ;— it was the field on whiqh the combatants engaged, but did not excite them to the battle. Lastly, all the proud, insolent, and re- sentful feelings of mankind, and the delight they take in triumphing over an opponent, have a powerful' influence (when men are once engaged) in keeping up and embit- tering the spirit of party. Their zeal and animosity, however small at first, are in- flamed by opposition ; and -they become attached to the party in whose ranks they have fought. If there be not, as some have supposed, a love of COrltfention for its own sake, inhereilt in some men, it is certain that a haughty resentment of every provo- catidUj and a delight in humbling, morti- fying, and triumphing over, an adversary, are dispositions but too general. Now the breaking down of party distinctions, and the silencing of controversy, destroys the hope of such triumphs ; and every kind of compromise and concession is most revolt- ing to a proud, angry, and jealous spirit. These haughty and insolent passions there- fore, as well as those above mentioned. 50 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II; contribute greatly to call forth, and to che- rish party-spirit, which, in turn, fosters^and inflames them. Intemperate violence and bitterness of hostility has indeed been above reckoned as itself one of the excesses of party-feeling : and in fact, the influence of the malevolent passions and of party- spirit on each other being mutual, men are sometimes, by their attachment to a party, led to indulge in a malignant triumph, and sometimes, by their delight in such a tri- umph, become attached to a party. A long catalogue of other feelings might be added, which under particular circum- stances, and in particular individuals, tend to promote party-spirit, and to aggravate its mischiefs; but these which have been mentioned are not such as are occasionally and accidentally connected with it, but are its natural forerunners or concomitants, whatever be the nature of the party, of the cause, or of the contests it leads to. The baneful effects of party-spirit, and its train of accompanying evil passions, are too common (unhappily) and well-known PARTY-SPIRIT. 51 especially in the Christian Church, to need being much insisted on. In fact, ecclesi- astical history consists mainly of a detail of them, 1. Of these effects, the most obvious and the most shocking, is the extinction of Christian Charity, — of that spirit of meek- ness, forbearance, and benevolence, which are characteristic of the Gospel. If one should go through St. Paul's description of charity, reversing every point in the detail, he would have no incorrect description of party-spirit, as it has appeared in almost all ages of the Church.— Party-spirit is not " long suffering nor kind :" party-spirit *' envieth, vaunteth itself, is puffed up ;" (making men feel a pride in their own party, and hostile jealousy towards all others.) " Party^spirit seeketh her own ;" (narrowing men's views to the welfare of their party, and inclining them to sacrifice the interests of all others to it ;) "^ Party- " spirit is easily provoked ; thinketh evil;" (being ever ready to attribute to an adver- sary the worst motives and designs;) " re- " joiceth in iniquity, and rejoiceth not in E 2 52 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. " the truth ;" catching eagerly at every unfair advantage, and leading to an indif- ference about Gospel -truth, which was the object originally professed. What bitter animosity and alienation of the minds of Christians from each other have arisen from this spirit, — what mutual revilings and anathemas ; — what wars and massacres, oppression and persecution have ensued, it is unnecessary, as it would be painful to describe : — painful, not so much because Christians were the objects, as be- cause they were the authors, of these cru- elties : for that our Lord's followers should suffer from hatred and malice, is no more than they were taught;, by Him, occasionally to expect ; but that they should themselves be the prey of such evil passions, against which He so earnestly warned them, and should substitute intestine " strife, and " confusion, and every evil work," for the " peace which He left with them," is matter of grievous disappointment, and of shame. 2. The Scandal to the cause of truth PARTY- SPIRIT. sa which hence arises, is another, and one of the heaviest evils of party-spirit : the acrimonious, and often frivolous, contests among Christians, and the bigotry and mu- tual hatred between sects, have always been matter of scornful triumph to the infidel, and a stumbling-block to the weak ; and this the more, inasmuch as it is those who are seemingly most zealous in the cause of religion, that display the most of this fault : and hence we hear it commonly said, *' these very goGf/ people who talk so much " about a Christian spirit, are quite as *' harsh in their judgments and as bitter "against their opponents, as the most un- " godly : their religion therefore serves only "to sour their temper; or, at best, their '* professions are but mere cant and pre- *' tence." And thus Christianity is re- garded as the source of those evils, for which her genuine spirit, if really dwelling in our hearts, is the most effectual cure. The reproach is indeed unjust; since ex- perience shews that any human transactions and opinions, however trifling, may serve as a basis from which this spirit may arise E 3 54 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. in all its extravagance and violence : but still the scandal will exist ; and whatever condemnation they incur who transfer to the religion, the censure which is due to its professors, — or whatever certainty we may feel that such stumbling-blocks shall always be to be found, by those who seek for them, — still there is not therefore the less heavy judgment to be looked for by those who " give occasion to the enemies of the " Lord to blaspheme." " It must needs *' be that offences come ; but woe to that " man by whom the offence cometh." 3. Lastly, another evil effect of party- spirit is the establishment and propagation of Error. Falsehood, like poison, will gene- rally be rejected when administered alone ; but when blended with wholesome ingre- dients, may be swallowed unperceived. The mixture of truth and falsehood in the fallacious arguments of the sophist, is one way in which this may be effected : another is, the connection of sound and erroneous notions, from their being both held by the same party. It is notorious that each mem- PARTY-SPIRIT. 55 ber of any religious or other party usually adopts their doctrines and practices, in the mass ; feeling himself bound, (as it were, by his allegiance to it,) to make no ex- ceptions, and distinctions; and regarding him as an adversary in disguise, who would analyse this compound, and try each point separately by the test of reason or of revela- tion. Whatever therefore may chance to be wrong, in this set of opinions and prin- ciples, is likely to pass unobserved, or to be disguised as to its real character by its arti- ficial connection with so much that he has been accustomed to venerate. It is true indeed that sound doctrines also, and valuable precepts, may in this way find admittance with some, who might otherwise have rejected them ; but while this advantage is enjoyed by truth and falsehood alike, we cannot but acknowledge (if we allow truth to be in itself the stronger) that whatever tends thus to put them on a level, is, on the whole, less favorable to the cause of truth, than of error. Not to men- tion that what is thus admitted in the mass, without separate attention and exarain- E 4 56 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II ation, even though it chance to be true and right, cannot have the same beneficial effect on the mind as if it were left to stand on its own claims, and were received ^ecazf^e it is true and right. And hence, it is a great recommendation of our Church, that She appeals in all things to the Scriptures, the only coUeq|;ion of unmixed and infallible truth ; and chal- lenges a trial of her doctrines and practices, both collectively and separately, by that test. Had She (like the Church of Rome) demanded unhesitating assent to them on her own authority, even though She had been free from all the errors which, in that church, have be^ blended with the truth, and as it were sanctified by their union with it, still our belief and our practice would not have been so properly scriptural, nor so profitable to ourselves *. a Those therefore (it may be observed by the way) who, on any question that arises, appeal, at once, and finally, to what our Church teaches, urging that tliey have been long since fully and fairly convinced .of her conformity to Scripture, and that therefore they may •safely acquiesce in her decision ; though they eventual- ly arrive at a true conclusidn, are not proceeding in the PARTY-SPIRIT. 57 The principal ill-effects of party-spirit may be plas&ed under the three heads just mentioned; vix. 1st. The uncharitable tem- per which it generates and fosters ; 2dly. The scandal and scorn it occasions in the •' minds of them that are without;" and 3dly. The tendency it has to disguise, .and propagate, and support, error. I have endeavoured also to sketch out the character of those excesses themselves which are deservedly stigmatized under the name of pai^y-^pirit ; as consisting either in a preference of the means to the end ;— (of the institutions and the distinctions of a party, to its original object) — or in an over-readiness to form parties on slight oc- casiom ; or in a bigoted attachment to our own party, and excessive hostility against its rivals. And the other passions were way most conformable to the spirit pf our CJiurcb, nor most conducive to her honour. Let them search the Scriptures themselves, -with candour and diligence ; se- cure that the eoaclusions fairly drawn Jfrom them, can- not of course be at variance with, ,the doctrines of an or- thodox Church : which doctrines will thereforp derive confirmation from such an enquiry, when' their con- formity to Scripture is thus exhibited. 58 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. also enumerated which most tend to en- gender and aggravate party-spirit; viz. men's ambition of being leaders or active supporters of a party, with a view to power or credit ; fondness for novelty ; the love of disputation ; and delight in triumphing over and insulting opponents. The Church of Christ, which is the socie- ty, or body, to which we belong, is, in itself, and to those who are imbued with the genuine spirit of it, peculiarly safe from all these excesses ; much as it has suffered from them, through the frail and corrupt nature of its members. For in the first place, its ultimate object,*the salvation of souls, is not one which, from its own cha- racter, is liable to be lost sight of; since it is one which ought at least to occupy more earnest and sedulous attention than all others besides : moreover, its internal union, and the avoiding of causeless divi- sions, are inculcated by its divine Founder and his followers, upon the most powerful motives, when they teach all Christians to regard themselves as sons of the same hea- venly Father,— sanctified by the same Spi- PARTY-SPIRIT. 59 rit, — members of Christ's body, and joint- heirs with Him of immortality. Nor can any society be, in itself, less liable to un- charitable bigotry than that which aims at embracing all mankind,^and that, with a view to their own present and future hap- piness; and whose prescribed and appro- priate means of accomplishing this, are, mild persuasion, and good example. And lastly, it is a society, whose essential cha- racter and spirit is especially and decidedly opposed to the indulgence of such evil pas- sions as inordinate ambition and vanity, — or an idle craving after novelties of our own devising, while the infallible ZiV\A final reve- lation of God's will is before us ; — or a dis- putatious, and a resentful and insolent tem- per. If therefore (as unhappily is too often the case) the Christian religion has been made the occasion of " envying and strife," and the Church, a scene of " confusion and every evil work," the fault lies with Chris- tians themselves ; and frequently (as was formerly remarked) with both of two oppo- site parties ;— with the intemperate and in- 60 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. judicious of the orthodox, as well as with the heterodox ; — with those who provoke and aggravate schism, as well as those who join in it. It will be the object (as was formerly in- timated) of the ensuing lectures, to suggest such cautions and rules of conduct as la^y be useful in preventing or alleviating the various evils of party-spirit, both by check- ing the excessive tendency to create, or keep up, parties and controversies, on in- sufficient grounds ; and also by introduc- ing, as far as is possible, moderation and discretion into the conduct of those already subsisting. But there is an objection, which (as it stands on the threshold) it may be as well, before we enter on this branch of the de- sign, to touch upon shghtly, though it will be more fully considered hereafter. There are many who contend that all the evils arising from party are chargeable on that party who are in the wrong ; because one party requires to be opposed by another: they urge, that, " if bad men combine, " good men must unite," for self-defence; PARTY-SPIRIT. 61 since otherwise, the advocates of error, though fewer in number, arid weaker in their cause, may, by acting in concert, pre- vail over the defender's of truth, when scat- tered, and, as it were, fighting in detail : nor must we, they add, deal too favourably with any adverse party; and too readily quash controversy with them, on account of their errors not appearing at first sight very important or dangerous ; because we know not what excesses they may hereafter (if they gain strength) be drawn into, by the influence of their leaders. We must watch therefore, say they, and combine to oppose, the smallest beginnings of heresy and schism ; considering not merely the magni- tude of the errors which our opponents openly maintain, but of all those likewise which ^ (in our judgment) are of a kindred nature, and which consequently we may expect, ultimately to result from them. Now that there is a great portion of truth in th«se arguments, if rightly explained and duly modified, is undeniable • and it will be allowed, I trust, that whatever there is of truth in them, has been, not admitted 62 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect. II. merely, but enforced and insisted on, in this, and still more in the preceding, dis- course ; in which the uses of party-feeling were pointed out, — the benefits resulting from the institution of the Christian Church fully dwelt upon, and the recommendations of our own genuine and apostolical branch of it, set forth. While we adhere therefore not only to the Christian faith, but to the society which Christ established, and to the ordinances and institutions of our own Church, as deriving legitimately from Him all the authority it pretends to exercise, we are, so far, conforming to the principles of the argument before us. But it is plain that these principles, pushed to an extreme^ and applied without any modification, will justify the formation of parties, and the ex- citement and prolongation of controversies for every cause, however slight; and will thus introduce into the Church of Christ innumerable divisions and interminable strife. — For if all the evils of party are to be laid to the account of those whom we think in the wrong, {i. e. of our opponents) the inevitable consequence must be, that we PARTY-SPIRIT. 63 shall see no need for any caution against these evils, in our own conduct : if we are to consider merely the danger of suffering an adverse or suspected party to gain strength by being neglected, without taking into account also the danger of strengthen- ing, irritating, or even generating, a hos- tile party, by opposition, we shall be perpe- tually provoking schisms, and widening every breach, and bringing on, in short, the very diseases we are professing to cure. And if we are to reckon ourselves at full liberty to charge men with bad designs, and their doctrines with bad tendencies, which are not obviously apparent, nor avowed, we shall often be the means of ag- gravating the errors we injudiciously op- pose, and creating the heresies we rashly impute ; not to mention the violation of Christian charity we are guilty of, and the angry contentions we give rise to. The tendency however of such conduct as this, may be learnt from experience as well as conjecture. Its effects have been abiandantly tried ; for it has been common in all ages of the Church ; and an attentive 64 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.II. study of history will convince us that it has eradicated very few heresies and schisms, compared with those it has produced and exasperated; It is our present object to seek out a middle course between this fault and its opposite ; — between narrow-minded bigotrj^ and intemperate party- spirit^ on the one hand, and careless indifference on the other. I am well aware however that it is impossible, from the nature of the case, to do more towards tliis object than suggest general obsiervations, and. lay down general rules, which must be applied, in each individual instance, by each individual's attentive judgment, and good-sense. Even were the highest degree of learning, wisdom, and eloquence employed in such a task, it could not, here, supply, in any degree, the want of private discretion. It must not however be hence concluded, that all attention to such general remarks and maxims, is use- less. For, in fact, the same objection (if it be any) will lie against all moral precepts whatever. When ethical writers, for ex- ample, instruct us to steer a middle course PARTY-SPIRIT. 65 between avarice and profusion, or cow- ardice and rashness, and describe to us these opposite extremes, they are com- pelled, after all, to leave, it to our indivi- dual discretion to decide in each single case that occurs, whether the danger is to be shunned or encountered,- — the profit, to be sought, or rejected. Even the \^v of the land, when it defines what sort of wrongs shall be entitled to compensation, is forced to leave a discretionary power for deciding what actions come under its., definitions, and what compensation shall be awarded in each. In like manner, both our Lord and his apostles lay down general precepts, which no one would presume to call useless, yet which it rests with our own common sense to apply in each" instance : they ex- hort men to rebuke a brother when in fault ; yet forbid us to be rash or severe in judging another ; — they urge us to be zea- lous for the faith, yet to be gentle, peace- able, and ready to make allowances; — ^^to oppose and separate ourselves from here- tics ; yet to avoid strife and divisions : with innumerable other rules of the same kind, 66 PARTY-SPIRIT. Lect.U. which they (necessarily) leave us to apply, for ourselves, in practice, according to the best of our own judgment. It may be useful however to make these general precepts somewhat less general, by so developing the principles of them as to apply them to our own times and circum- stances, and thus obtain the full benefit of apostolical instruction. And such is the design of these lectures, as far as relates to the proposed subject of party-spirit and controversy. In the ensuing discourse, the requisite cautions relative to the temper of our own minds will be considered : and afterwards, those relating to our treatment of others. I will conclude by reminding you, that however little hope any individual may feel of being able^ by his own exertions and ex- ariiple, materially to diminish the evils of party-spirit, it is not the less important to him, individually, that he should use his best endeavours against those evils ; and at least keep himself clear of any share in producing them ; " Be not thou," says St. Paul, " a partaker in other men's sins ; PARTY-SPIRIT. 67 " keep thyself pure." However great and incurable these sins may be, he who has had no share in them, will be saved from sharing in their punishment ; and he who has done his best, however ineffectually, to lessen them, will be not the less amply re- warded by Him who " seeth in secret," — who is Himself the dispenser of success or failure,— and who alone can fully estimate our intentions. LECTURE III. A CARNAL MIND THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 1 Cor. iii. 3. Whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men ? 1 Bffi carnal: mind of which St. Paul here speaks, and which he elsewhere calls ".death," and declares to be a state of " enmity against God," consists, evidently, (according to the Apostle's use of the ex- pression,) in a predominance of the base and corrupt propensities of unregenerate hu- man nature ; — ^that sinful nature which we inherit from our first parents, and which he sometimes designates by the appellation of,*' the old man, which is corrupt accord- " ingtothe deceitful lusts j" as distinguished from 'Hhe new man, which after God is "created in righteousness and true holi- F 3 70 A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. " ness ;" — that state in which all those evil passions are subdued by the sanctify- ing influence of the Holy Spirit, and the whole heart subjected to the dominion of Christ. To the deprave J views then, and sinful desires of the natural man, unrenewed by the grace of the Gospel, the Apostle at- tributes the divisions which prevailed at Corinth : St. James also speaks the same language, when he isays, " From whence " come wars and fightings among you ? •* come they not hence, even of your lusts .'"' And it is worth remarking that neither Apostle is, in that place, charging his hearers with holding heretical opinionSj nor blaming one sect in particular ; but rebuk'- ing them generally for party-spirit and dis- cord ; which they attribute to a " carnal " mind," and corrupt passions. And accordingly various passions are found, under different circumstances, to lead men intd the faults here censured ; — to sow divisions among them, — combine them in sects or factions, — and inflame then^ THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 71 with party-hatred against each other. Sometimes self-interest ^ may chance to be the first mover of discord ; sometimes even timidity will induce men to join a party, that they may avoid the censure and ill will of its members. Such appears to have been the case with St. Peter on the occa- sion where he incurred St. Paul's rebuke, for his weak compliance with the prejudices of the Judaizing Christians, in separating himself from the gentile converts who did not comply with the Mosaic law ; and thus fostering the schism which was then grow- ing into strength. The evil passions however which are more peculiarly and intimately connected -mth party-spirit, together with those de- praved views, and excesses of feeling and of conduct, which may properly be re- garded as constituting that spirit, are those ^ It happens but too often, it is to be feared, that a dissenting chapel is regarded as a profitable speculation, by such persons as St. Paul describes I Tim. vi. 5. "of " corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth," " vo/tj|o'vT«)v " itoquf(MV elvui T^v Eda-sSsteiv, looking upon religion as a " gainful occupation ;" for so the passage ought evi- dently to be rendered. F 4 72 A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. which were noticed in the last lecture ; and it was there proposed, that (those faults having been characterised, and their ten- dency pointed out) we should next inquire for the best methods of preventing or les- sening them ; and should consider in the first place the requisite cautions, as to the temper of our own minds, for avoiding the evils in question. No one indeed who calls himself a Chris- tian, can seriously question the necessity of putting on a Christian temper ; nor can any one who candidly examines his Bible, find any difficulty in ascertaining what that temper is ; but those who have persuaded themselves that all the mischiefs of party are to be charged on those who in point of opinion are on the wrong side, («. e. in other words, on their opponents,) will be apt to take but little care as to the spirit that actuates themselves : men must be first convinced how wrong those may be in disposition and conduct, who are on the right side, before they can be brought to that candid self-examination, and diligent watchfulness, which are necessary in order THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS, 73 to derive practical benefit from the precepts of Scripture. I. The desire, of taking the lead, was mentioned as one of the passions which most frequently aid in producing and keep- ing alive the spirit of party. And it is one which must be carefully watched, and stre- nuously repressed by the Christian ; since it will be continually springing up as temp- tations occur,* and not only leading fre- quently to mischievous results, but cor- rupting the motives of even our best ac- tions. Even he who has engaged in the best cause with the best intentions, when he finds himself likely to obtain fame or in- fluence, will often be deceived, by the de- sire of these so intruding itself into his mind, as in time to encroach upon, and at length supplant, his original honest zeal. His principle of action will thus have be- come " carnal," even while his conduct remains the same ; and he will " walk as "men," even while engaged in the service of God. But, if rivals should then spring up,- who threaten to eclipse his reputation 74 A CARNAL MIND Lect. IU. and curtail his influence, such a man will be very likely to find some pretence for raising a party, that he may be the leader • for Caesar was not the only man who would rather be the first in a village than the se- cond at Rome : and by thus creating a schism, he will infect with the spirit of party, not only himself, but as many fol- lowers as he can collect. To this source St. Paul traces expressly many of the divi-? sions which prevailed in his own days ; the authors of which he designates as ambitious *' to make a fair shew in the flesh ;" and ** desiring to have the Galatians circum- " cised, that they might glory in their *' flesh ;" i. e. that they might not only es- cape persecution, and gain credit with the Jews, for subjecting gentiles to the law ; but also might have converts of their own to boast of. , Accordingly our Lord was careful to re- press the first germs of this spirit in his disciples, who very early manifested a ten- dency towards it. " There was a strife *' among them," we are told, " which of " them should be accounted the greatest;" THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. IS on which occasion he tells them, " He that " is greatest among you, let him be as the *' younger ; and he that is chief, as he that "doth serve." And on another occasion, he corrects this temper in them, by setting a child in the midst of them, as a pattern of that lowliness which he required of them. Against so besetting and so dangerous a sin it is necessary to be always on our guard ; not only by strict and frequent self- examination as to the purity of our mo- tives, and fervent prayer for genuine and single-hearted zeal, but sometimes also by concealing something of the benelicial in- fluence we may be exerting, when we can do so without diminishing that benefit; and by studiously putting forward others, not only to aid in our labours, but also to take a share in the credit of theni, if it be so great as would be likely, if undivided, to intoxicate our minds with pride, and thus to corrupt our motives. And since even those who do not aspire to be leaders of a party, often feel their im- portance increased, and their self-estima- tion flattered by being active members of 76 A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. it, espeoiaUy if it be a smail party, and. they are thus more efFeetually separated from the common mass, we must be careful to guard against the excess of this feeling also, and to keep in subjection the carnal temper, of loving for its own sake to be of consequence, and to be in any way distin- guished. II. The love of novelty is another power- ful and general principle of our nature^ whose tendency to create and foster divi- sions in the Church, was above adverted .to. That a great portion of mankind haVe a delight in striking out, or adopting, some new idea, even though it have little else to recommend it, is notorious, and is exem- plified by numberless instances both in phi- losophy and in the common affairs of life ; but perhaps there is no instance of it so re- markable as the heresies which arose in the Christian Church, during the life-time of the Apostles : those who had received the faith from the mouths of men who wrought miracles in confirmation of their divine commission, were yet led away by giving ear to the daring innovators whom St. Paul THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 77 complains of as *' preaching other doc- " trine" from his own ; and who corrupted with their own idle dev;ides the pure stream of divine truth, even close to the fountain- head. " The time will come," says he to Timothy, " when they will not endure " sound doctrine, but after their owp lusts " will heap up to themselves teachers, hav- " ing itching ears ; and they will turn away "their ears from the truth,. and will be '• turned unto fables." At the various fanciful systems there- fore which have since arisen, and have flou- rished^ each in its day, to the detriment of Christian truth and unity, we need not won- der. And especially was that to be ex- pected which took place at the reformation ; when so many changes were necessary, in order to get rid of the corruptions intro- duced by the Romish Church, that those who were not strictly on their guard against the love of innovation, naturally caught at the ojjportunity of rushing into every new- devised extravagance of doctrine or praC" tice that pleased their intoxicated fancy. All freedom of discussion had been so long 78 A CARNAL MIND Lect.UI. bound up, as it were, in the icy fetters of Popish thraldom, that when these were suddenly dissolved and broken up, it was nothing strange if a furious flood burst forth, which for a time spread general de- vastation and confusion ; and of whose ra- vage many sad vestiges remain to the pre- sent day. We cannot therefore too much admire the moderation of our Reformers, who maintained their calm good sense and the rationality of their zeal, in the midst of such prevailing wildness and turbulence: they seem to have had no craving after no- velty for its own sake, and (unlike those who rejected every thing connected with the ancient abuses) they never altered ifor the sake of altering ; but kept steadily in view their original object of rejecting only what had been the mischievous innovaiions of the Romanists, and restoring the Church of Christ to its original purity. But the danger which they withstood, though then peculiarly strong, is not now, nor ever will be, removed, while human nature remains the same. Most sedulously are we still bound to guard against the THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 79 temptation of novelty, when we consider that it had power to seduce even the hearers of the Apostles themselves. With this view, we must constantly bear in mind, that however the case may be with other subjects, in Religion, whatever appears to be new, (if it relate to any point of considerable importance,) carries with it, so far, a presumption against its being right. In philosophy, we know not that there may not hereafter be discoveries made, even of greater magnitude and importance than all that have gone before : so that, there, though a rash prejudice in favour of every thing new, is to be avoided, the pursuit of novelty and of truth may often chance to coincide : in Religion, on the contrary, a full and final revelation having been made, no discovery, properly so called, (of any high importance,) is to be expected; not merely because the book which contatins all we know of the divine will has been so long before us, (for so also has the book of na- ture, in which nevertheless we are daily reading new truths, which had escaped the researches of our predecessors,) but because 80 A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. that book was designed by the Almighty to convey such instruction as He judged needful for all j which purpose it wquld not have answered, had i^s true meaning in essential points been hidden till now. If therefore, for instance, a new mode of in- terpreting or of translating Scripture be proposed . to us, which materially alters its doctrines from what have been uniformly received, we have no need (however plausi- ble it may appear) to rest the question upon critical researches into the ancient lan- guages ; our ready answer may be, that Plato' or Aristotle indeed may have de- signed to write mysteriously, and to con- ceal their doctrines from all but the most acute philosophers ; and that Polybius or Livy may have been accidentally misun- derstoodj till modern researches cleared up their narratives ; but that if the true sense and doctrine of the Bible w^as not under- stood by any, for so many centuries, it can- not be called (at least a final) Revelatim. Elucidations indeed of minor points may be looked for, and may be very valuable ; — fresh topics of evidence may be expected THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 81 (in these later times) to supply the defect of recent miracles ; — prophecies may become intelligible by their fulfilment; — and. fresh arguments in support of the essential doc- trines may be brought forward. All this fur- nishes ample scope for the utmost conceiv- able ingenuity and originality of thought : the unremitting labours of a whole life would be insufficient for accomplishing all that would be desirable on each of these points; so that no excuse is left for indo- lence and contented ignorance: but still, unless our faith be the same in the main, with that of the early Christians, we may be well assured that it is unsound. We should studiously repress therefore all craving "to be wise above that which " is written ;" and endeavour to divert into some other channel any eager desife we may naturally and reasonably feel for discovering (what may be strictly called) new truths : a boundless field lies open before us ; nor need we fear that the stores of useful knowledge to be drawn from the studyof nature and of science, will ever be exhausted. G 82 A CARNAL MIND Lect-HI. III. A similar procedure jnay perhaps be sometimes adopted witii advantage, when we are taking precautions to guard ourselves against another fault, often con- nected with the foregoing, a love, of dispu- tation. He who is conscious of being a skilful and successful disputant, if, on can- did and careful self-examination, be find himself tempted, by the desire of exercising his talent, to raise or prolong controversies unnecessarily, and thus excite or keep up a spirit of party, in himself or in others, will do well to direct his attention to other sub- jects, on which he maytnnocenitiy, and even usefully, employ his acuteness in argument. Above all, let him never venture to frame and bring forward arguments, on any point connected with religion, contrary^ to his real sentiments, and with a view of merely exercising his skill, by trying what can be said on that side of the question ; for it is very likely that he may thus be ensnared' by his own ingenuity, and adopt in earnest: the erroneous conclusions he has been defemsl- ing in sport, through a partial admiration of the plausibility of his own arguments. THE CAUSE OF I>I¥ISIONS. 8^ It is however the more difficult to keep clear of the fault now under consideration, because controversy is sometimes necessary, for the defence of our own faith against as- sailants, and the correction of the. errors of jEXIbhers if and it becomes difficult to Restrain within due bounds those who have been thus, as it were, trained to war, and to keep them from taking, a delight iin controvcsEsy ; ^o-thait even slihei-r instructions will be delir- veued with something of a polemical air; and they iwill often (to isay nothing of the (ixtber dat)gei;s abdve aUmided to) provoke -hostility,, by seemang to court it. The greater the difficulty however,.tlie more .un- renaitjtinfg is the care d©manded\of las ; We must coMtinuallyi examine our own hearts, •whether our zeal be purely for the good cause, or for the controversy itself, wbifth we are engaged in j rrr- whether we .are seeking such arguments as we .vmly think most likelv to convince the erroneous, or such as will;be the most approved aad ad- mired |hy our own ipMty^, att^ th^ bye- standers; — whebber we are )a!#ep|l^^l^llg . tlje most .persuasive and ebneifliatory forms of G 2 84f A CARNAL MIND Lect-^. expression, and modes of procedure, or the most brilliant and striking; — whether, in short, we are labouring for truth alone, or for triumph. IV. The disposition last alluded to, — ^the love of triumph, — ^the desire of displaying our superiority, or of revenging an affront by mortifying and humbling an opponent, has been formerly mentioned as one of those evil passions which the most frequently pro- mote and embitter party-spirit; and it is but too common an accompaniment of a disputatious temper: he who delights in argument, will exult in the display of his skill, rather than mourn over the faults of the misguided ; and, seeking victory rather than truth, will take more pleasure in ex- posing and confounding, than in mildly re- claiming them. How utterly contrary such a temper is to the whole spirit of Christianity, is too ob- vious to need being insisted on. He who can contemplate the Son of God weeping over Jerusalem, the scene of such perverse past oppositioUj and of his impending cru- cifixion, and can hear the awful appeal of THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 85 St. Paul, " Who made thee to differ from "another? or what hast thou that thou ** didst not receive ?" yet can proudly tri- umph in his own supposed rectitude, and insult the errors of a vanquished opponent, may perhaps be an acute theologian, but can have very little of the heart of a Chris- tian. A man of such a temper indeed will generally do more harm than good to his own cause ; but if he should chance to be the instrument of benefit to the Church, he may be fitly compared to some of those scourges who were raised up by Jehovah from among the gentiles to inflict just chastisement on his people ; and were af- terwards themselves destroyed for their pride and cruelty; and may be classed with those whom St. Paul , mentions, as *' preaching Christ, even of envy and " strife ;" the success of whose labours in- deed he rejoicfed at ; but whom we cannot suppose to have shared in that benefit which many of their humble hearers may haVe derived from their preaching. If we would avoid not only the risk of detriment to the Church, but the certainty G 3 86 A CARNAL MIND Lect.III. of cdndemhalScm toodrselves ; — " lest, after' "having preached to others, we. should " outselves \M castaways," — ^we mus't hot t6'6 hastily reckon onfgelves safe' in the rec- titude of our cause ; but must make it a nlsitter of anxious care, in our defence of that cause, to " let that mind be in us " Whi^hi was also in Christ Jesus ;" and to confortti ribt only our faith to thb doctrines of his religion, but also our temper, to its spirit'. We shall thus be the better prfepardd for guarditig against party-spirit ; — -and our ntinds' w^^ill b0, as it were, a less fit soil for its grbw^. But the spirit itself must also h& carefully vfatched, and every tendency tel#^¥d^s it vig6t*ously checked. 1 1 The most 'reartarkable charactei'istit^ of pdi*ty-iSj)ii*it-^the disposition to prefer the nieafis t6 the dnd, — the partj* itself, and whatever tends to teaintain it,— -to the ob- ject it originally proposed, has been for- merly described, and its ill effects pointed out. We must guard against it by keeping steadily in view what are the ends proposed, and what, merely the institutions that pre- THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 87 serve the society, and the marks that distin- guish and hold it together : not that we are to neglect these ; but to value and pursue them as means, and in proportion as they conduce to the original object. To relin- quish that very object for the sake of them, or to regard it with comparative indiffer- ence, — or to uphold the party, when that object no longer appears desirable, is not only a glaring inconsistency, but is also pro- ductive of various evil consequences. How ready many have been to abandon the points originally regarded as the fun- damental principles of their sect or church, — or how indifferent in maintaining them, — though they remain as firmly attached as ever to the same party, is well known. Few PFesbyterians probably of the pre- sent day would attach much importance to most of the scruples Respecting our Li- turgy, and church-government, which ori- ginally operated so strongly in producing the schism. But a breach once made is not easily closed ; and the lapse of time, though it may have worn away the original causes of the separation, renders a reunion more G 4 88 A CARNAL MIND Lbct. III. difficult than ever. The scion which has long been severed from the parent stock, cannot easily be reingrafted. Among the members however of the Romish cotnmunion, an instance may be found which is much more remarkable, from the circumstance that, that Church claiming infallible aiuthdrity, whoever ad- mits her doctrines or practice to be in any point erroneous, has virtually denied that claim, and thereby convicted her (in his own judgment) of a false and impious as- sumption of the power of the most High : yet notwithstanding this, it is well known that there are many Papists who (though not unbelievers in the Christian revelation) do not scniple, privately, to avow their re- jection of several of the most fundamen- tally erroneous tenets of their Church, and their , disapprobation of many of its ordi- nances'; who are even ready to ridicule many of the superstitions it has sanctioned, and would even be sorry to have it sup- posed that they really made a full confes- sion to their priests ;— yet would shudder at the very mention of openly renouncing that THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 89 Church ; and would be even proud of their ad&erence to it, as to the only true and catholic church, and the only one possess- ing decisive and infallible authority. It is indeed a common remark, that the name is in general the last thing men will consent to part with ; and that a sect will often be brought insensibly to explain away or abandon most of their primary and fun- damental tenets, while they would shrink from the proposal of breaking up the sect itself. Now in the case of those who see good reason for giving up those points of distinction, and renouncing those objects, which originally formed their party, it is clear that the prohibition of causeless divi- sions enjoins the dissolution of the party itself; and that it is only a vicious party- spirit that can still hold it together as a dis- tinct body. But may not a similar spirit operate on the members of a society whose object ought not to be abandoned, and whose fundamental principles are not er- roneous ? They also may surely be guilty of preferring the mea,ns to the end; — the party itself, and whatever tends to support 90 A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. it,— ^o the original purpose of it; and as the former class are right in abandoning their original principles, but bla.meable in still maintaining their party,— r-so, these last are right in adhering to the body l^ey belong to, but highly culpable in forgetting or neglecting its main object. But such is human nature, that without continual watchfulness, this tendency to prefer the means to the end willcontinually shew itself; and men will be less zealous for those ob- jects which are pursued because desirable, than for one which. appears to them desir- able, only because they have been accus- tomed to pursue it. And since this infir-- mity is inherent in human nature, we must not rashly flatter ourselves that the ortho- doxy of our cause will preserve us from it. If in our contests with Papists, or with sec- tarians, we ever find cause to censure their obstinate adherence to a party whose er- rors they are convinced of, let us be care- ful that we on our part fail not to shew as much sincere and practical attachment to our faith as to the outposts and bulwarks that defend it; — that we appear not, warmly THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 91 interested for the reformation, while we are indifferent to the religion itself that is re- formed, or more zealous for the mitre than the cross, — for the Church, than for the Gospel. Our Lord stands eminently distinguished froin the teachers of false re- ligions, by his never allowing respect for himself, and zeal for the propagation ofhis religion, to stand as a substitute for the es- sential points of conformity to his com- mands, and personal holiness : " Why," says He, " call ye me Lord, Lord, and do *' not the things which I say ?" and He declares that even those who have wrought miracles in his tiame, will, if found workers of iniquity, be rejected by bim. Since then the just boast of our Church is its conformity to the institutions of the Apostles, and its tendency to promote the religion they taught, it should be regarded as a kind of treason against that Church to profess zj^I for its form, while we are careless of its spirit ; and to maintain its instituitiotis, while ^e are forgetful of the ends it, proposes. \u 9a A CARNAL MIND Lect. III. 2. With respect to another branch of party-spirit formerly mentioned, the ten- dency to create needless divisions, and to fall into parties on insufficient grounds, it is difficult to give rules sufficiently precise to be practically useful ; since, after all, it must be left to each mian's private discre- tion to determine what are insufficient grounds. Let it however be carefully kept in mind, that all controversy, and all sepa- ration of Christians into opposed parties, are in themselves evils. It may be necessary to incur them, for the sake of a grieater good ; but then the burden of proof must always lie on ourselves, to shew that neces- sity. No general rule indeed can enable us to estimate the importance of any point that comes before us ; but it is a very use- ful general rule, that important points alone can authorize contests and divisions ; and that they must not be wantonly and hastily excited. And ndt only a separation from the Church, but the encouragement, coun- tenance, and support afforded, either to any such open schism, or to the formation THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 93 of hostile parties within the Church, (as well as any conduct which provokes others to act thus,) must be justified by very sound and powerful pleas of conscience, (not of taste or convenience,) or will expose us to the condemnation of those whom the Apo- stle commands to be " marked and avoid- *^ ed" for " causing divisions." All separa- tion, in short, of both kinds, a:nd all excite- ment of it, must be either a duty, or a sin. This rule is not only an important one to be observed, but, obvious as it appears, is so little even thought of by many, that it is not uncommon, to hear persons vin- dicate or excuse the sects of the Methodists, by alleging, that they do not in fact differ materially in doctrine or discipline from the Church of England ; as if such disagreement were the sole measure of the fault : whereas in fact there may be sometimes perhaps even less blame incurred by those whose opinions are chargeable indeed with error, but are such as manifestly preclude them from conscientiously joining in our commu- nion, than by those who violate the peace and unity of the Church, when they might 94 A CARNAL MIND Lkct. III. have preserved bofth, without offence to their conscience. To extenuate the charge of heresy, is often to aggravate that of schism. The well-sknown contests in the Chiarch respecting the time for the ©hservance of Easter, and the use of leavened or of un- leavened bread for the celebration of the I/obd's SBpipxer, are deplorable instances of the tendenOf of mankind tdwards that kind of party -spirit we are speaking, of. And let it be remembered, that these and similar cases are rvot to be ^jebntemplated with mere wonder and censure, 'bot regarded as warnings, to'ourselvesv We ma;y often be guilty of cherishing the very same spirit with those to whose prm€iple& we are the most deeiidedlysopposed. The misconduct aittd folly to which we are tempted never appeaars such to ourselves at the time ; but t^eimay be enabled to see it in its true iligtt by contemplating the operation of similar ^fwrinciples in others ; especially in those who lived so long ago, that time has worn off the gloss which concealed from themsdvesthe deformity of their faults. But if we fail to THE CAUSE OF UiyiSlONS. 95 recollect that human nature is still essen- tially the same as it has ever been, we «hall miss the important benefit to be derived from contemplating the errors of another. Societies indeed may innocently be formed and supported by Christians with- out any such cogent necessity, and that for purposes connected with religion, provided no i)ppositim be imipliied : biitlet themetia^ bers of them be sever on their guard, (keep- ing in view those universal propensities of human nature which have been just men- tioned,) lest the evils of party-spirit shouM arise out of institutions originally harm- less ; instructed by the example of the Me- thcx^sts ; a society whidi had no schism in view at its first instituition. A double care therefore is in such cases necessary, to keep in check that, carnal' mind which Leads to "envying, and strife, and divisions," 3. Lastly, the self-confident and uncha- ritable bigotry which was mentioned as cbaTacterizing party-spirit must be repress- ed by the most earnest endeavours, and most fervent prayers^ for the Christian vir- 96 A CARNAL MIND Lbct.UI. tues of humility and of charity : nor must we ever forget that our being on the right side will be no security against the want of these virtues. We must not suppose that the stern bigotry with which the Romanists are charged is to be wholly imputed to their Church's claim to infallibility; it is not so much the effect as the cause of that claim : that Church did but sanction, and organize, and as it were regularly cultivate, those errors which spontaneously spring up and flourish, as in their natural soil, in tlje corrupt and carnal mind of the natural man. fi*.!- ■•^jti«-'- Let it be remembered also, that openness to conviction, and readiness to make allow- ance for those in. error, are not incompati- ble with the most sincere belief in the truth, and the warmest zeal for its propagation. In fact, a disdain of hearing arguments on both sides, and a bold condemnation of those who differ from us, are no credit to our cause ; since they are at least as likely to be arrayed on the side of a false religion ; whereas it is the character of^ truth to beiEir discussion ; it is the spirit of the Gospel to THE CAUSE OF DIVISIONS. 97 be long-sufFering, and loth' to form harsh judgments. ^ . %* 'But besides those more unchristian feel- ings which lead to the. fault in question, it frequently happens also, that a rash and ar- rogant confidence arises principally from mere ignorance, thoughtlessness, and ine^^- perience. Those who have been long ac- customed to attentive observation and deep reflection, will have often detected errors in systems which "at first sight appeared unexceptionable; and will have been many" times startled by Unexpected objections ; hence they in time acquire an habitual cautiousness in forming and maintaining their opinions ; a cautiousness indeed, which, in feeble or ill-regulated minds, is apt to end in excessive scepticism. A defect Siccordingly of this cautiousness, prevails in those \vho are inexperienced and unprac- tised in diligent investigation ; and leads them to an excess of undoubting confi- dence. - There is a kind of indolence al^o, (the Greek historian expresses it most precisely H 98 A CARNAL MIND Lect. IU. by the word ar*Art<7rwpi«t), which often leads to the same result. To " prove all things, and " hold fast only that which is right," is too troublesome a task to many ; who are ac- cordingly contented to adopt a whole sys- tem of doctrines and sentiments, in the mass; to maintain it dogmatically, and refuse to hear any thing that can be urged on the other side. To believe as a certain Church believes,t— to hold all the tenets of a certain party, or theological school,-r-4sa compendious creed, which does not much tax a man's intellects or his industry. This presumption then, and this indo- lence in the search after truth, must be guarded against, by those who would pre- serve Christian candour. It is not however njeant to be insinuated, thatof all, even the humblest, believers, it is to be expected that they shall be prepared to discuss, profoundly and learnedly, every article of their faith, and to answer satisfac-. torily every objection : those who want ei- ther the capacity or the opportunity, for so Qualifying themselves, (who must ever con- stitute a great majority of believers,) should THE CAUSE OF MVISIONS. 99 ahstaifi (as indeed every man should ab- stain) from discussing questions of which they are not competent judges ; and should follow, in them, with humble and honest simplicity of heart, the direction of the best g&Me they can find; using however the best of their own judgment, as far as their qualifications extend, and fervently pray- ing for spiritual aid : but of those who pro- fess to be s«ppo«'ters, defenders, or teachers of tHeir faith, candid inquiry, and openness to cianviction may fairly be expected. Not tbat they' shouM be always wavering in faith, and sceptical ; but always '* ready to '* give, to every one that asketh them, area- " son of the faith that is in them ;" which implies that they should be ready candidly to hear reason also. They should culti- vate then an humMe, and sincere, and earnest desire of truth ; not maintaining what they have not honestly ascertained, nor too much forgetting the investigator, in the advocate. Above all, let nothing unfair and uncandid, — no sophistry nor misrepresentation, be enlisted in the holy causis of truth, to which it will, in the end, 100 A CARNAL MIND &c. Lect. III. do more dishonour and detriment than ser- vice: let us not hire the Syrians to fight the Lord's battles *. And finally, remem- bering that Charity not only " is not pufF- " ed up," but also " thinketh no evil," we must be carefial to do no injustice, nor shew any unnecessary harshness, to our op- ponents. The consideration however which we ought to have for those who differ from us, and the principles on which we should re- gulate our judgment concerning them, and our treatment of them, will form the sub- ject of the next and succeeding lectures ; in the former of which I propose to speak of the cautions requisite to avoid dealing hardly with those who may not be desery- ing of blame ; and in the latter, of -the cha-' rity, tempered with discretion, which we are bound to shew towards the culpable. a 2 Chron. xvi. 2, 3. LECTURE IV. ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE AMONG CHRISTIANS. Rom, xiv. 13. Let us not therefore judge one another any more : hut judge this rather, that no man put a stumbling-block, or an occasion to fall, in his brother's way. In the passage before us, and likewise in several others, (especially in the first Epistle to the Corinthians,) St. Paul labours mo&t earnestly to guard his converts from con- demning too hastily or too severely those who differ from them, in any point, which does not call for such harshness and judg- ment ; — from founding hostile parties on such grounds of difference ; — ^and from offending and shocking the consciences of their brethren by conduct which may be in itself harmless. ' With this view he strongly represents to them the comparative insigr H 3 103 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV, nificance of many of their causes of dissen- sion ; — their agreement in the essential and fundamental points; — the diversity, and even inequality, both of the natural, and of the spiritual gifts, bestowed on different in- dividuals; — a,nd the forbearance and con- sideration to which all the members of Christ's body are entitled from each other. It is proposed theh in the present lecture (in pursuance of the 4^.ign formerly laid down) to offer some refroafks on the cau- tions we should observe in our judgment and treatment of those who really or appa- rently differ from us, without being at all, or in any high degree, blanieable ; that we may avoid the mischiefs arising from unme^ rited or excessive censure ; — from an over'- scrupulous requMtion of complete unifor- mity in all points ;^— or from any other want of consideration for tlie allowable differ- ences among Christians. This deficiency of forbearance and of discretion is of course often found in those who have not taken due pains to keep themselves free from error, in doctrine and practice; and is in them a heavy aggravation of those errors : AMONG CHRISTIANS. 103 but it must be remembered, that the same fault may be committed by such as are themselves correct : and it will be necessary to proceed on the hypothesis, that this is the case with those to whom these cautions are addressed, because each man must, of course, in his own Opinion, possess this ad- vantage ; and since his own sentiments can- not but appear to him the most correct, no one could apply to himself caution* which proceeded on the supposition of his being in error. ' Supposing then our own system of doc- trines and maxims to be correct, what are the dangers of our condemning others un- fairly ? I. The first and most obvious, and per- haps most common, of these is, the dahgei" of mistaking their meaning ; — attributing to them such notions and sentiments as they do not really entertain; — attd thus perhaps regarding with bitter hostility those who may nof in reality differ from us at all. How common a source of dissension this is, seems to be indicated by the use of the word misunderstanding, as applied, to dis- 104 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. agreements in general; as if the ordinary cause of these was, the parties not rightly apprehending each other's meaning. These mistakes then may arise, either from men's misinterpreting the expressions employed by others ; or reasoning from them in a different manner, so as to regard them as leading to conclusions which the others do not admit; or from their associating in their own minds the sentiments professed, with others with which they have no neces- sary connection, but which are supposed always to go along with them, and to be entertained by the same persons. To this last kind of mistake those are especially liable who have accustomed themselves to maintain an entire system or set of opinions and maxims, in the mass, without any separate examination of the merits of each ; and who have associated principally with such as proceed on the same indiscriminate plan, of adopting or rejecting collectively all the tenets of each party. Such persons naturally calculate upon finding a similar disposition in all others ; and if they meet with any one who AMONG CHRISTIANS. 105 maintains a single doctrine (in itself perhaps unimportant) which belongs tothie system of some suspected party of sect, they at once regard him as holding the entire sys- tem, and belonging to the party ; and though there may be no natural or neces- sary connection between the opinion in question and the rest, — nay though he may expressly disavow them, — still they will often have so indissolubly associated the two, ideas in their own minds, that it will seem to them no less incredible, that any one should hold tlie one opinion, and not the rest, than if they followed denionstra- bly from each other. - It may be said indeed, and with some degree of truth, that since parties and sys- tems do exist^ this mode of judging is allowaible ; since there is at least a strong presumption, that he who maintains one of the characteristic tenets of a sect^ belongs to that sect ; and, listening to the same in- structors as the rest, has adopted, as men usually do, the same principles with them, throughout. Few accordingly would doubt that a person who *,held the doctrine, for 106 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect, IV. instance, of works of supererogation, held also that of the corporal-presence j though there is no natural connection between the two ; only they are both among the distin* guishing tenets of the Romish Church. . But it must be remembered that presumptions, though they may afford more or less strong grounds o{ suspicion, are not to be construed into decisive />roo/s ; they may be sufficient perhaps to put a man, as it were, upon his trial; yet not enough to convict him of error. If every coincidence in any point with the sentiments of a party whom we think erro- neous, is at once to authorize the conclu- sion, that the coincidence extends to all other points likewise, it is evident that we are proceeding on the supposition, > not merely that some men adopt opinions in the mass, but that none discriminate ; — not only that parties exist, but that every man is to be reckoned among the devoted mem- bers of one or another. Such probably were among the uncha- ritable and rash judgments which St. Paul so strongly condemns. - Nothing can be more natural than thjkt those amo»g the AMONG CHRISTIANS. CLffT. early eonVerts who observed certain days', and abstained from certain meats, should be censured as Judaizers and heretics ; — their opponents rashly inferring, that they agreed altogether with those who adhered to the ceremonial law, and who^ trusting for salval^ion to the works of the Mosaic institution, had> virtually, cast off their faith in Christ. That this however was in some cases' an unfounded and unjust infe- rence, we have the express authority of the Apostle himself It were to be Wished that we had to search far in ecclesiastical history for instances of similar injustice : but it is to be feared that such take place every day. One perhaps of the most re- markable is to be found in the readiness with which some Arminian divines impute a complete adoption of all the tenets of the Calvinistic school, even to those who ex- pressly renounce them, if in their explana'-^ tion of any one doctrine they appear in any degree to take the same view of the subject with Calvin, or with any of his followers. It may be that their views are erroneous : so, as St. Paul implies, were the scrupu- 108 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. lous observances of the weak brethren among the Romans and Corinthians : still, a person's holding one error does not au- thorize us to impute others to him : it may be that there is a Calvinistic party, who maintain, as such, a complete system of doctrines, and adhere to them with indis- criminate bigotry : still we have no right to conclude, that no one who in arty respect coincides with them, can be exempt from the full spirit of that party : it may be even that the doctrines in question appear to us to follow logically from the one maintain- ed; still we have no right to charge with those consequences one who disavows them ; since it surely is but common charity to regard him as inconsistent, rather than wholly erroneous ; — as a bad reasoner, ra- ther than a heretic : for as it is notoriously common for men to be so inconsistent as not to admit the true conclusions which follow from the principles they hold, it is no great stretch of credulity to suppose that they may sometimes be equally incon- sistent with respect to false conclusions also. As for the Calvinistic questions them- AMONG CHRISTIANS. 109 selves, itr^TQuld be foreign to our present pur- pose to enter into any discussion of them : Jk^ut it irtust fee jioknovvledged, that that want of charity which has been just described is too often to be found on both sides ; and that some Calvinistic divines have been but too ready to attribute to such as do not coincide with their pecuhar views, the re- jection or neglect of the great doctrine of the atonement, and other essential parts of the Gospel scheme, even when there has been no ground for such a charge, except that Such are the notions of the Sociniaus, who are also among their opponents, and to whose system it is thence presumed, all their opponents must incline. ; We may indeed point out to any one the danger of the doctrines he maintains, in case others should deduce from them such conclusions as appear to us to follow : but even ^ this must be done with great caution. It is indeed, in itself, ah allowable mode of a,rguing against any doctrine, to shew that it uecessarily leads, or even may be under- stood to lead, to absurd and mischievous consequences: and where this can fairly 110 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. be done, qtir procedure cannot justly be eotnplained of by our opponent himself ^ but it should he remembered that it is not to him alone we are responsible for any evil we may by this means occasion, either to him or to others. We must therefore, in every case, weigh carefully the practical good and ill effects likely to result, on each side, before we resolve on adopting this mode of confutation. For it will often happen, that men may thus be led actually to adopt and support false doctrines, which originaliy they never thought of, when it can be made clear to them that these are inevitable consequences of their principles: they may be so bigoted to these, that ra^ ther than renounce the premises, they will admit the conclusion ; and thus will have been driven into heresy by imprudent op- posiJon. Nor is it always enongh to say,^ that this is their own fault ; our culpability is not the less, if we have been the occasion of the fkult. St. Paul says, "Through thy " knowledge shall the weak brother perish,: " for whom Christ died ?" Here it is im- plied that he must himself be m fault; else AMONG CHRISTIANS. Ill he could aot be doomed to perish ■; but does this exculpate the others? By no jneans : " When," says be, " ye sin so *« against the brethren, and wound their *^ weak conscience, ye sin agaimt Christ." Let not then the heresies, into which any persons have subsequently fallen, be deem- ed of itself a sufficient proof that their meaning was not in the first instance mis- taken, and that the charges brought against them were not originally unjust ^ And let those who would guard against needless controversy, and all the other evils of party ■♦ spirit, use every precaution against mistake ing, in any way, another's meaning ; and thus running the risk both of judging harshly one who may not deserve itj and pf creating the very heresy they impute* JLet the most candid and favourable con- struction possible be put on every profes* sion, till we are compelled to understand it otherwise ; where the case will allow of it^ let blame be laid rather on the form, of a There seems good reason for suspecting that this took ^ace in tlie case of the Arian heresy at its first origin; and still more, in that of Nestorius, 112 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. expression, than ^ on the doctrme intended to be conveyed ; and lastly^ where it is ma- nifest that incorrect notions are entertained, let it always be considered whether they may not be attributed rather to weakness of intellect, and inaptitude for accurate state- ments, than to culpable perversion of the truth. II. For besides the danger of doing in- justice to others by imputing to them doc- trines which they do not hold, another fault which is to be guarded against, is that of not making due allowance for our weak brethren. Notions, not so much errone- Qus, as imperfect and inadequate, and those too, imperfectly and inadequately expressed, must be expected from those of feeble understanding, or of uncultivated mind ; who may nevertheless, for their ho- nest endeavours after improvement in re- ligious knowledge, — ^their sincere faith, and diligent obedience, — be accepted by Him in whose sight the wisest and ablest are but mere weakness and ignorance. It be- hoves us therefore to use the utmost care AMONG CHRISTIANS. 113 that we confound not intellectual deficien- cies with heretical perversity of will ; and that we neither harshly condemn, nor perplex and mislead those of humbler abilities. Will it be said, that the Christian faith being one, all who are to be saved by it must hold the same ? and that the Gos- pel being a revelation to all mankind, and especially to the poor and weak, all must be required to take the same view of it ? If by this is meant, that every thing is placed within the reach of each man's capacity that is requisite for his own salvation, this is undoubtedly true, and does not at all invalidate what has been just said : but if it be meant, that all Christians are on a level in point of.intellectual advantages, or that the most acute and most learned can understand no more of the Gospel scheme, than the dullest and most illiterate, such a notion is Contradicted by Scripture, no less than by common sense and experience. The'parable of the talents proves that, in some respects at least, all Christians are not placed on a level ; and that though all are bound to improve their gifts to the utmost, 1 114 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. more will be required of those to whom more is given. And St. Paul's exhortation to " receive him that is weak in the faith, " but not to doubtful disputations," and his repeated and earnest recommendations of forbearance towards weak brethren, as well as his mention of babes in Christ, who must be "fed with milk and not with strong meat,'^ sufficiently prove, if proof be needed, that feebleness of understanding, or backward^ ness in knowledge, may be expected to make the faith of some more imperfesct than that of others ; and that a tender con- sideration for such infirmities is to be ex^ pected from the abler and more advanced Christian. Those indeed whose defect is ignorance, should be exhorted to learn ; and if they fall short of that right under- standing and full comprehension of the Gospel scheme, which they might have ac- quired, they may justly be admonished of their fault in contenting themselves with imperfect, superficial, and inaccurate views, when a more complete and correct faith was within their reach : but still it is nei- ther just nor expedient to confound even AMONG CHRISTIANS. llS this blameable backwardness in religious wisdom, — this slender proficiency, and, as it were, childhood in faith,— with decided rejection of the true faith ; it is not only more charitable, but every way more pru- dent,, to treat them as imperfect believers, rather than as obstinate heretics. There is danger, if they are abruptly and severely thus charged, that they may be led, even by what we say, to suppose that to be a distinct mode of faith, which in fact is rather a want of faith ; and may be partly alarmed, partly provoked, and partly flat- tered, into embodying, maintaining, and propagating, as a peculiar system, what is merely the result of their own slight and inaccurate acquaintance ^ith Scripture. These therefore should rather be com^ mended for whatever they have already attained of a right faith, and encouraged to proceed further : we should point out and dwell upon our agreement with them, as far as they have gone in laying a right foundation ; and endeavour to build on that the complete superstructure. St. Paul's discourse to the Athenians aflbrds I 2 116 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. an admirable example of this temperate and judicious procedure. But with respect to those whose capa- city is weak, or who have an inaptitude for expressing themselves with precision and regularity, great care must be used that we neither censure them unfairly, nor unne- cessarily alarm and dishearten them, nor perplex them with statements above their comprehension. For in the first place there are some whose faith is by no means itself very deficient, but who (either from nature or education) are utterly incapable of giv- ing any thing approaching to a clear and systematic account of the doctrines they really hold : and besides this, there are also many whose notions are in themselves very confused, indistinct, and inadequate, com- pared with those of the more intelligent and better instructed; and yet these notions, if they are the best they have the power to acquire, — if held in humble and sincere piety, — and if bringing forth the fruits of personal holiness, — may constitute a very sufficient and saving faith to themselves. Such persons may, by rash censures of the AMONG CHRISTIANS. 117 incorrectness of their belief, and imprudent requisitions of assent to precise metaphysi- cal statements, suited to a different class of intellects, be brought to believe themselves heretics ; and may thus be either cast into a fatal desponderiicy, or perhaps tempted to enlist under the bannei* of some hetero- dox teacher, who holds out to them a more flattering prospect. And let it not be doubted that under such circumstances, very indistinct notions, - and a very inadequate statement of them, , (though highly culpable in those of better abilities and opportunities,) maybe sufficient for these babes in Christ, till, by the patient and grac?Ma/ instruction which we are bound to afford, their minds become more en- larged, their mode of thinking in some de- gree regulated, and their capacity for reli- gious knowledge, together with the know- ledge, itselfj progressively increased. How imperfect is the knowledge of a peasant re- specting the process of germination in ihe seed which he sovs^s,— the growth of the plant, — and its fructification ! and how con-^. fused and imperfect an account would he I 3 118 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect.IV. in' general give, even of the little he does understand ! Yet his practical knowledge is sufficient to enable him to prepare the soil for the reception of the seed, to raise the corn to maturity, and to gather in the harvest. How little did the ancient ma- riners understand of the magnitude, and distance, and motions, of the heavenly bo- dies ! Yet by these they were enabled to steer their course in safety. So also may the word of God be a lantern to our steps and a light unto our paths, even though we may have but a very imperfect understand- ing of the divine dispensations. And as the knowledge of the humblest peasant re-, specting the operations of nature in the ve- getable kingdom, bears a greater propor- tion to that, of the ablest philosophers, than theirs does, to a full and perfect understand- ing of these mysterious processes ; so also does the religious knowledge of the wisest and most learned, fall much more short, (not only of a perfect understanding of God's dealings, but) even of what he may himself hope to understand in a better world, when he " shall know even as also he AMONG CHRISTIANS. 119 " is known," than the faith of the humblest believer does of his. And as the strongest intellect may be bewildered by prying too deeply into the counsels of the most High, and seeking to explain what is, to man, in his present state, inexplicable ; so, persons of inferior powers and attainments may be led, not to knowledge, but to error, by has- tily proposing to them such statements and explanations as surpass their capacity ; though they may be intelligible and instruc- tive to the abler and more advanced. No vain clamours therefore about deceiving the people, — no groundless charges of keeping the vulgar in ignorance, and preaching a different gospel to different persons, should deter us from following, at once the dictates of sound sense, and the example of St. Paul ; or induce us so to pefplex and confuse " those who are weak " in the faith," as really to incur the blame of deceiving them, for the sake of avoiding the appearance of it. For it should be re- membered that, practically speaking, all truth is relative : that which may be to one man a true statement of any doctrine, I 4 120 AJ.LOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lbct. IV. may be in effect false, to another, if it be such as cannot but lead him to form false notions ; and that which gives him, if not a perfectly correct notion of things as they are, yet the nearest to this that he is capa- ble of, may be regarded as, to him, true; Such is the account given in the book of Joshua, of the sun's being made to stand still K had a more correct statement of the fact, according to the Copernican system, been given, it would have been (to those whom it was addressed to) unintelligible. Thus also, angels may perhaps perceive both deficiencies and misapprehensions in the faith of the wisest of men : and there are, we are told, mysteries, which even " the angels desire to look into." While we endeavour then cautiously and gradually to promote the advancement both of ourselves and others, we must be- ware of hastily taxing with wilful blindness those whose views are limited only by the lowness of their position : as they rise in abilities and attainments, the horizon will gradually widen around them, and a larger and larger prospect will be spread before AMONG CHRISTIANS. 121 their eyes of the boundless extent of divine wisdom and perfection. . III. But besides those mental differences among Christians which have been now mentioned, there are others also, which im- ply no inequality, but which require to be no less carefully attended to, by those who would judge fairly of all their brethren. Mutual censure, jealousy, or contempt, bringing in their train all the evils of party, will often be engendered in the first instance by contrarieties of wa^wra/ temperament; or varieties of acquired tastes and feelings; where neither side is deserving of blame, except in not making due allowance for the other. Among the early Christians, and particu- larly in the Corinthian Church, much dis- sension and uncharitableness seems to have arisen from a kind of rivalry among those who possessed different supernatural en- dowments : and accordingly, St. Paul, in his earnest exhortations to concord, finds it necessary to dwell very strongly on argu- ments which to us at the present day are 1122 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. apt perhaps to appear too obvious to need being insisted on . He remarks, that though there are diversities of gifts, they all pro- ceed from " one and the self-same Spirit, " dividing to every one severally as he will ;" that this diversity is expedient for the wel- fare of the whole body, in the same manner as the diversity of offices of the different members is to the natural body; — that they have one supreme head, even Christ, *' one faith, one baptism, one hope of their "calling;" — and finally, that charity is of more value than all their miraculous gifts together. In these days there are indeed no supernatural gifts ; but there is hardly perhaps less diversity : in natural or habi- tual tempers and qualifications, men are as different (and as likely to disagree in con- sequence of that difference) as the Corin- thians. Men differ in mind as much as in form and features ; their intellects vary in kind, probably more than in degrees of ex- cellence ; and their tastes and feelings, per- haps more still. Some are calm and sie- date ; others have strong and lively feel- ings ; and of these last, some are more in- AMONG CHRISTIANS. 123 dined to be vehement and impetuous 5 others, more tender and gentle; some again are cheerful and sanguine; others, grave, serious, and decisive, — others, timor- ous and melancholy : and in respect of intellectual character alsoj some are chiefly remarkable as accurate thinkers and clear reasoners, while others possess a more live- ly and brilliant imagination : with innume- rable other such varieties. Nothing perhaps has ever been written on this subject more satisfactory than Ci- cero's judicious and elegant treatise in the first book of the Offices : in which he de- scribes in a masterly manner several varie^ ties of natural character ; remarking, that none of these being intrinsically faulty, each man ought to conform to his own na- ture, provided he keeps within due bounds, — that the same conduct may be suitable and proper for one individual, which might be unbecoming, and consequently wrong, for another, under similar circumstances, — and that no one therefore should be found fault with for not coinciding precisely in all points with another, however excellent that 124 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. Other may be. These observations are as applicable now as ever : for let it not be supposed that they concern the heathen world only, or are to be applied in the se- cular affairs alone, of Christians ; and that all Christians, as such, are required to be precisely similar. Our religion was design- ed to renew indeed and ameliorate, but not to subvert our nature ; — to amend mankind in general, — but not to contradict the essential principles of the human charac- ter; — ^to exalt and purify each individual, — but not to destroy his individuality. Whatever is faulty indeed, must be cor- rected by our religion, or it will not have done its proper work ; but many differences of taste and temper will still remain, which will give a certain tinge even to the religion itself of each man, — which are nowise hurt- ful, but may even be rendered serviceable to the general cause, — and which ought no more to be made a source of mutual jea- lousy and of dissension, than the diversity of spiritual gifts among the early Christians. A remarkable proof of this, if any be needed, is to be found in the differences of AMONG CHRISTIANS. 125 style in the writers of the New Testament. If any thing can be supposed likely to assi- milate in the greatest degree, men origin- ally different, it would surely be their being not only devoted to the same great cause, the propagation of the Gospel, but also all of them supernaturally qualified for that work, by the inspiration of the same Spirit : yet it may be questioned whether even any profane writers, who agree in general prin- ciples, exhibit in their manner of writing a greater diversity of natural character than these do, in their general cast of sentiments and manner of thinking j and this, to such a degree as to be stilL very perceptible even through the disguise of a translation. What man of judgment, well versed in the rest of the New Testament, if we suppose him by some accident to have remained ignorant of some one of St. Paul's epistles, would be likely, when that epistle should be put be- fore him, to mistake it for one of St. John's ? yet the same Spirit was at hand to lead into all truth both these writers ; it was one Gospel which was preached by both ; as well as by St. Peter and the other apostles ; 126 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect.IV. who;yet differ in their manner of inculcate ing the same fundamental doctrines, from both those above mentioned, and from each other. Nay, the peculiarities of man- ner in St. Peter and St. John especially, idoincide remarkably with the differences of their respective tempers and dispositions, as depicted in the Gospels, and in the book of Acts, We recognize in the writings of the one Apostle the vehemence and forward zeal which characterized him, though the weakness which had formerly blemished his character was removed : while the epistles of the other breathe that peculiar spirit of tender and fervent lovei, together with a re- markable simplicity of character, which are precisely what we should expect from the beloved disciple. And in St. Paul's writ- ings again, we find that singular warmth of feeling, and unconquerable energy, which characterized the conscientious persecutor, though these had received a new direction from divine inspiration, and were modified in the Apostle by the mild spirit of the Gospel. And if we would seek for yet further AMONG CHRISTIANS. 127 proofs of the same point, we may find them in the varieties of style which charac- terize the different Prophets. In fact, what has been now observed is no more than one illustration out of many, of the truth of the maxim, that miracles were not wrought unnecessarily. It was requisite for the propagation of the Gospel in its purity, and for the edification of the infant Church, that the holy Spirit should " lead the Apostles into all truth," and should pour out other supernatural gifts on other Christians; so far therefore did, his influence extend^: but it was woif requisite that all individuality and distinction of cha- racter among Christians should be done away, where these peculiarities had no evil in them; or that similar spirituail gifts should be bestowed on all : hei-e therefore the diversity was both permitted and aug- mented. This divine work may be com- pared to that which took place " in the ^ These considerations may serve to expose the fallacy of which those are guilty, who, from the appearance of such diversities as have been here mentioned, argue against the inspiration of the sacred writers. 128 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect.IV. ** beginning:" *' God saw every thing that " He had made, and behold it was very " good;" but all things were not made alike; the variety in the creation is infi- nite. But as the Christian's life is designed to be a state of discipline, those on whom ex- traordinary gifts were bestowed, were of course left at liberty either to make a right use of them, or to abuse them in various ways ; and among others, by making them a source of pride, of jealousy, and of party- spirit. The same is the case with all the natural gifts which men now enjoy, and with all the diversities of character which exist among them. Much as we may wonder at the envy, and strife, and mutual prejudice, which existed at Corinth or at Rome, similar injustice is practised every day, in no less a degree. For how com- mon is it for those of an ardent dispo- sition and lively feelings (which temper will of course shew itself in their religion, if they are duly impressed with it) to censure, as cold formalists, destitute of a spiritui^I mind, and of all true zeal and devotion, AMONG CHRISTIANS, 129 those whp have not the same fervent and raptiirous emotions as their own ; and among these, many, who, though they have a calmer and cooler temperament, and Jess exalted sentiments, yet possess a piety no less sincere, deep-rooted, and practical; and "love the Lord their God with all " their heart," though. that heart be i>pt susceptible of such vivid and intense feel- ing as another's. These last, on the con- trary, are but too apt, while they value themselves on being rational and sober- minded, to brand the other class, as vi- sionary enthusiasts, and fanatics. Again, some have a peculiarly strong perception of the beauties and sublimities of senti- ment and expression in the sacred writ- ings ; and do not merely assent to their in- fallible truth, but feel their divine charac- ter : in their own language too these per- sons are in general richly figurative,— pQw- erful in their exhottatioqs, — ^^and deeply af- fecting the heart of those whose disposition is like their own : these are often derided fas empty, fanciful, and ^nsound, by calm and close, and severe reasoners, who have K 130 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. but little liveliness of imagination, or sensi- bility of taste : and who themselves, in turn, are often contemned by the former, as no more than dry scholastic theologians, who have nothing of the spirit of the Gos- pel. Some again shew in religious concerns an active, forward, and sanguine temper; others are more steady, quiet, and cautious in their proceedings : and each are but too prone to depreciate the others, the one, as officious and unsafe characters, the other, as lukewarm and destitute of zeal. . Similar observations might be made with respect to a multitude of such cases, in which, either from nature or education, the temper and turn of mind of one man will materially differ from another's; though when duly modified and regulated, neither will be in any degree blameable; but will rather conduce to the benefit of the whole body: nor have any of those whose gifts are different, either in degree or in kind, just cause either to complain or to boast of their own lot ; — to envy or to disdain their neighbour's ; since all have thisir re- AMONG CHRISTIANS. 131 spective advantages and trials. Yet are these diversities continually occasioning mutual contempt and jealousy, hostile pre- judice,^ and division. But if (as may be seen in the chapter from which my text is taken) so much tender consideration is due even to the in- Jirmities and mistakes of our brethren, how much more must it be unchristian to deal hardly with them, where there is in fact no infirmity nor fault of any kind, but merely a difference of taste^ temper, or mode of thinking ! And since such differences must always exist, what a fruitful source of dis- sension and party-animosity must that kind of uncharitableness be, which makes no allowance for such differences !, All these peculiarities indeed are liable to run into excess ; but this is the case also with the common and universal tendencitis of human nature; which, nevertheless, when duly moderated, are not mischievous, but beneficial. It should therefore be our care, if we would deal candidly with .all, and repress K 2 132 ALLOWABLE DIFFERENCE Lect. IV. every tendehc)' to party-ispirit, to guard against these excesses in ourselves, instead of merely censuring them in others of an opposite character. The extreme of a dis- position totally unlike our own, we can de- tect withdut any extraordinary dcuteness or watchfulness ; but that is not what most concerns ourselves ; to watch our own pe- culiar propensities, — to guard against our* own besetting sins, — is both the hardest task, and, to ourselves, incomparably the most important. It is however one beset- ting sin of' men, of almost all dispositions, not to make sufficient allowance for each other; and to be too ready to conclude, when satisfied that they themselves are right, that all who, in any respect, differ from them, must be wrong. Had due cau- tion againk this want of charity, and nar- * row-minded self-estimation, been employ- ed, on both sides, at the times when each schism in the Church was arising, most of them probably would have withered- in the bud ; had it been employed on either side, many of them perhaps would have been speedily suppressed ; and at any rate, the AMONG CHRISTIANS. 1S3 party which practised such moderation, would have kept itself free in the sight of God from the sin of uncharitable bigotry. If we deal with others as we should wish them to deal with us, we shall be using the most likely means indeed to produce a similar conduct in them ; but whether we succeed or fail in our endeavours after unity and mutual charity, we shall be ap- proved in his sight whose precepts we are fulfilling ; who has promised, that if we " judge not, we shall not be judged ;" and who bestows on the peace-makers, the blessing of being called his children. H 3 LECTURE V. CHRISTIAN CONDUCT TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25. The servant of the Lord must not strive ; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose them- selves ; if God peradventure will give them re- pentance to the' acknowledging of the truth. After pointing out the advantages of that principle of our nature which com- bines and holds together those whose sen- timents and proposed objects are the same, and also its perversions and abuses, it na- turally followed, to offer some remarks as to the manner in which this principle should be regulated, and those abuses prevented. With this view, some cautions were pro- posed, first as to the discipline and regula- tion of our own temper, generally, and without any particular reference to the persons who might stand opposed to us : K 4 136 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. the principles which ought to guide us in our judgment and treatment of others, be- ing reserved for a distinct consideration. And it seemed natural to distribute into two classes all who might, reailly or appa- rently, be at variance with us ; and to con- sider first the requisite cautions for guard- ing against a harsh judgment or injudicious treatment of persons, either not at all, or in no high degree culpable ; — whose differ- ence from ourselves miight be either not real, or not blameable, or unimportant ; (which was the object, of the last discourse;) treating afterwards (as is proposed at pre- sent) of the conduct to be observed towards those whom we cannot but conclude to be essentially erroneous. In treating of this subject, it will not be necessary for the purpose now in hand to bestow a separate consideration on the two evils of Heresy and Schism ; whicbj though in themselves distinct, are usually found tdgether, — have a natural tendency mutu- ally to generate each other,— and are eacii of them, for the most partj the more readily cured after the removal of the other. Both TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 137 are faults; and the remarks which I am about to offer will apply alike to both. To determine however what errors are to be "regarded as essential, and to adduce arguments in confutation of them, would be foreign to the plan originally laid down ; which was to point out and guard against the faults of the Orthodox, rather than of the heterodox, and to suggest proper cau- tions against that most frequent self-delu- sion, which persuades men, that since their own creed is correct, and the opposite party ■^re in the wrong, they themselves must be irreproachable. St. Paul plainly shews, by his earnest and repeated admonitions both in the epistle now before us, and in many others, that, though far removed from that latitudinarian liberality of sentiment which regards all modes of faith with indifference, and though as zealous for the purity as for the propagation of the Gospel, yet he was fully sensible what disgrace and detri- ment to the good cause was likely to re- sult, from the injudicious conduct, or un- christian violence, of its supporters. He 138 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. warns both Timothy and his other con- verts, that heresies and schisms must be expected to arise in the Christian Church ; r— that these were among the trials by which it has pleased God that man should be exercised and disciplined here below ; — and that we are to guard against the danger, not only of adopting false doctrines, but also of falling short of the requisite discre- tion and charity, in defending the truth : he expands, in short, and enforces the ad- monition of our Lord, that his followers being " sent forth as sheep among wolves," (which in a greater or less degree must ever be the case, as long as his true disciples have any concern with those who are not such,) it is requisite for them to be " wise *' as serpents and harmless as doves." While therefore they are firm in adhering to the truth, they must be careful not to ioiipede its progress by maintaining it in- discreetly;— and while they guard against the danger of sacrificing any part of their faith for the sake of conciliation, they must nevertheless " be geritle unto all men, apt *' to teach, and patient." TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 139 It is indeed most necessary for every one who would do good service to the cause of true religion, that he should not only be acquainted with the doctrines of the Gos- spel, but also with the nature of man ; —that he should be watchful, not only to keep his own faith pure, but also to win over otheirs, by the most patient, and well-timed, arid conciliatory instruction ;— and should he fully aware, not only of the faults he is to guard against in himself, but also of those which he must expect to lueet with in his opponents. -Whoever understands human nature, will be prepared to find in many men, not only erroneous opinions, but other faidts also, independent of those er- rors ; and must shape his own conduct ac- cordingly. Such are those excesses which have been described in the foregoing dis- courses ; and which are not essentially coii- nected either with a right or a wrong faith, but will occasionally be met with in all men. We must calculate on finding in our op- ponents, Party-spirit, in all its various de- grees and modes of deformity ; and without 140 CHRISTIAN CONDrUCT Lficx.V. withholding our reprobation from the prin- ciple itself, or neglecting to counteract it, we must make all charitable allowance for an infirmity so natural, and from which many of those whose faith is right are so far from being exempt. Bitter Resentmeat of opposition must also be looked for;; espe- cially from those who have been opposed with bitterness ; however just the condem- nation of their tenets. We must expect too to encounter that Pride which will not en- dure the appearance of concession 2 and, in the adroit and practised disputant, that love of Controversy, which keeps up a de- bate for the sake of displaying argumenta- tive skill, and aims more at victory than at truth. All these faults, which we are now considering how to encounter in our 6ppo>- nents, have been already noticed, with a view to the cautions requisite for avoiding them in ourselves; and it cannot be too strongly impressed on our minds, that since they all tend to engender the like faults on the opposite side, those who ar6 themselves the most guilty of them, and the mpst ready to tolerate or encourage them in their own TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 141 party, will usually meet with the most of them in their adversaries ;— and that con- sequently, to cultivate candor, gentleness, modesty, and aversion to controversy, in ourselves, and our party, is the most likely way to lead "those that oppose them- '« selves," to do the same. It may be de- sirable however to lay down some addi- tional cautions with a view to each- bf these points, separately, for regulating in the best manner our treatment of those in er- ror : it being often usefuU to distribute the remarks that are to be made, under dif- ferent heads, even where these are (as in the present instance) so closely connected, as not to admit of any very nice distinction between the observations brought forward under each. « I. First then, with regard to the spirit of party which may exist, or may be likiely to arise, in our opponents ; we must bear in mind, that it is in general much easier to break and disperse a hostile body than to merwhelm it. A common pressure may rarfier tend to consolidate the mass, which might have been shattered by well-directed 143 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. blows. Men may even be driven to jnake common cause with' those froni whom they materially differ in many points, for the sake of repelling a common attack. And, as was formerly remarked, persons not des- titute of good sense have often been led, in the eagerness of a contest, to embrace such erroneous notions of their party, as they would have rejected, if singly proposed to their unbiassed judgment, but which they adopt without examitiation, when regarded as parts of a -system which they have pledged themselves to uphold. Wi If therefore we are always forward to class together, and oppose colleotwely, all who appear to us to coincide in the objecls they propose and the errors they maintain, we shall in fact be fostering that spirit of party which is but too apt to spring up spontaneously, and which is so powerful an aid to the cause of falsehood. On the other hand, the more we avoid (where it can be avoided} distinctly recognizing the existence of a party, and enrolling among its members all who in our judgment may be regarded as properly belonging to it. TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 143 the less firmly and heartily united, and the less numerous, shall we find that party. When, in short, we have to contend both against heretical doctrine and party-spirit, each affording strength to the other, the wisest way will be to combat these two evils separately; — first to endeavour by all fair means to dissolve or weaken the union of those who are banded together against the truth ; and thus to assail error on more fair terms, unsupported by extrinsic aids. And not only should that fault be guarded against, which was mentioned in the last discoiirse, of falsely attributing to any one an entire adoption of all the tenets of. a party, from his partial coincidence, with it, but we should not even be over-ready to point out such coincidences in error as really exist; but rather draw the attention of our opponents to the discrepancies ex- isting among themselves j and mark out the variety of the devious paths into which those have strayed, who have once wan- dered from the truth. It is neither wise nor just to allow those who difi^er consider- ably from each other in their erroneous 144 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. tenets, to .derive mutual support and en- couragement in those eri"ors from suppos- ing their mutual coineidejice in doctrine to be greater than it is : and even in those points wherein they do coincide, as we cannot be bound in duty to dwell upon that coincidence, (since it is but fair that each opinion should stand on its own me- rits, and be tried, independently, by the tests r of reason and Seripture) 'so neither will it be. expedient, in many cases, thus to dass together the advocates of an error. For it is iiot,»inigen«ral, a likely mode of inducing any one to renounce an opinion, to tell him that it is held by many besides himself; or that it is supported by ancient authority; even of such as^were^in their time accounted heretical. If i»deed an appeal be made tothatj authority, it will then be requisite to shew that it is not such ascought to be relied on : or again, if our opponentbe of a candid and modest tem- per, he may be led to reconsider, and ulti- mately to renounce his tenets, if it be proved to him that they have been before broached, and were then . condemned I by TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 145 the main body of Christians. All I am contending for is, that this procedure should not be adopted universally and in- discriminately : those who are to a certain degree infected with the passibn for no- velty, yet have not sufficient boldness to be satisfied with standing perfectly alone, will often be more encouraged by the authority of a considerable sect, than overawed by the censufe of the majority. And more- over, if we expld,in to any one th9,t he is in fact an Arian, a Sabellian, or a Socinian, besides that it will be, in some, cases doubt- ful whether he is not more likely to be con- firmed than shaken in his opinions, there is danger also that he may hereafter be led to advance a step farther, and adopt the entire feystem of those who furnish him with this confifttiation. As a general rule then, let each Mse doctrine^ and each indivi- dual promulgator of it, (when a proper oc-' casion offers,) be opposed separately; but let not the orthodox lend their aid to the eombiuing of errors into a system, and of heretics, into a sect. It will generally (where practicable) be found- the wisest (as' 146 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. it is for the most part the fairest) plan, to attribute, as far as possible, each erroneous notion that is maintained, to the indivi- dual, who may chance, on each occasion, to be its advocate, rather than to his party ; that he may not be led, by us at least, to derive support to his opinions from the au- thority of others ; and that they may not feel themselves called upon to regard him as their champion, and to rally in support of a common cause. As long as we make no sacrifice of the truth, nor suffer any he- terodoxy to prevail unr«futed, we need not fear that any one will escape censure who deserves it. It is prudent however, as well as cha- ritable, to urge even this censure no fur- ther than is unavoidable, and to endea- vour (where we honestly can) to mitigate the spirit of party in our opponents, by ex- tenuating rather than aggravating the dif- ferences between us ; which in fact may often be (even wh6n real and essential) yet not so great, as they might be represented. We should not lengthen the distance they have to retrace in order to regain the right TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 147 path. And not only should the caution be observed which was formerly mentioned, of not too hastily charging any one with such consequences of his doctrines as he distinctly disclaims, but it will often be both the wisest and the fairest procedure, not even to wait for that disclaimer, but to take for granted, where the contrary is not dis- tinctly avowed, that he cannot intend to admit such and such absurd conclusions, which would seem to follow from his prin- ciples; erroneous as he may be, in main- taining those principles. In a dispute, for instance, with one whose doctrines seem decidedly antinomian, it would be wise to ask him, plainly, but in such a manner as to vindicate our full expectation of an an- swer in the negative, whether he can really believe that a life of abandoned profligacy is becoming a Christian, or can be per- severed in without danger to his eternal welfare; adding, that though his expressions seem to lead to no less, yet it is proba- ble they are so understood by himself as not to imply that inference ; and that if he holds it to be false and dangerous, he L 2 148 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lbct. V. ought to be cautious not to employ such language as may lead others to it. Again, to the defender of transubstantiation, we inight say, " Your account of this Sacra- " ment appears to me fundamentally erro- " neous ; but I cannot conceive any right- " minded person to hold, that the observ-^ " ance of this ordinance is in any way be- " neficial to hardened sirmers, who have " no purpose of amending their lives, and " whose thoughts are not even at the mo- '* ment engaged in what they are doing, — r " that it is desirable for such men, so dis- " posed, to partake of the Lord's supper, — •' or that they can receive the body and *' blood of Christ to their souls* health : if " indeed you will distinctly avow such con- clusions, you must stand chargeable with * the consequences ; but if not, you ought to be very csireful to protest against them, •' and to qualify the statement of a doc- " trine which may appear to lead to them.", By this procedure, men may often be led, heartily to abjure the mischievous con- clusions which are not forced upon them ; and may in time perhaps relinquish the (( tt TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 149 principles also which have this pernicious tendency; or at least will be induced so to modify and explain them as to render their errors comparatively harmless, even though they continue to adhere to them. And it is surely better that they should be inconsistently right, than consistently wrong; and that their hostility to truth should be mitigated, where it cannot be extinguished. II. With regard tp the bitterness and fierce resentment, which are sometimes to be en- countered, and always to be apprehended, we must remember that nothing so much tends to exoite and aggravate them as the like temper iti ourselves ; and that conse- quently it is no less politic than Christian- like, — no less suitable to the wisdom of th6 serpent, than the harmlessness of the dovfe, — to imitate the example of our great mas- ter, " who, when he was reviled, reviled not " again ;" and to obey St, Paul's precept, of being " gentle and patient with all men." Not that we should bestow no censure on wilful blindness to the truth, or intentional sophistry and misrepresentation : but, as L 3 150 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. we are bound by the law of that charity " which thinketh no evil" to avoid imput- ing these faults, where a milder interpre- tation is admissible, so, where we are com- pelled to pass a severer censure, it is still requisite to preserve a dignified mildness even in rebuke ; and, without undervaluing the importance of a right faith, to shew a tenderness for the persons even of those whose faults we condemn ; remembering that '* while we were yet sinners, Christ " died for us ;" and that we hope to obtain mercy only on condition of being merciful. " If any man (says St. Paul %) obey not our *' word by this epistle, note that man, and " have no company with him, that he may *• be ashamed : yet count him not as an " enemy, but admonish him as a brother." Above all, let no personal resentment be admitted ; nor let the indignant feelings of wounded pride for personal affronts, and the desire of taking vengeance for them by triumphant sarcasm, be disguised in the specious garb of zeal for God's honour. a 2Thess. iii. 14. TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 151 Nor must the example of our Lord and the Apostles, in their decided, severe, and unqualified condemnation of some offen- ders, be more closely imitated than the similarity of the cases will warrant : those only whose judgment is infallible, and whose insight into the human heart is per- fect, are authorized to pronounce without reserve or hesitation on the errors, and on the motives, of an opponent. And whenever unchristian wrath, malig- nant satire, and bitter reviling, have been employed against those at variance with us, he is the most judicious advocate of true religion, as well as the best exempli- fier of its spirit, who is the first to con- demn such conduct in his own party ; since he will thus both remove the prejudice which is likely to arise against doctrines which have been enforced with intempe- rate violence, and, by pacifying as far as possible those whom that violence has provoked into resentful obstinacy, may lead them to examine their own tenets calmly, — to weigh the arguments on both sides,— and to renounce the errors with h 4 152 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. which they are no longer harshly reproach- ed. To this end, we should not only avoid and condemn all bitterness of invective, but also take every fit opportunity to ex- press friendly feelings, and use mild and conciliatory language, towards our adver- saries; giving them credit, where we can with justice, for sincere zeal in the cause of what they regard as the truth, though it be a " zeal not according to knowledge ;" and manifesting, not scorn and hatred, and insolent exultation, but regret for their er- rors, and anxiety (on their own account) for their correction. Care must be taken however not to tes- tify such compassion for the erroneous as savours too much of contempt; lest mor- tified pride should harden them against conviction, even more than their resent- ment of a harsher rebuke. For pride is one of the most powerful obstacles to a conversion from error, and one whose ad- verse influence we must be ever watchful to counteract. Will it be said, that those who indulge TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 153, this feeling have only themselves to blame ? and that if they do not with humility seek for truth, they do not deserve to atte^in it ? What, alas ! would be the fate of the bqst of us, if no more favour were shewn him than he justly deserved ? Who will dare to say, that his own inquiries after truth have always been as diligent, as candid, and -, as humble, as they could possibly have been ; and that he is ready to be tried before God's tribunal on his own merits ? Those persons indeed who are too proud to re- ceive the truth when enforced in an arro- gant style, and are ashamed to renounce errors with which they have heeri con- temptuously taunted,-TrSuch persons, I saly, — have, themselves, perhaps no right to lay blame on us : but will not He justly con- demn us who " endured such contradiction " of sinners against Hirnself,"r^who so patiently laboured to convert the arrogant and self-sufficient from their errors, — and who sent his apostles to preach remission of sins, even to those who had crucified their master? May not Be fairly expect that we should bear with the frowardness 154 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. of our brethren, for his sake, who deigned to set us an example of humility, long-suf- feringj and unwearied benevolence ? It is not indeed requisite, nor would it be justifiable, to sanction and encourage the faults of any one : we are not called upon to approve or to foster the pride of our opponents ; but we are far from doing this, when we are merely using precautions not to offend and provoke it : on the con- trary, such forbearance has an obvious ten- dency to allay it. The less the wound is chafed, the more Hkely it is to heal. With this view, not only should a scorn- ful deportment towards our opponents be avoided, but all opportunities should be taken of testifying our assent to whatever may be right in their tenets, and our re- spect for whatever is laudable rn their cha- racters ; and full allowance should be made for the magnitude of the difficulties on which they may have stumbled, and the strength of the arguments which may have contributed to mislead them. In no case more clearly than in this, do expediency and justice coincide. For since, in matters TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 155 not admitting of demonstration, not only apparent, but real probabilities may exist, — not only specious, but valid arguments may be adduced, — on opposite sides, — and since even unanswerable objections may be brought against conclusions, which are ne- vertheless true, and which are to be esta- blished by the preponderance of evidence, — it is plainly both equitable and prudent, to admit the full force of an adversary's rea- sons ; without which indeed it is impossi- ble satisfactoirily to answer them. To treat his arguments as frivolous and childish, and his conclusions as palpable absurdities, will be more likelj' to pique his pride in defending them, than to open his ears to conviction . Men are usually more ashamed to acknowledge and renounce an alleged absurdity, than to maintain it; especially when they think (as is usually the case) that something plausible may be urged in its defence. The bye-stander too will often be prejudiced against the cause of those who shall appear to have triumphed too insolently, and too hastily; and will be led, from perceiving that the absurdity has 136 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. been overstated, to overlook it altoge- ther. It should also be remembered, that since men are usually no less jealous of names than of things, and their pride revolts at formal concessions, and at distinct acknow- ledgments of error, it is wise as well as cha- ritable to shew some indulgence towards this infirmity ; by sometimes leading them obliquely, as it were, to the admission' of the truth; — by allowing them to eis^plain as they will (where they manifest a dispo- sition to concede) their own expressions^ even though these may not be in them- selves the most correct ; — and by not in- sisting, when the substance of the truth is secured, on their adopting, in every case^ that form of stating it at which they have taken offence. If we would hope for such forbearance towards our own frailties as may not be inconsistent with justice, we must not deny the same to our erring bre- thren. III. Lastly, we must be prepared to meet with in those opposed to us that fond- TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 157 ness for disputation, and that controversial ardour, which are so common among men of all opinions : and much jiidgment and vigilance will be requisite both in prevent- ing or mitigating its excesses, and in guard- ing against the evil effects of it : in guard- ing, I mean, against the advantage which may be taken of incautious negligence, by a keen, practised, and unfair disputant, who is more eager for victory than for truth. We must in short not only strive to re- press, both in ourselves and others, a dis- putatious spirit, but also (since, after all, we cannot hope that it will ever altogether cease to exist) we must be careful not to expose ourselves rashly to its assaults. If one who is ill-informed and unskilful, pre- sume to step forth as a champion of his faith, against able and learned adversaries, on points where that ability and learning are likely to avail; — or if he who is well versed in one department of knowledge, will venture to engage in discussions of other matters, with which he is unacquainted, — if he will quit his own proper post, as it were, to repel attacks on another quarter, — it is 158 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. not the goodness of his cause that will se- cure him from an overthrow, which may do discredit to that cause itself. But be- sides this, the ablest advocate of truth must remember, that if he is himself candid, sin- glehearted, and anxious only for fair inves- tigation, he must not calculate on always finding his opponents the same j nor must, in honest and unsuspecting frankness, lay himself open to the arts of sophistry and misrepresentation. He should in fact en- deavour to be an adept in all the wiles and fallacies of controversy; not in order to practise, but to guard against, and, where needful, to detect and expose them. One of the commonest arts of those en- gaged in the defence of error, is to repre- sent their opponents as maintaining the op- posite error. And this is the easier, because in fact it will often happen, that it shall be no misrepresentation ; nothing being more common than for an eager disputant to overstate his own doctrine in his zeal against that which he is combating; and thus unconsciously- to be hurried by his own impetuosity into the contrary ex- TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 159 treme*. This danger is of course to be care- fully shunned j but even the appearance of it is also to be guarded against: not only lest our opponents should avail themselves of that appearance, to obtain an unfair advan- tage over us, but also lest others should be led by our incautious language, into errors from which we are ourselves exempt. The charges brought by many Socinians against their opponents, of being Tritheists, and Antinomians, — and by Papists, against theirs, of denying all divine authority to the Church, are among the numberless in- stances of the readiness of controversialists to resort to this mode of attack : and how- ever groundless in any instance such a charge may be, much blame will still attach to those who heedlessly lay themselves open to it, and are not constantly watchful " to '* abstain from all appearance of evil." We cannot indeed exercise too sedulous a vigi- lance on this point, on account of the con- stant liability of all men, when warmly en- ^ The Arian heresy appears to liave in this manner originatea in a rash and intemperate opposition to the Sabellian. 160 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT I^bct. V. gaged in controversy, to lose sight for the moment of every thing except the matter in debate,— to think of nothing but of proving their present point, — and to resort to every means of accomplishing the purpose they have in hand ; regardless of the future mis- chiefs that may arise, in a different quarter^ from the errors to which they may have unconsciously been giving countenance. They seem to be violating the command given to the Israelites, in their sieges, not to cut down trees which afford food for man, to construct their warlike engines; but to keep sacred from the ravages of war j what would be useful in the future days of peace *. The imprudent contrbversialist will often suggest fresh, doubts, on points not neces- sarily conniected with that in dispute, which will perplex, and perhaps ultimately drive into heresies of some other kind, men whose notions on those points had been originally, though not perhaps very distinct, yet not materially erroneous ; they will be startled perhaps at having a new view of some docT <* Deut. XX. 19. TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 161 trine presented to them, by his incautious expressions ; — something which is stated or implied, incidentally in the course of his argument, which is to them paradoxical and offensive, and against which they raise objec- tions. Thus new adversaries assail him from different quarters; — advantage is taken of his inadvertencies, not only by his original opponents, but by all who, from weakness, are disposed to misunderstand, or, from un- fair prejudice, to misrepresent him ; — and thus, heresies are indefinitely multiplied, like the prolific heads of the fabulous hydra, by the unskilful attempt to destroy the first. Not only . however must we provide against the arts of controversy, and the mis- chiefs which may arise in the course of it, but the disputatious spirit itself must also be, as far as possible, checked and coun- teracted ; which may in no small degree be accomplished by judicious care. ' l.The first point is to set a good exam- ple ; that is, to make it plain that we have not qurselves any delight in controversy; but regard it as always an evil in itself, though sometimes a necessary evil. M 162 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lbct.V. On this principle such errors as are either of small importance, or not likely to spread, either from their palpable absurdity, or from their having nothing inviting about them which will engage the passions of men in their support, or from the in- significance of their promulgators, it is better to leave unnoticed, than to raise a controversy about them. Many obscure heresies are mentioned by ecclesiastical his- torians, (besides probably many others that have escaped their attention) which died away of themselves, from being pass- ed by with silent contempt ; and many others also might perhaps as readily have become extinct, had they not been fan- ned into a ilame by^U-judged opposition. Public attention is drawn to that which is made matter of public debate. Mankind are so formed as to take an interest in every kind of contest, however indifferent they may originally have been, as to the subject of it ; though the subject will sub- sequently derive importance in their eyes from the contest itself. They are natu- rally led too, to conclude that there must TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 163 be considerable weight in that which is very strenuously opposed ; — ^that it must be a formidable adversary, against whom for- midable preparations are made. And those who are fond of controversy, seize the op- portunity of displaying their skill, and enter the lists on one side or the other : too often led by the desire of giving better proof of their abilities, to embrace the more para- doxical. And when heresies, which, if dis- regarded, might have sunk into speedy ob^ Uvion, have been thus magnified into seri- ous evils, the opposers of them appeal to the magnitude of those evils, to prove that their opposition was called for: like un- skilful physicians, who, when, by violent re- medies, they have aggravated a trifling dis- ease into a dangerous one, urge the vio- lence of the symptoms which they have themselves produced, in justification of their practice. I am well aware indeed that those who delight in a contest will be ever ready to reproach such as are averse to taking up arms, with being in the interest of the ene- my, — to regard as tainted with error every M 2 164 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. one who, on any occasion, thinks it not ad- visable to combat it : but he who sincerely *' labours for peace," must prepare himself to endure the censure of those who are ever eager to "make them ready to bat- " tie." It is not meant to be insinuated, that we are to regard with uniform unconcern the encroachments of false doctrines : in fact, the very caution against noticing insignifi- cant heresies and those unlikely to spread, implies, (according to the well known maxim, that an exception proves a rule) that against such as are important, and threaten to prevail, those should step forth, as champions of the true faith, who are qualified for the task. \ It is impossible in- deed to mark out by any precise rules, what errors, in each conjuncture of circum- stancesi ought to be combated, and what, disregarded : that must be left to the dis- cretion of each individual : only let it be re- membered, that the exercise of that discre- tion is called for, not only to decide whe- ther any doctrine is false and intrinsically dangerous, but also whether more evil is TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 165 likely to arise, in each instance, from attack- ing or from neglecting it. 2. It may be said indeed, and with truth, that not only is controversy on many occa- sions unavoidable, but also, that whoever is engaged in inculcating truth, is virtually, at the same time, opposing error ; — that to ab- stain ordinarily from all mention of any point, except those which are never contro- verted, would be to abandon all the essen- tial doctrines of our religion — and that con- sequently we cannot abstain from combating heresy, unless we abstain from preaching the Gospel. All this is undeniably just, as far as Tegards the matter of our discussions ; but the manner of them, is a point of great im- portance also ; and it is to that, that I am at present inviting your attention. For, by con- troversy, or disputation, is commonly under- stood, not every course of argument whose conclusion has ever been denied, but that which has the manner and tone of opposi- tion ; — which is brought forward with t|ie air of an advocate, rather than of a teacher, — and seems designed rather to silence an adversary than to convince and enlighten an M 3 166 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V, unbiassed hearer. Now it is too commonly the case with those who have been much accustomed to polemical writing, that every thing they say savours of this spirit of op- position ; they seem always to be arguing against some adversary ; and even their in-i structions are delivered rather in a contro- versial than a didactic form. This fault it is the more important to guard against, be- cause nothing is so likely to generate oppo- sition as the appearance of thus expecting and challenging it. But besides this, it is , desirable, even when opposition has been raised, still, as far as is practicable and safe, to adhere to the didactic style of rea- soning, rather than the polemical ; accord- ing to the precept of St. Paul, which directs the minister of the Lord " not to strive, but " in meekness to instruct those that oppose *' themselves." The method of instruction (by conveying an implied and incidental rather than a direct opposition to the con- trary doctrines, while at the same time it suppresses no part of the truth,) is calcu- lated not only to avoid the unnecessary aggravation of hostile feelings, but also to TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 167 gain a more favourable hearing for the truth ; whereas it gives something of a pa- radoxical air to any doctrine, to put for- ward very prominently the circumstance of its being a disputable point. In fact, the Vjery argument itself which is urged, that in teaching the truth, we are of necessity, vir- tually, combating falsehood, will alone prove the sufficiency of the method now recommended : if we are but careful to keep back nothing of " the whole counsel *' of God," we need not fear that error should flourish uncorrected. To those who are sincerely desirous of complying with St. Paul's precept, and will habitually direct their attention to it, there will be no great difficulty in adhering, as far as the case will allow, to this instructive style, which appears rather *' ready to ** teach" than to contend. A few cautions however I will briefly ad- vert to in conclusion, not as pretending to any novelty, but as being highly important^ and very frequently overlooked. 3. Let it be remembered then, that, in- stead of turning aside to reply to every ca- M 4 168 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect. V. vil, or to notice, in the first instancej even every fair objection, that may be brought forward, it is wiser to begin at leastj in each instance, by distinctly explaining our own tenets, and giving such reasons for them as will refute the opposite conclusions in the very process of establishing our own : and when we do find it necessary at all to no- tice the contrary doctrines, then, to make it our first business to examine the whole system adopted by our opponents, and the consequences it leads to ; and to shew how strong are the objections which lie against it; instead of combating it in detail, and merely seeking flaws in this or that particular argument : to act, in short, (for the most part) principaHy on the offensive ; and since great difficulties (as has been already ob- served) may lie against each of the opposite conclusions, not to undertake to remove every one that may be urged against our own, but to consider which side labours un- der the greatest. Such a procedure is so far from being (as some might, at first sight, suppose) at vari- ance with the plan above recommended, of TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 169 avoiding. controversy as much as possible^ that it is in fact a natural result of it. It is surely no inconsistency, that they who are averse to war, should, when it is absolutely unavoidable, prefer acting on the offensive, and carrying, on their attacks with vigour, that they may the sooner accomplish their object. But moreover, the method I have been recommending is in fact the least po- lemical in form, that could be adopted. To be exclusively occupied in repelling and adr ducing objections, tends to prolong, indefi- nitely a contest, in which neither of the dis- putants will be ready to acknowledge his in- feriority ; and has besides an immediate re- ference only to the opponent and the contro- versy, as such, rather than to the establish- ment of the truth ; since our refutation of an antagonist's reasoning does not, of itself, prove that his conclusions are not true: whereas if we direct our main attack against those conclusions themselves, at the same time shewing strong reasons in support of our own, the pride of the dis- putant will not be so much mortified, and he will be more likely to acquiesce in 170 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. the truth, when he is thus " in meekness instructed." 4. It should also be remembered, that as, in the case of legal punishments, some are designed to reclaim the offender, and some, merely to deter others by his example ; so, in our opposition to heresies and schisms, the object is sometimes to convert and re- call the erroneous, and sometimes to warn others against being seduced by them ; and that a somewhat different mode of proce- dure should be adopted, according to the object proposed. To point out the absur- dities and the mischiefs, to which any error naturally leads, is the more likely way to deter men from falling into it : but to trace up the mistake to its origin,-— to explain the difficulties and clear up the misconcep- tions, which first gave rise to it, will gene- rally be the more efficacious method of re- claiming those already infected. Which procedure is in each case to be adopted, must be decided according to the circum- stances of that case : but that this decision may be made, not at random, but by deli- berate judgment, it is useful to keep in TOWARDS OPPONENTS. 171 mind the distinction which has been men- tioned. After all however, we must still expect often to meet with such obstinate heresies and schisms, as no combination of zeal with wisdom and gentleness, can subdue ; often shall we have the severer mortification of seeing them fostered and aggravated by the injudicious violence of those who are on our side ; and sometimes, doubts may sug- gest themselves to an individual, whether the good effects of his own prudence and moderation, may not be entirely frustrated by the misconduct of others. But such regrets and such doubts can bring but a transient pang to the breast of him whose hopes are firmly anchored on the rock of divine providence : while he is doing that, which, if all men did it, would cause '* truth " to flourish out of the earth, and righte- " ousness to look down from heaven," he will feel assured, that, for himself at least, his " labour is not in vain." He will rest satisfied that, whether his own efforts are successful or not, God's purposes will be fulfilled, when his unerring wisdom shall see 172 CHRISTIAN CONDUCT Lect.V. fit : and while thus fighting under the ban- ner of Christ, yet with humble resignation trusting the event to providence, he will be enabled to say with pious confidence, not only " thy kingdom come," but also, "thy *' will be done." LECTURE VI. FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED QUESTIONS AVOID. 2 Tim. ii. 23. Foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do gender strife. IN the text which was selected for the last lecture, St. Paul seems to have had in view the manner of a Christian Minister's dis- courses; and in the one now before us, (which inimediately precedes it) the matter of them. On each of these points there are cautions required, in order to afford useful instruction, and to avoid strife : and as in teaching and maintaining the great doc- trines of our faith, care must be taken to avoid indiscreet violence, so also with respect to the points themselves in discus- sion, there is no less exercise of discretion, in selecting such as are proper to be treated 174 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL of, and avoiding those which lead to unne- cessary controversy. Now since the object proposed in these 'discourses was to suggest such rules as might be useful in guarding against the evils of party-spirit, and in preserving the peace of the Church, as far as that is pos- sible without sacrificing its doctrines ; — and since in every question that may arise, which is likely to lead to controversy, or to generate party, there are three points, to which our attention should be directed, — first our own temper, or that of our coad- jutors, — -secondly those really or seemingly at variance with us, whether culpable or not, — and lastly, the matters themselves which are the subjects of discussion, it seemed natural to distribute under these heads, the cautions to be suggested. And though the classes thus constituted are not in them- selves so distinct as to preclude the possi- bility of their occasionally encroaching on one another, so that some of the observa- tions referred to one head, must frequently, in some measure, anticipate what is to be said on another, it is nevertheless a conve- QUESTIONS AVOID, 175 nient aid to the memory to treat of them separately ; in order that our judgment, in each individual case that occurs, which after all must depend on a multitude of nice considerations, may be aided by some sort of method, which shall enable us the more readily to take a comprehensive view of them all ; and may thus at least be not more perplexed than is necessary. Of these heads the two former have been treated of in the three foregoing discourses; in which such remarks were offered as seemed most important, on the regulation of our own temper, and on our judgment and treatment of those who differ from us. It remains to say something of the subject- matter of the discussions ; taking into con- sideration at the same time (as is obviously necessary) the language, which is the in- strument and vehicle of those discussions ; and to suggest such rules of procedure as may conduce to the objects proposed.. It will be the business of the concluding discpurses to apply what shall have been said, to the present state of the Church, both with respect to the sects which have 176 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL separated from it, and to the parties which exist, or which may be likely to spring up, within it. I. First then with regard to the doctrines themselves on which we are occupied, all enquiries should be avoided which relate to matters, first, too deep and mysterious ; or, secondly, too minute and trifling ; or, thirdly, too speculative, and remote from Christian practice. Such were probably what the Apostle had in view when he cautioned Timothy to abstain from " foolish and " unlearned questions," kTraiSeuToos ^fir^a-eif, the pursuit of which indicates a want of proper training and mental discipline with a view to the full understanding of the true character of the Gospel, and of the sub- jects proper to be discussed by the Chris- tian, as such *. For since it is evident that the epithets " foolish and unlearned," when applied to enquiries, must have reference to the enquirer himself, speculations even concerning the most interesting and sub- '''■-'■'' „ "-' ' ''" ' '.' ^ IIswatSsojiAsvou yip loriv ew) TOo-oSrov Taxgi|3sj Iwi^ijTsTv xafl' eZBiarov yeVof, lip' oirov ^-toO wpayiJioms ^utrij €Trtle^sr ai, Arist. £th. Nicom. b. i. c. 3. QUESTIONS AVOID. 177 lime subjects may be foolish and unlearned to lis, if they surpass the limits of our fa- culties, and are such as we cannot, without presumption, engage in. 1. That there are subjects connected with religion, which it is unprofitable or worse than unprofitable to discuss, no one would venture to deny ; and it is no less undeniable, that among these are to be reckoned such as are neither laid open to us by revelation, nor are comprehensible by our reason : but men are, in general, far less ready practically to conform to this maxim, than to admit its truths. And more especially is presumptuous enquiry the besetting sin of those who are free from any propensity to gross vice, add are not sufficiently occupied or interested in the business of the world, to be in much danger of temptations from that quarter ; but be- ing habitually engaged in abstract studies, and chiefly influenced by the desire of knowledge, are especially liable to the faults arising from the excess and perver- sion of that desire. The agitation of ques- tions respecting these " secret things which N 178 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect.VL " belong unto the Lord our God," has a peculiar tendency (as St. Paul warns us) to '* gender strife ;" since men are less likely to agree in the bold theories they form re- specting points on which they can have no correct knowledge, and which are in fact unintelligible to them, than in their opi^ nions on matters which are within the scope of fair reasoning, or which may be under- stood by the aid of revelation. And since every disagreement in opinion leads to con- trove;rsy, and is likely to array the dispu- tants in hostile parties against, each other, it is particularly important, with a view to the object we originally proposed, that we should abstain from, and earnestly depre- cate, enquiries on those subjects on which (besides that it shews an unbecoming pre- sumption to enter upon them) disagree- ments are most likely to arise, and no satis- factory decision can ever be expected. The heresies which arose in the earlier ages of the Church, respecting the doc- trine of the Trinity, seem to have chiefly arisen from the prevailing taste for arro- gant metaphysical disquisitions on that in- serutable mjstefy : and in Ihe present day the rash attempts that have been made by some to explain, on the abstract principles of justice, the counsels of the Most High in the no less incomprehensible mystery of the atonement*, have probably bad no small share in giving growth to the prevail- ing heresies on that point. And when, as too often happens, the opposers of any •wiW and presumptuous theory, instead of condemniraig> as they ought, the very en- quiry itself, and deprecating "foolish and "^ unkaFned questions," fall, themselves, into a similar error, by pretendirig to sub- stitute their own explanations of the point, for that which they object to, they aggra*» vate and perpetuate the erils of daring specutetion, and mischievous, as well as fruitless, contention. Where all are in fact in the wrong, the parties are not likely to * Herv§y is one of the most remarkable of the writers of this stamp; not on accoant of any superior -ayiity displayed in his works, or from their being more strongly marked with the ; character ia question, than tliose of many others ; but from the extensive circulation which the piety of his sentiments, and the gaudiness of his style, has procured for them. N 2 180 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect.VI. It come to an agreement : ' like men who should rashly venture to explore a strange land in utter darkness, they will be scattered into a thousand devious paths. The evil too is perpetually increasing, as long as this proud spirit, which will not ad- mit any thing but what can be explained, — this presumptuous craving after forbidden knowledge, (the very sin by which our first parents fell) continues to be cherished. For the very offer of an explanation of any of the mysterious articles of our faith, encou- rages those who are dissatisfied with that explanation, to withhold their belief from the doctrines till they shall have been more clearly unfolded ; and if every fresh scruple thus raised, be met by a fresh attempt at explanation, there is no setting bounds to the multiplication of errors and of conten- tions. Since however every one, though he might condemn in others, as impious, the disposition to pry into inscrutable myste- ries, would be unwilling to reckon among these the subject of his own discussions, the difficulty is to determine where the line QUESTIONS AVOID. 181 should be drawn. And as it would be ma- nifestly impossible within the compass, even of several discourses, to enumerate the va- rious points, on which presumptuous enqui- ries have been instituted, and to assign the limits of allowable discussion in each, it will be best to mention briefly the principal causes which lead men to mistake the true boundaries of the human faculties. The pride which disdains to acquiesce in the belief of what is inexplicable, and the thirst for knowledge, so natural to man, but so liable to be carried to excess, have been already adverted to, as the original causes and first movers of presumptuous enquiry : but what I have now in view, is, the mis- conceptions to which these feielings contri- bute to give rise, and through the medium of which they operate : Which are princi- pally these two; first, that men are apt (however distrustful they may be of the powers of unaided reason) to expect a full and distinct knowledge of whatever is re- vealed in God's word ; and secondly, that whatever \s familiar to them, and is a com- mon subject of their thoughts and dis- N 3 183 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lbct. VL course, they mually consider as cornpre- het)sible by their faculties, and clearly in- telligible. {iit»" -> The former of these errors should be guarded against, by steadily keeping in view; the purposes for which a Revelation was given ; «iz. not for the increase of our spe- culative knowledge, but for our instruction in what is needful to be known, in order to our servipg God, and conforming our lives to his commands : whatever does not con? duce to this end, however satisfactory the knowledge of it might be to our minds, is withheld from us ; in great measure perhaps for the express purpose of making a trial of our faith. We must remember therefore, that though enabled by revelation to know what reason could not discover,— and though we ought to have the most undoubting oonfi»- dence in the truth of God's word, — in the certainty oi yvh^i is thus made known to usi, yet we now " know but in part;" we see indeed many of the wonders of divine pro- vidence ; but we " see through a glass, darkly." Nor is God revealed to us as He is in Himself, but as he is relatively to our- QUESTIONS AVOID. 18S selves ; and even the relations in which He stands to us are but imperfectly developed^ though as far perhaps as our present fa- culties can comprehend them. We stand, in short, (as many passages of Scripture seem to indicate) in somewhat the same re- lation to our heavenly Father, as that of little children towards their parent ; who communicates to them indeed enoiigh to entitle him to their love, confidence, and cheerful obedience ; but whose character and designs are very imperfectly and indis- tinctly understood by them. Hence it is that Scripture frequently gives us, in different places, such accounts x)f the divine attributes and dispensations, as would, if understood literally, be utterly inconsistent and contradictory; for the ex- press purpose, as it should seem, of teach- ing us to limit and modify one statement by the aid of the other, — to correct the misapprehensions which might arise from either, if considered separately , —and to be aware how partial and imperfect an insight we are intended to have into the divine mysteries*. . j a See Archbishop King's discourse on Predestination. 184 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lbct. VI. There cannot be a more striking instance of this, than the Scripture accounts of the doctrines of predestination and free-will. It IS but too well known what bitter and in- terminable controversy respecting these doctrines, has been introduced into the Church by those who have paid an exclu- sive attention to each of them respectively, and who have thought themselves warrant- ed to seek for a full and clear understand- ing of the subject, on the ground that it is to be found in a divine revelation. Those will indeed have but faint and imperfect no- tions of it, who adhere to the rule of giving a fair portion of attention to all parts of Scripture, and never interpreting any pas- sage so as to be irreconcileable with an- other ; but they, and they alone understand the word of God as it was designed to be understood. If on any such mysterious subject as this, our notions are perfectly distinct and full, there is strong ground of suspicion at least, (for that very reason,) that they are incorrect. With regard to the other mistake just noticed, — that of confounding familiar ac- QUESTIONS AVOID. 185 quaintance with accurate knowledge, and imagining ourselves capable of clearly un- derstanding the nature of whatever we have been much accustomed to think and speak of, (a mistake which is very common in other subjects, as well as theology) it should be guarded against by deep and habitual reflection on the innumerable mysteries which daily surround us, — and on the scanty and indistinct conception we have, of many phenomena whose existence we cannot doubt, and which we have continu- ally before our eyes. The union, for in- stance, of corporeal and intellectual attrir butes in every one of us, and the mutual action of the mind and body on each other, are so familiar to us from constant use, as to have long since ceased to strike us with any degree of wonder ; and hence we are apt to forget how utterly inexplicable they are. It is the same in numberless other instances; and among these, in respect of many of the doctrines both of natural and revealed religion, which, men, who have been perhaps acquainted with them from their earliest infancy, and accustomed 186 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL to think and converse much upon them, are thus insensibly led to regard as far more comprehensible by the human mind than in fact they are. Hence they not only often venture to attempt explanations of matters beyond the reach of the human fa- culties, but even regard such explanations as a necessary part of Christian instruction, and are ready to censure as unbelievers, such as profess to receive the doctrines in question, with implicit faith and reverence^ but object to the explanation proposed, — abstain from any i^uch attempt, — and ac- quiesce in them with awe, as unfathom- able mysteries. It is indeed a remarkable fact, that a man is uisually less offended with those who profess to understand what he does not, than with those who acknowledge their in- abihty to comprehend, what he holds to be clearly intelligible ; since these last will appear to entertain a suspicion at least, (of what is probably the truth) that he has been deluding himself with empty fallacies, and grasping a phantom. ' i Those however who are more charitably QUESTIONS AVOID. 187 disposed, are content to reckon one who thus confesses his ignorance, among the habes in Christ, who, though not heretical, are yet very backward and deficient in reh- giousiknowledge : whereas he is perhaps in fact further advanced than themselves ; and if they will continue to study and meditate with patient and humble diligence, they will perceive more and more the vastness of the obscurity that is around them ; and will attain at length to that most valuable and fundamental branch of wisdom, the know- ledge of their own ignorance : they will find, like Simonides, that the longer they reflect on the nature of the Deity, the more difficult and mysterious it will appear. Even the words which are most fami- liarly employed in our reasoning, and which seem to occasion no perplexity or embar- rassment in it j will, many of them, be fcf^nd, on attentive examination, to convey ideas, of which we have but a very indis- tinct comprehension, and which lead, by a very few steps, into an unfathomable abyss of darkness. Such are " Time," " Space," " Eternity," " Infinity," " Cause,"— and 189 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VI, in short most of the terms employed in the discussion of questions even of natural re- ligion. Let any, for instance, consider, that since our only idea of time, is derived from the succession of impressions on our minds, it follows, that to a Being who is eter-nal and omniscient, there can be no such thing as past and future, " but" (as the poet^ well expresses it) *' an eternal Now does ever ^' last ;" (which notion seems alluded to in our Lord's words, " Before Abraham " was, I am,") and he will perceive at once how easily we may be lost in inexplicable mystery, by attentively reflecting on the meaning of the most common and familiar terms ; and how much more, though withr out perceiving it, we are likely to be bewil- dered, by rashly employing them in their reasoning, without such reflection. Indeed there are probably few men of sound judgment, who have carefully at- tended to the improvement of their facul- ties, that do not remember the time when many things appeared to them perfectly simple and intelligible, which they now re- a Cowley. J QUESTIONS AVOID. 189 gard as difficult and obscure. And in no point perhaps is the advantage of a judici- ous and truly philosophical cultivation of mind more apparent, than in its guarding us against the common error of regarding the things spoken of as easily comprehen- sible, in proportion as the names of them are common and familiar. The Algebraist and the Logician, being accustomed to the use of arbitrary symbols, are well aware of the important fact, that we may reason justly, even where the terms employed are utterly unmeaning to us : and if they are careful to make due application of this principle, they will not forget, that, though it may often be a great convenience to have a name, for something of which we have but a very imperfect idea, we must not thence suppose that we have attained to the knowledge of it. 2. Besides the unfathomable mysteries which we' have now been speaking ofj it Was mentioned in the opening of this dis- course, that another class of subjects, from which we should abstain if we would avoid queiStions which gender strife, is, the mi- 190 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL nute and insignificant : such as, though they are not beyond the reach of the hu- man faculties to decide upon, yet being either altogether unworthy of discussion, or not of sufficient consequence to justify the risk of raising dissension, should be avoid- ed, on the principle formerly laid down, that controversy should always be regarded as an evil in itself, to be incurred only when necessary for the sake of some important good. For it should be remembered, that not only does every question that can be raisedy lead to differences of opinion,, dis- putes, and parties, but also,^ that the vio- lence of the dispute, and the zeal and bi- goted spirit of the party, are by no means proportioned to the importance of the matter at issue; the smallest spark, if thrown among very combustible substances, may raise a formidable conflagration ; and when men are disposed for strife, the dis- cussion of any question, however insignifi- cant, may engage them in a contest, in whiffih the zeal and animosity of the dispur taiits will inflame each other, to a degree which appears to calm observers almost in- QUESTIONS AVOID. I9I credibly disproportionate to the magnitude of the point itself. Witness the long and acrimonious controversies which distracted the Church concerning the proper time for the observance of Easter ; and concerning the use of leavened or unleavened bread at the Lord's supper. We of the present day, viewing these disputes from a distance with the eye of sober reason, and perceiving of how little consequence it is in itself, whether one day or another be set apart by the Church for the celebration of a religious fesr tival, or whether the sacramental bread, be leavened or not, provided these points be so fixed as to produce a decent uniformity, at least among the members of each Church, can hardly bring ourselves to believe, that the most important doctrines of the Gospel were not made the subject of more eagier contentions, than such trifles as these ; arid that for these the peace and unity of the Church were violated, and Christian cha- rity too often utterly destroyed. But we should not forget that human nature is still the same as it ever was ; and that though the controversies of one age may often ap- 192 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect.VL pear ridiculous in another, the disposition to contend about 'trifles may remain un- changed; 3. Not only however should we avoid the risk of causing needless strife by the discussion of such questions as are in them- selves trifling, but those also are to be re- garded as, to us, insignificant, which, how- ever curious, sublime, and interesting, can lead to no practical result, and have no tendency to make us better Christians, but are merely matters of speculative curiosity*. St. Paul is frequent and earnest in his ex- hortations to his converts to confine them- selves to such studies as tend to the edifi- cation of the Church, — the increase of the fruits of the Spirit, — the conversion of in- fidels,-:— and the propagation of the essen- tial doctrines of the Gospel. And that these doctrines are of a practical tendency, ^— that the Christian revelation is not cal- culated to gratify our thirst after know^ ■ledge for its own sake, but to instruct us in " The speculations of many divines respecting the doctrine of the Millennium may perhaps be referred to this class. QUESTIONS AVOID. 193 what is useful to be known with a view to our salvation, is one of the most remark- able characteristics of the true religion. All the systems framed by human supersti- tion, enthusiasm, and imposture, whether Pdgari, Popish, or Mahometan, abound, as might be expected, in mythological fables and marvellous legends^ well fitted to in- terest and gratify the curiosity of the cre- dulous, but not even pretending to be of aiiy practical itnportance. Our religion, as might hop less be expected of one which comes from God, reveals to ns the Father, tiiat we may worship, and thank Him, and trust in his kind providence; — ^the Son, thaft we may humbly rely on his atonement, aed seek his mediation, and prepare to be judged by Him at the last day, — and the Holy Spirit, that we may implore His in- ward aid, and be led by his suggestions : and it etery where teaches us, that though " the secret things belong unto the Lord " our God, the things which are revealed *' belong unto us, that -we may do all the " words of this law." I would not be understood indeed to o 194. FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VI. preclude all thought or mention of any subject connected with religion, whose practical utility we are unable to point out : only let all controversy, and every thing that is likely, under existing circumstances, to lead to controversy, on such points, be carefully avoided : when once a flame is kindled, we cannot tell how far it may spread ; and since, though we may be al- lowed, we cannot be bound in duty, to dis- cuss speculative points of theology, the blame of occasioning needless dissension must lie with those who so discuss them, as to incur a risk that hostile parties may arise out of their speculations. That questions of no practical import- ance may " gender strife," and divide Christians into sects filled with the most bitter animosity, paradoxical as it may be, is but too clearly evinced by experience : and the faultiness of those who by their pride and party-spirit are the immediate causes or promoters of such schism and strife, does not exculpate the others, whose imprudent speculations first called into action their evil passions. QUESTIONS AVOID. 195 II. The cautions to be observed with respect to the language of religious discus- sions have been in great measure antici- pated by what has been already said, both in this, and the foregoing discourses : words being not merely the vehicle for conveying our thoughts to others, but also the instru- ment of thought itself, on abstract subjects ; so that all rules for forming correct notions ourselves, — for rightly interpreting and judging of the faith of another, — and for conducting controversy, and imparting in- struction, discreetly, must have an imme- diate reference to the proper use of lan- guage. It is however so common a fault to overlook the importance of words in in- fluencing our thoughts, that it may be ad- visable to lay down distinctly and sepa- rately some maxims relative to this point, and to keep them steadily in view. The rules most important to be observed with respect to the use of language, are, first, to be aware of the ambiguity of words, and watchful against being misled by it ; since the same word not only may, but often must, be used to express different o 2 196 FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL meanings : secondly, (since on the other hand the same meaning may be expressed by different words) to guard against attach- ing too great importance to the use of any particular term : and lastly, to avoid, as much as possible, introducing or keeping up the use of any peculiar set of words and phrases, as the badge of a party. 1. The neglect of the first of these cau- tions has probably contributed more than any other cause to the excitement of groundless and unsatisfactory disputes, leading to all the evils of strife and division. If one of the principal terms be understood in different senses by the respective parties, who in reality perhaps differ very little (originally at least) in their sentiments, there is but small chance of their bringing the discussion to a close. For men are in general prone to mistake words for things, and to regard those as real, which are in fact only verbal controversies ; and yet are usually so indignant at being cautioned against this mistake, — they regard it as so high an affront to be suspected of being un- consciously engaged in a logomachy, — that QUESTIONS AVOID. 197 he who proposes to terminate a contest by proving that it turns on the ambiguity of words, must prepare himself to incur, from the eager controversialists of both parties, even more ill-will than they feel towards their opponents. Experience affords but too many in- stances to illustrate what has been said. The questions respecting fatalism and free-will (mysterious as the subject undoubt- edly is in itselif) have been greatly perplex- ed, and the true character of the difficulty mistaken, through the ambiguity of such words as " possible" " may," " can," and others of that class, which relate sometimes to power, and sometimes to contingency: for instance, in one sense it is true, and in the other, false, that a man of strict inte- grity mai/ defraud his neighbour; i. e. he has it in his power, if he will; (otherwise there would be no merit in his honesty) but we may be certain that he will not. On the other hand, when we say that a sick man mat/ recover of his disease, we mean not that it depends on his will to do so, but merely that we are not certain of the o 3 198 FOOUSH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VI. event. And thus the attribute of presci- ence, since it is manifestly incompatible with douht and uncertainty in the Being who foresees, has been represented as in- compatible with free-agency in him whose conduct is foreseen. The word "Person" again, when its am- biguity has not been clearly explained, seems to have had a share in occasioning many apparent, and, ultimately, many real heresies. In its ordinary colloquial sense it always implies a distinct substance: in its theological isense, being a literal, or rather perhaps an etymological, translation of the Latin word Persona, which has not that meaning, and answering to the Greek Hy- postasis, it is applied by the Church to ex- press the distinction which she affirms to exist between those whose identity of sub- stance she expressly maintains ^ Many a doubt might be satisfied, and many a cavil silenced, by the simple expedient of clearly stating this ambiguity. In the controversies also concerning Re- ^ In the Nicene Creed, where the Son is declared to be *' of one substance with the Father." QUESTIONS AVOID. 199 generation, though much real difference of sentiment has prevailed, much more also has probably appeared to exist, and much perplexity has been introduced into the discussion, from the different senses in which the word has been used ; sometimes to signify the act o{Jirst entering upon a Christian life, sometimes, that life itself, — and that regenerate state^ in its full matu- rity and vigor of action. Many persons are the more liable to fall into the error now under consideration, from their too hastily making their appeal to the language of Scripture, without suffi- ciently considering in what different senses the same word is often used in different places by the sacred writers ; who seem in- deed not to have designed to draw up and adhere to a strict technical vocabulary, but to have aimed only at making their mean- ing clear in each separate passage that they wrote. The different uses of the word " Faith" by St. Paul and St. James, is a familiar instance of this ; but is only one out of many that might be adduced. Indeed so far are the inspired writers from endeavouring (all of them collectively) after FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Leqt.VL a uniform mode of stating any doctrine, that even each one of tUem seems to have sought foi* a variety of terms and phrases for ex- pressing his ideas more forcibly and clearly. 2. This ought surely to be an example to us to adhere to the other maxims above laid down ; viz. that of not too rigidly exacting an adherence to any particular form of expres- sion, — attaching undue importance to a name, where the substance of any doctrine shall appear, on a candid examination, to be correctly held ; (the observance of which rule would probably have allayed the con- troversy which took place on the article in the Nicene Creed, relating' to the procession of the Holy Ghost, in which there seems to have been no essential difference between the parties) and we should also learn, I say, to observe that other caution abovemen- tioned, of avoiding the peculiar and cha- racteristic language of a party j viz. the constant and unvaried use of certain fixed technical words and phrases, in the state- ment of each doctrine \ Many evils arise a It is to this kind of fixed phraseology that the term *' cant" is most commonly applied^ QUESTIONS AVOID. 201 from this practice. In the first place the constant recurrence of the same terms, usually causes the hearer to become in time inattentive to the things si^ified ; the sounds are so familiar to him, that at length they affect him little more than as mere sounds, which do not rouse the mind to earnest reflection ; whereas every variation in language tends to dispel this inertness of the understanding, and to awaken atten- tion. In the next place, since our language when treating of heavenly things must be borrowed by analogy from things more level to our capacity, and since these analogies cannot but be very imperfect, the constant employment of the same * analogical expres- sions in each case respectively, will be apt to suggest to the hearer and fix in his mind some incorrect theory on the subject, by leading him to suppose the analogy more complete than in fact it is. The obvious preventive of this evil is to vary as much as possible the analogies made use of, that a See some excellent observations on this subject in Professor D. Stewart's Philosophy of the human Mind. FOOLISH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VL each may serve to correct the erroneous no tions that might be suggested by another. Of which practice we have most striking exaniples in the numerous and ever-varied parables by which our Lord illustrated each subject He was treating of; and in the mul- tiplicity of different metaphors employed by the Apostles in explaining each article of the Faith. Lastly, it is obvious that causeless divi- sions and all the evils of party-spirit must be greatly pronioted by adopting and uni- formly adhering to a fixed set of expressions calculated to become the badges of a party. For by this means, ovier and above all the real differences of opinion which exist, a fresh cause of opposition and separation is introduced among those who would perhaps be found, if their respective statements were candidly explained, to have in their tenets no real ground of disunion. I would not be understood as questioning the neces- sity of retaining such creeds and articles of faith as are requisite for limiting the vague- ness of men's interpretation of Scripture, and maintaining in the members of the QUESTIONS AVOID. 203 Church an agreement as to essential points ; — but, as suggesting a caution against fall- ing into a pernicious extreme, — that of too constant an adherence, without necessity, to a single form of expression on each point, and too hasty a censure of all who vary from it. In fact, the very expediency of these fixed formularies of our Church establishes the point for which I am con- tending : for since that expediency consists in their helping to keep together, as a dis- tinct body, the members of that Church, which in this case is a desirable eflFect, it follows, that where no such object is, or ought to be, proposed, the means which lead to it, should be avoided. There is nothing that tends more strongly than this practice to generate and to prolong cause- less divisions among Christians : for, every peculiarity (as was formerly observed) which characterizes any class of men, however insignificant it may be in itself, is gene- rally cherished by them with undue re- gard ; and serves to heighten their zeal, and strengthen their union as a party. Nor will the consequences of such divisions 204. FOOUSH AND UNLEARNED Lect. VI. be by any means as trifling as their causes ; for when parties are once firmly established, and arrayed against each otherj their oppo- sition will usually increase ; and the dif- ferences between them, which were origiii^ ally little more than imaginary, may in time become serious and important. I shall have occasion however again to advert to this point in the subsequent dis-ff courses, and especially in speaking of the dissension and party-spirit existing within the bosom of our Church. In the next discourse, the case of the dissenters from our Church will be considered, and an applica- tion made, of the foregoing principles, to the open schisms existing in the present day. It would indeed be vain for us to hope (since even the Apostles could not effect so much) entirely to remove these evils : but we shall be following the safest guides, and doing the utmost benefit to the Church that human weakness and depravity will allow, if we carefully and habitually study and endea- vour to conform to their principles and their practice, who are at once the most unerring instructors, and the most perfect niiodels. LECTURE VII. CONDUCT WITH RESPECT TO DISSENTEKS. Col. iv. 5. fFalk in wisdom towards them that are without. Though we cannot on every occasion discern fully the reasons of God's dealingSi with us, we may be well assured, that the ^tuation, whatever it may be,, in which we are placed, has its appropriate duties an- nexed to it ; and that the greatest present diffieuilties and affiictions, since they afford scope for the exercise of some correspond- ing Christian virtues^ may be made con- ducive to our eternal benefit. Like the insect which gathers honey even horn poi- sonous weeds, the true Christian will de* rive spiritual advanliagiB from temporal evils; and fulEy trusting that "all things " work together for good to them that love 206 CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect. VII. " God," will (without presuming to pry into the counsels of the Most High) set himself earnestly to profit by all his dispen- sations, and to practise those duties which the existing circumstances especially call for. To the early Christians it must have been one of their most grievous trials to live in the midst of unbelievers; among whom must have been included many who were not only their fellow-citizens, but also their relations and friends. And in addition to this, there were also many heresies, which had sprung up among themselves, and which must have been a heavy addition to their temptations and afRictions. To both these circumstances the Apo- stles frequently advert ; and point out to their converts the duties thence arising, — tbe Christian virtues which were to be thereby exercised. The prevalence of in- fidelity furnished a secondary motive, (and no one who understands human nature will depreciate the utility of secondary motives,) to a life of such purity and rectitude, as might do credit to their profession, and TO DISSENTERS. 207 recommend their faith : and the springing up of heresies furnished a trial of their vi-' gilance, their patience, and their steady zeal in the cause of truth. " There must " be," says St. Paul, "heresies among you, " that they which are approved maybe made " manifest ;" and again with reference to idolatry of the Gentiles by whom his con- verts were surrounded, he cautions them to *' walk in wisdom" towards these ; he re- quires that the elders of the Church be such as " have a good report of them which " are without ;" and he rebukes the sins of those who adhered to the Mosaic law, in that, " the name of God is blasphemed "through them among the Gentiles :" and St. Peter exhorts the Christian women so to conduct themselves, " that if any obey " not the word, they also may, without the '* word, be won by the conversation of the '* wives, while they behold your cha$te " conversation coupled with fear :" and again ; " having a good conscience, that " whereas they speak evil of you as of evil " doers, they may be ashamed that false- " ly accuse your good conversation in «' Christ." 208 CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect. VII. The conduct of Christians of the present day should be aHc reading of the Scriptures,. nor the use pf an estabhshefl li- turgy, but trusted every thing to the extem- poraneous effusions of the (preacher, the ex- cuse jn question would have gire^t weight : but as it is, men should consider whether the 1 immediate advantage gained jis not more than counterbalanced by the violation of an inipor;li^nt general rule, — by the gra- dual depreciation thus , prodnced of the duty of Christian unity, — by; the counte- nance a^ofded to schism, — and the exite- nuation in the { eyes of men in /general,, of the. evils it produces. At any rate, they isjionld at least not overlook the objections ..whiph licron this, side of>ithe alternative. Jjct it be reniembered however, that what- t,^verf degree of blame ,m^ay, in eaehrpaise >i< a-The CMrch of Rome, do itideed admit that the of- -ficlal acts of a. .vidQUS Priest m^y be. valid; but the in- . wardintentwn of the Priest is, according to them, requi- site to the efficacy of every sacrament he administers; so that if he designedly withhpld tliis intention, there is no true sacrament. The Council of Trent anathematizes those who deny this position. TO DISSENTERS. 235 that occurs, attach to those who forsake the Church, the Minister is not the less heavily responsible, whose unsound, or negligent, or indiscreet preaching, has aided to drive into dissent those entrusted to his care. Although however we are bound to avoid giving any encouragement, direct or indi- rect, to heresy or schism, and to keep clear of even the appearance of regarding them with indifference, and though such as are well qualified should be ready, when fit occasions ofifer, to defend the cause of the Church, — -to warn the unwary, — and to admonish the erroneous, yet the most ad^ visable plan, generally speaking, will be, to oppose sectaries, not so much by directly preaching against them, as by diligence in affording religious instruction, as far as we have opportunity, not with respect to the controverted points merely, but in all the essential truths of the Gos'pel as main- tained by our Church, especially those most dwelt upon by our opponents. Such a procedure is not only the least likely to produce irritation, but at the same time the most efficacious with a view to the ob- 226 CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect.VII. ject proposed. It will refute the charges so often brought against Churchmen, of re- missness and of indifference about the great truths of Cliristianitj ; — it will deprive of all excuse those who desert the Church professedly for the sake of hearing those doctrines preached ; — it will remedy that ignorance which is the soil on which er- rors are the most likely to spring up ; — and it will remove all appearance of that cor^- rupt and unchristian party-spirit, which. is more zealous for the Church than for the Gospel, and which rather, values our reli- gion for the sake of the establishment, than the establishment for the sake of the reli- gion. Most sedulously indeed must we guard in every way against affording either any just ground, or any shew of truth, for the accusation of adhering to the Church because it is established by the State, and resting her spiritual authority on the law of the land. Against the members of any legally established Church, indeed, this ac- cusation will always be brought 1^ her op- ponents, whether it be well founded or not; but they must for that reason be the more TO DISSENTERS. 227 diligent by their life and doctrine to refute the charge. If indeed the members of our Church, while they oppose Dissenters, fail to use their best exertions, in every way, for pro- , moting the spiritual improvement of their fellow-subjects, they cannot complain, or wonder, at finding that their zeal in the cause is attributed to impure motives ; — -to self-interested views, or to political con- siderations, and' regard for the Church chiefly as a part of the constitution. And most especially should we be active in re- medying that evil which has been but too prevailing an occasion and excuse for schism, the want of sufficient places of wor- ship, and of ministerial attendance, of the established Church. In places where this deficiency prevails in any great degree, to caution men against attending On dissent- ing teachers, might seem like condemning them to perish by famine, lest they should use unwholesome food ; and those who se- verely censure them, yet shew themselves indifferent about supplying the defect in question, will, naturally, and perhaps not Q 2 228 CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect. VII. altogether unjustly, be regarded as more zealous against schism than against, irreli- gion ; — as careless whether their brethren be Christians, provided they be not secta- ries. We sometimes indeed hear it urged, in reply to this, that in some of the places re- specting which the complaint is made, the churches are not filled ; so that though they would be inadequate to the wants of the population, supposing all were well disposed to the establishment, there is even more than a sufficient supply for as many as choose to avail themselves of it ; the rest being manifestly Dissenters, not from ne- cessity, but from choice. But any man of judgment who considers the case at- tentively and candidly, will readily perceive how fallacious it would be to conclude, on such grounds, that the deficiency in ques- tion had originally no share in introducing or multiplying sectaries ; or that the remo- val of it would have no tendency to dimi- nish the number.- When the ill-supplied spiritual wants of a large population afford an inviting opportunity, dissenting teachers TO DISSENTERS. 229 take occasion to establish themselves ; and the fire which is thus ^ kindled in the dry tree, may subsequently extend to the green : the sectaries come not to supply our defi- ciencies, but to fake ^advantage of them ; — not merely as occupiers of a waste spot, but as invaders, ambitious of conquest ; though they first assail that part of the frontier which is undefended. It cannot be. expected that, when once established, they will not labour strenuously, and often successfully, to increase their party, by drawing over churchmen to their side : and thus the waters which by being confined within too narrow a channel, have once begun to overflow, may in time form such a breach in its banks, as shall at length draw off the whole stream into a different course. And no less fallacious would it be to conclude, that to make an adequate pro- vision, such as we are speaking of, to meet the wants of our population, would have no tendency to recall into the fold those who have strayed : for not to mention that the fault, if it stilt remained, would then rest Q 3 CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect. VII. entirely with them, the very circumstance of their perceiving that the members of the Church take an interest in their spiritual welfare, — display a zeal no less active than that of sectaries, dnd more free from any suspicion of impure motives, — and are for- ward to make pecuniary sacrifices in the cause of religion, — would at least excite their attention, and would be likely to awaken their respect and their gratitude,-^ — to soften all unfriendly prejudices, — and thus to prepare their minds for the recep- tion of the truth. Can there be any one who will dare to say that they do not deserve such pains be- ing taken for their conversion, because they were to blame in deserting the Church on insufficient grounds ? And will he be con- tent to be judged himself before God's tri- bunal, on the same principle, of receiving no more favour than he can in strict justice claim ? In fact had the Apostles shewn no patient forbearance towards inattention or perversity, and refused to labour in the instruction of any except those who had made the most of all their advantages, and TO DISSENTERS. 231 had sought for truth with the utmost dili-r genee and candour, it is to be feared that comparatively very few either of Jews or Gentiles would have been converted. With respect to the persons of whom the duty in question is especially required, and the manner in which it should be perform- ed, in each particular case, it would neither be possible, nor desirable, on the present occasion, to lay down rules : each manfs conscience must decide as to the nature and extent of his own obligations ; only let it be well considered in the first place whether there is, not an obligation somewhere ; — whether every costly work, which is not a work of necessity or of charity, is not a re- proach to this nation, so long as the \Vant I have been speaking of remains, in any one in- stance, unsupplied ; — and whether we ought not therefore, somewhat to moderate our boasting and self-congratulation on account of what "has been lately accomplished in this way; and to feel, as a body, more af sor- row and shame that so much should still remain to be done. III. Lastly, our zeal must be free from CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect. VII. all personal bitterness, illiberal bigotry, and all those faults in short which have been formerly described as constituting and as promoting party-spirit. It is a difficult, but a most important duty, to steer the middle course between lukewarmness, and repulsive severity ;—*to oppose Dissenters as such, without being wanting in cha- rity towards them as men, and as Chris- tians ; — to be steady in maintaining the sinfulness of schism, yet without censuring as unpardonable, those who fall into it;— to " mark and avoid those who cause divi- " sions among us," yet without any narrow- minded and hostile aversion. But this dif- ficulty, which is one of our appointed trials, must not be allowed to discourage us. He " who endured such contradiction of sinners ** against himself," and laboured so zealous- ly, yet so patiently, to convert men to the truth, may surely expect a similar union of charity with zeal from his followfers. He who is deficient either in persevering acti- vity in the cause of true Religion, or in dis- creet and conciliatory mildness, has not profited as he ought by the examples of our Lord and of his Apostles. TO DISSENTERS. 23^ On the rules to be observed for thus con- ciliating those opposed to us, without com- promising the truth, or appearing to coun- tenance error, it is not necessary at present to enlarge ; having treated fully in some former lectures of the cautions requisite, ge- nerally, in our treatment of those who differ from us ; the application of which to the case of dissenters from our Church is suffi- ciently obvious. I will conclude therefore by briefly men- tioning one principle, which, though, in the present day, it would be admitted by almost every man when distinctly stated, is yet in practice perpetually overlooked ; and from the neglect of which, men of opposite dis- positions are led into opposite errors. The principle I mean is, that as Christ's " king- " dom is NOT OF this world," legal co- ercion is an improper instrument for pro- ducing conformity to the Church, or assent to her doctrines. This, as a general maxim, scarcely any one would, be disposed to deny : yet if it were practically kept in view, two contrary mistakes, which are very. preva- lent, would be avoided. On the one hand, CONDUCT WITH RESPECT Lect.VII. the legal toleration which our laws very wise- ly afford to Dissenters, — determining that no man shall be liable to punishment for his religious opinions, but shall be account- able for them only to his own conscience and to God,— ^seems to have led many to consider both Orthodoxy and Conformity as matters of no great consequence in a moral point of view : as if, because the ques- tion is, and ought to be, left to our indivi-. dual discretion, we were not most awfully responsible for our use of that discretion. Now to conclude thus, of any doctrines, or of any nonconformity, that they are not sinful, because they ought not to be pu- nishable bylaw, what is it but to imply that if they were sinful, they ought to be punish- able by law ? which is to allow, in other words, the propriety of employing coercion in religious matters; and thus to mistake the nature of Christ's kingdom. On the other hand, the very same mistake leads men of contrary sentiments into an opposite error. Whoever, in his zeal for the Church, is disposed to treat Dissenters, either individually or collectively, with any TO DISSENTERS. 235 degree of harshness, — to seek to influence them by any secular motives, either of fear or of hope, — to appeal, in short, to their self- interest; — whoever grudges the toleration extended to them, — or endeavours to mo- lest them in any way, and to abridge their civil rights, further than may be strictly re- quisite for self-preservation, on the ground of the erroneousness of the tenets maintain- ed, — is, virtually, if not avowedly, drawing the conclusion, that heresy and schism ought to be checked by coercion, because they are in themselves sinful ; which is pre- cisely the converse of the mistaken inference above mentioned, that since they ought not to be so checked, they are not to be con- sidered as sinful: and both these, errors spring from the very same misapprehension concerning the respective provinces of legal and of religious restraint, and concerning, the spiritual character of Christ's kingdom. The legitimate modes of warfare by which we are to *' contend for the faith," are those which have been alluded to in this discourse; viz. by an exemplary -life, — by zeal temper- ed with discretion, in persuading, exhorting. CONDUCT WITH RESPECT &c. Lect.VII. instructing, — and by manifesting a charita- ble, conciliatory, and, in short, truly Chris- tian spirit. It is not enough however that we " walk in wisdom towards those that " are without" the pale of our Church, un- less we are also most careful to preserve in- ternal concord among ourselves. Nothing will more weaken our efforts in behalf of the Church against her opponents, than intes- tine divisions : which, besides that they draw off the attention of the members of any society from the common cause, will also dispose those most violent in party, to welcome the aid of foreign auxiliaries against a rival faction ; while they furnish to the adversary a theme of triumphant re- proach. Discreet conduct therefore in what re- lates to fmrties within the Church being of such high importance, and that case differ- ing in some remarkable circumstances from the foregoing, the subject will be reserved for a distinct consideration in the conclud- ing lecture. LECTURE VIII. DIVISIONS WITHIN THE CHURCH. 1 Cob. i. 12, 13. Every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and 1 of Apollos ; and I of Cephas ; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? , The Apostle's admonitions tothe church of Corinth, both in this passage and in se- veral others of the same Epistle, are of the highest importance to Christians of every age and country. But in order to appre- ciate them rightly, and apply them pro- fitably to ourselves, we must keep in mind two circumstances which are very often, practically at least, overlooked: viz. first that the Apostle is not here accusing his converts of holding any erroneous doctrines, but of divisions, party-spirit and conten- tions : secondly, that he does not seem to be alluding to any open schism as having 238 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII, taken place among them, but merely to intestine discord ; — not, in short, to any se- paration/row the Church, but to disunion within the Church. These circumstances, I say, ought con- stantly to be remembered, in our applica- tion of St. Paul's precepts ; not, of course, with any view of depreciating the import- ance of a right faith, and extenuating the evil of heresy ; nor of implying that the sinfulness of schism is diminished by an avowed secession from the Church; but to guard against the mistake, (by no means unfrequent,) of too hastily setting our con- science at rest by the plea of being neither heretics nor dissenters. For it is not un- common to hear men appeal to the sound- ness of their doctrine, and their strict con- formity to the Church, when they would clear themselves from any imputation of being promoters of division ; though per- haps there is, notwithstanding, so much of the spirit of party in their proceedings, that they are introducing, or preparing the way for, all that train of evils which have beien formerly described. If, like the Corinthians, THE CHURCH. who said, " I am of Paul, and I of Apol- •' los," they range themselves under dis- tinct leaders, and distinct denominations, welcoming as brethren those who adopt' a certain fixed phraseology, and regarding with bigoted aversion or jealousy, all others, they may, without forsaking either the Church or its doctrines, be guilty of foster- ing discord, and of manifesting that carnal spirit which St. Paul so strongly repro- bates. , I have noticed in a former discourse the arguments by -which the separation of Christians into partiesis sometimes defend- ed or excused; viz. that it is necessary for the friends of religious truth to combine, for the better promotion of their object j and that a party must be opposed by a party] lest those who are weaker, both in numbers and in cause, should prevail, by firm union and cooperation, against the insulated efforts of those who are on the right side. Now it is most important to remember, that the advantages proposed by such a combination are secured (as far as that is possible without more than coun- 240 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. terbalaneing disadvantages,) by the union of those who hold the orthodox faith in th6 bond of such a society as our Church ; and that consequently the above arguments will not justify (unless further reasons can be shewn for it) the subdivision of that Church into parties. I say, such a society as our Church ; because there may be, and in fact in other countries there are % Churches, so constituted, that the most fundamental differences of doctrine may creep in, with- out occasioning any formal separation ; so that those who are nominally members of the same Christian society, may in reality be as widely at variance on the most essen- tial points of faith, as any, the most hos- tile, sects. Without articles of Religion,-^ — without a creed, or an estabhshed liturgy, a A striking instance of this may be found in the church of Geneva, which has lately been the scene of a contest among her members relating, as it should seem, to no less a question than the reception or rejection of the great doctrines of the atonement, justification by faith, &c. these having been, as it appeared, for a consi- derable period so completely lost sight of by the majo- rity of her ministers, that the revival of them was made the subject of heavy complaint. THE CHORCH. 241 a Church may remain one indeed, as long as her members happen to coincide in their sentiments j but, as they must be expect- ed, in course of time, to slide insensibly into a variety of different tenets, so, when this has taken place, their union becomes an empty nanie. But this is not the case with the Church of England. She furnishes *a common authority, to which all her mem- bers may appeal : her Articles and Liturgy are barriers against the intrusion of any material error ; it being next to impossible that those who honestly conform to both, should entertain any such fundamentally different notions as ought to preclude them from belonging to the same religious com- munity, and holding together as becomes a Christian brotherhood. If indeed a mere assent and subscription to certain formula^ Pies were all that js required, a gradual de- parture from the spirit of these, if not from the letter, might often take place unob- served ; but our Liturgy, which is in con- stant use, is soiframed as to be a continual check upon the preacher, — a corrector of his errors, if he venture to teach any thing R 242 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect.VIII. inconsistent witbity — ^a reprover of his neg- ligence, if he omit, or slightly pass over, any important doctrine,— a guide^ to direct him to spiritual truth, — a pattern of zea- lous and earnest, yet sober-minded, and calm, and rational Christian exhortation; — ^in short, a standing monitor both to the minister and his congregation ; which serves, according to the existing circum- stances, either to prevent, or to detect and tacitly censure, or as far as possible to sup- ply, any deficiencies in the preacher. If therefore the charge so often brought for- ward even by those who profess a complete approbation of the genuine doctrines of our Church, that the national Clergy do not preach the Gospel, be in any instance well founded, or if in any instance the doctrines of the Gospel are debased by the admix- ture of fanatical extravagancies, — in either case, the Minister, when he is reading the Liturgy, testifies with his own mouth.against the errors of his own preaqhing; and thus the congregation are warned either to sup- ply what is wanting, or to reject what is faulty, or to inquire respecting what is doubt- tHE CHURCH. 243 ful ; or, if the Occasion call for it, to lay a complaint before the proper authorities. As far as human means can be effectual, it seems scarcely possible that better provi- sions than these could be made against the suppression or perversion of Gospel truth; or at least against the necessity ©f haying recourse, for the sake of opposing such evils, to the formation of subordinate as- sociations, and party-distinctions within the Church. And when any such has arisen, there seems no sufficient reason for raising an opposite party to counteract the' evil, while the Church itself thus furnishes a suf- ficient bond of union, and acknowledged common authority. The risk thus incurred (if it be not something more than a risk) of widening the breach,— of strengthening in- stead of weakening the party we oppose, — of plunging, in the heat of a contest, into the contrary extreme from theirs, — of di- minishing Christian charity, — and of draw- ing off men's attention from the essentials of religion to*^ontroversial bickerings, — is not in this case counterbalanced by any adequate benefit. R 2 244 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. Sometimes however we find it urged by men who profess to admit these principles, that they themselves seek not to form any separate party within the Church ; nor pre- tend to more than to be genuine Church- men ; but that those whom they combine to oppose, are disguised sectaries, and co- vert heretics ; outwardly professing indeed an attachment to the Church, but in reali> ty holding sentiments hostile to the spirit of her doctrines and institutions. But it should be remembered, that, on the one hand, if any thing be taught or practised which can be proved contrary to the doc- trine and discipline of the Church, this evil can be checked in a regular way, according to the constitution of that Church, without any need of forming a party for the pur- pose ; and that on the other hand, if no- thing of this kind can be proved, we are neither honouring nor serving the Church by combining against any such concealed hostility. We are not honouring her, be- cause we are in fact implyin^that her Arti- cles and Liturgy are so tjefective as to per- mit those who conform to them to be ne- THE CHURCH. 245 vertheless fundamen tally erroneous : nor are we effectually serving her, because we are setting a dangerous example of pre- sumption, which an opposite party may easily follow. They may as easily contend on their side, that, of all who profess con- formity, they alone are the genuine Church- men ; and that their interpretation of the language of the Articles and Liturgy, — ^their judgment as to the true spirit of them,*— are alone to be received as correct. ^ Some varieties of opinioUj no doubt, exist, and must ever be expected to exist, among the members of our Church ; nor would it be possible, were it desirable, that any religious community should be sp con- stituted as completely to preclude all such differences. But our reformers seem to have designed to leave a certain latitude on points which they regarded as not of funda- mental importtince ; and if we would ap- prove ourselves genuine disciples of those illustrious "men, we must not seek to narrow the basis on which they reared their noble edifice, nor to exclude any whom they in- tended to admit. As however there are R 3 246 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. some difFerenees which do not, so there are also others which do, imply the existence of principles adverse to the 'spirit of our Church ; and the prevalence of these ought doubtless to be guarded against. For I would not be understood to contend that all varieties of doctrine are to be regarded with indifference, as long as those who maintain them profess their adherence to the Church ; only let not these be made a plea for the formation of parties ; which seldom fail to produce greater evils than those they pro- pose to remiedy. By reference then to the Articles, the Liturgy, and the Homilies, let each false doctrine or irregular practice be exposed and checked, as it arises; but let not those who appear sincei-ely desirous of adhering to the Cburch be either driven into dissent by being hastily charged with it, or formed into a party within the Church by being opposed in the spirit of party. I. On the means of prewen|[,ing or miti- gating the spirit of party in the Church, it is not necessary here to enlarge ; as the subject has been fully discussed in the pre- THE CHURCH. 247 ceding discourses ; and as it is easy to apply the rules there laid down, to the case now before us. It will suffice therefore to touch briefly on a few of the cautions, most im- portant to be observed ; and to ofi«r some remarks as to their application in the pre- sent state of the Church. 1. Our first care should be, to avoid all extremes. Extremes in'doctrine, extremes in practice, extremes even in manner, ber sides being in themselves faulty, have also a strong tendency not only to combine into a party those who approve of them, and who are of a disposition to go all lengths in that which suits their inclinations, but likewise (by a reaction which seldom fails to take place,) to encourage opposite ex- tremes, and generate opposite parties. Ex- cessive austerity, and excessive self-indulg- ence ; — morality without , faith , and faith without morality ; — overscrupulous attach- ment to forms, and disorderly contempt of forms ; thes^^nd many similar extremes both in preaCTing and practice, are always found mutually to promote each other, and to separate into hostile parties those who R 4 348 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. fall into them ^. So plain indeed are the lessons both of reason and of experience, on this point, that they would not perhaps be so often disregarded, were it not that (in some measure perhaps through the ambi- guity of language) moderation is so frequent- ly confounded with insincerity, indifference, or timidity ; indiscretion and extravagance, — with decision of character, and an unhe- sitating, uncompromising, devoted zeal : and thus while the lukewarm and careless censure those who are zealous and energe*- a " Let no minister think it a proof of success or of " faithfulness to the Gospel, that he retains one class " of his congregation, and disgusts the other; but ra- " ther, if such should unhappily be the case, let him " examine his conduct with scrupulous anxiety, lest " some imprudence even in the declaration of the truth, *' — some want of conciliation in the performance of " the commission entrusted to him, may have deprived " him of that blessed reflection and highest consolation, " I take you to record this day, I am pure from the " bhod of all men. (Acts xx.)" Sumner's Apostolical Preaching, c. 3. I gladly take this opportunity of bearing testimony to the practical utility of this excels lent treatise, as well as to the good _sense and candour which it evinces ; and of acknowledging my obligations to it for many of the principles laid down, and arguments adduced, in the course of these lectures. THE CHURCH. 249 tic, as prone to ejctremes, men of a morfe ardent temperament, on the other hand, are sometimes apt to accuse of lukewarm- ness, such as are perhaps no less active and earnest than themsdves, but more carefiil to preserve in their sentiments and conduct the golden Mean. No one however need be at a loss how to regulate his behaviour pn this point who has before him the ex- ample of St. Paul. He certainly cannot be suspected of being lukewarm, — of a want of hearty and thorough devotedness to his Master's cause, — or of not setting before his hearers " the whole counsel of God;" yet he neither so preached faith in the me- rits of Christ as to omit enforcing the ne- cessity of personal holiness, nor so preached good works as to lead men to trust in them for salvation : he did not so teach the doc- trines of assurance, and of spirituail in- fluence, as not to exhort them to " work " out their own salvation vdth f5ear and " trembling ;" nor did he so dwell on the importance of their own anxious exertions, as to keep out of sight the doctrine, that "^ it is God which wbrketh in us both to will 250 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. " and to do of his good pleasure;" — or to be backward in expressing his full confidence, that " He who had begun a good work " in them, would perform it until the day of ^* Christ :" in all points, in short, he is as striking an example of the discretion which steers a middle course between contrary excesses, as he is of sincere, and earnest, and uncompromising zeal. The natural tendency of all men, when disgusted with the extravagances of one ex- treme, to rush into the opposite, is to be counteracted by constantly keeping in mind, that when any error or absurdity becomes prevalent^ there is a very strong presump- tion at least that it must owe that preva- lence, in part, to some admixture of truth and reason. And in fact the more unrea- sonable and extravagant any system may be, the stronger is the presumption that this absurdity must be blended with some- thing just and rational which gives it cur- rency. We must be careful therefore not to cast away the gold with the dross ; but diligently to ascertain, and carefully to se- THE CHURCH. 251 parate arid preserve, whatever is valuable in the mass. >l 2. And hence arises another rule, of very high importance, which is too frequently overlooked ; that, instead of abstaining from all mention of such important doctrines as have been most perverted and abused,- — or regarding them with suspicion, and touch- ing but slightly upon them, as dangerous in their tendency, we should be, on that very account, the more diligent and constant in enforcing them. The great doctrines of justification by faith and of spiritual in- fluence, afford a most remarkable instance to illustrate what has been said. How ab- surdly and how mischievously they have been perverted by enthusiasts, is but too well known; and it is to be feared that many, who are far from rejecting those doc- trines, have yet been thus led to regard them as unsafe, arid, in their teaching, to keep therii very much in the back-ground. Whereas they ought for this very reason to teach them the more assiduously; not only because the neglect, is no less an evil than the abuse, of them, but because the very DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. best security against that abuse, is to preadi the doctrines rationally, in their genuine and uncorrupted form *, Indeed the Cham- pions of truth may derive from the Advo- cates of error many a useful lesson for counteracting the progress of that error, if they will but study to imitate whatever there is of good in the system of their op- ponents, while they avoid the evil. 3. To these cautions should be added, a disposition to make the most considerate and candid allowance for differences of t£^te and temper, such as were noticed in a former discourse ; differences which, when good-sense and charity are not wanting, are rather an advantage than a detriment to the common cause ; but which, in the absence a In the vast savannahs of America, travellers are often, it is said, threatened with destruction from fires, which having been kindled by some accident, among the ' luxuriant but sun-scorched vegetation, spread, before the wind, with a rapidity which precludes all hope of escape by flight. Their only resource, when thus pursued by the conflagration, is, to kindle the grass before them, and thus leave the flame which follows them no fuel to sustain it. An analogous expedient to this may in many cases prove equally successful. THE CHURCH. . 253 of these, are perhaps a more frequent occa- sion of mutual aversion and intestine dis- cord, than even the most decided disiagree- ment in matters of faith. If then we are sincerely desirous of preventing, as far as in us lies, these ill effects, it must be our study to restrain within due bounds our own peculiarities, rather than to criticize too strictly those of another ; to judge favoura- bly of those who differ from us in moral or intellectual character, where there is no- thing sinful in such difference ; and if theif offend us by narrow-minded and uncharita- ble self-conceit, to be careful that we are not guilty of the same offence towards them. 4. Another branch of charity most es-» sential for the preservation of unity and peace in the Church, is, to avoid as far as possible all imputation of bad motives. For " charity thinketh no evil ;" L e. puts the most favourable interpretation that the ease will allow, on the conduct of another j and even where that conduct is faulty, is unwilling to attribute it to the worst in- tentions. The fgct is, that since scarcely DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect.VIII. any human action springs entirely from a single motive, — what is right, having usu- ally some alloy of human infirmity, and what is wrong, not unfrequently, some mix- ture of goodj^almost every one's conduct will admit of two interpretations. Many a man's activity, for instance, in matters connected with religion, may be attributed either to zeal for God's honour and service, or to a restless and busy disposition, and a love of display ; and there may be truth in each supposition, though neither be the whole truth. Men's self-partiality gene- rally leads them to give the more favourable explanation of their own motives ; and an uncharitable temper too pften tempts them to put the harsher construction on an- other's. Now if we not only charge with the worst intentions those whose conduct is in any respect censurable, but assign bad motives also (as may often be done with much plausibility) even to the best actions of those against whom we have a prejudice, we are evidently taking the most effectual means to promote mutual ill-will and division. If therefore it is our object THE CHURCH. 255 to prevent these evils, we must not only abstain from hastily forming any such harsh judgments, but even where we cannot but suspect corrupt motives, still, we should abstain as much as possible from openly imputing them ; and thus exciting, acrimo- nious feelings : especially when the con- duct resulting from these motives, whatever they are, is, in itself, good : we should " rejoice that Christ is preached," even when we believe that He is " preached of ^' envy and strife." And even when this is not the case, — when any one's conduct is such as to call for censure, — ^still it is not only charitable, but also expedient, with a view to promote peace, that some credit should, if possible, be given for good in- tentions. It may be that he deserves this credit ; but if not, still it is possible that he will deserve it ;— that being thus mildly reminded of what his motives ought to be, he may be more profited by this gentle and oblique admonition, than by a severe re- buke. 5. Another point respecting which the most constant watchfulness is requisite, in 256 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. those who would maintain harmony and union among Christian brethren, is one which has been already mentioned in the former lectures; m». the employment of such terms and phrases as have been made, or are likely to become, the badges of a party. The powerful influence of these, as it were, technical terms, in producing and keeping alive, and aggravating the spirit of party, has been already noticed ; and the mischievous effects set forth, of adhering * to any such fixed modes of ex- pression. But there is another caution belonging to this head which must not be omitted, as it is of no small importance, and is often neglected by those whose in^- tentions are the most pure. There are many who systematically abstain altoge- ther from the use of such terms as have been thus drawn into the service of a party, and made the Shibboleth by which the a Mr. Foster, in his essay on the aversion of. men of taste to evangelical Religion, has some excellent observ- ations (Letters third and fourth.) on the peculiarities of language adopted by divines ; with a view to some other disadvantages attending it. THE CHURCH. 257 members of it are mutually recogriisefd. Now such a procedure is not surely the most likely to break down party-distinc- tions; but tends rather to establish them the more firmly, by strictly confining the words and phrases in question to that use to which they have been thus appropriated. The most effectual method by which to defeat the object of one who should design to form or support a distinct party, is for those who do not belong to it, not only not to avoid, but even studiously to employ the characteristic lariguage of that party ; sometimes (if there be in it no intrinsic unfitness) in the same sense in which it is used by them ; sometimes, and perhaps of- tenerj (if the general rules of language per- mit,) in a different sense ; sometimes again, employing, in both cases, other, equiva- lent, terms also ; studying to vary as much as possible (so that no impropriety nor am- biguity be admitted) the modes of expres- sion adopted, for conveying the same sense. By this means, the use of the terms in ques- tion will speedily lose its peculiar force and significancy as indicative of a certain set of s 258 DIVISIONS WITHIN LficT. VIII. ppinions; and besides that we shall avoid those other ill consequences formerly men- tioned % as resulting from such a restricted employment of a certain peculiar phraseo- logy, its influence as the badge of a party will be destroyed. . 6. The last caution I shall suggest for the prevention of party-spirit within the Church, and which is closely allied indeed to the foregoing, but which is too important not to be distinctly mentioned, is, to avoid as much as possible the names of parties : I mean, not merely that we should abstain from assuming ax\y such distinctive appel- lations, but also that we should be very much on our guard against contributing to bestow them. However justly descriptive, and however unexceptionable in themselves, any such terms may be, — from whatever causes they may have arisen, — by whom- soever they may have been first applied, whether reproachfully or boastfully, — their tendency to form and to maintain parties, can hardly be disputed. It is better there- a Lecture vi. THE CHURCH. 259 fore that the use of them should be as far as possible avoided. I say, as far as pos^ sible, because many of them have been so established by long usage, that it would often be difficult to abstain from them without much obscure circumlocution : but even in this case much good may be ef-^ fected by a constant care to avoid introduc- ing them unnecessarily. This plan, if stea- dily pursued, will have a tendency to bring many of them, gradually, at least into com- parative disuse. Of the terms in question some are framed expressly for the occasion ; such as those which are derived from the names of fourt- ders or leaders of parties; as Calvinist, Arminian, Hutchinsonian : these would be, if the plan now suggested were adopted, employed as seldom as possible ; and where circumstances will admit of it, discontinued altogether. Others again are words taken from common use, employed, as logicians speak, in the second intention, and appro- priated as appellations of parties : these should be, in conformity with the above rule, employed very frequently, but in their S 2 260 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lbct. VIII. ordinary and unappropriated sense j with a view to do away the force of them as names of parties. For the oftener they oc- cur, when not used in that restricted sense, the less fitted they will be to convey that sense. We should by no means therefore avoid the use of such terras as, " Serious," " Evangelical," '* Religious," or, " Ortho- " dox ;" but carefully abstain from using them to designate particular parties in the Church, or sets of opinions. And we should not only refrain from gathering round the standard of a party, like the Corinthians, who said, " I am of Paul, and " I, of ApoUos," and refuse any distinctive appellation but that of " Christians of the ** Church of England," but we should also be Careful not to lend our aid, by bestowing any such appellations*, to the combination a However reproachful any appellation may be in its first origin, we must not conclude that, when established by use as the name, of a party, it will not be voluntarily retained, and boast^Uy cherished, by those who are attached to that party. The name of " Quaker," for instance, which was originally applied in derision, is no longto regarded, by the members of that sect, as re- proachful. THE CHURCH. S61 into a party of those whose opinions or practices we may think objectionable. And if ever an occasion occurs, (for occasions undoubtedly sometimes do occur,) which calls for a deviation from our general plati, .and renders it expedient for the advocates of any right measure, or the opponents of any alarming abuse, to combine for the purpose of accomplishing their object, we should nevertheless not lose sight of that rule ; but carefully avoid either assuming any distinctive appellation, or in any other way incurring the risk of giving unnecessary permanence to such a combination. We should on the contrary take especial care that it be dissolved as soon as the object proposed has been effected. For from the On the other hand >t should be remembered, that however honourable, and at the same time fairly appli- cable, in itself, any appellation may be, — however, clearly it may describe the characteristics which (mght to be- long to every Christian, as, for instance " orthodox" or " evangelical," — it cannot be innocently assumed as the badge of a party. Those of the Corinthians who said, " I am OF Christ," using this title to distinguish them from other members of the same Church, were no less censured than those who said, " I am of Paul, "or " I am " of ApoUos.'' S 3 262 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect.VIII. operation of that prindple of our nature which has been formerly described, and against which we should be ever on our guard, there is a strong tendency in parties to perpetuate themselves, when the circum- stances which gave rise to them have ceased to exist, and when, consequently, they can no longer answer any good purpose, but may be productive of unqualified evil. II. With respect to the parties actually existing in our Church, an attempt to cha- racterize them distinctly, and to describe fully the respective faults which are most prevalent in each, would not only be invi- dious, and perhaps mischievous, but would in fact be in some degree foreign to the purpose of these lectures. It would be in- vidious, inasmuch as it might contribute to the too common mistake of unfairly class- ing among the members of a party those who are not devoted adherents of it ; and attributing to them an entire adoption of sentiments with which they only partially coincide : and it might be productive of mischiefj by combining more strongly those THE CHURCH. 263 who are thus classed together arid distinctly recognised as a party. And as for the pe- culiar faults to which each class respective- ly are the most prone, these, how great and dang^ous soever, do not so properly fall under our present, consideration, as that one fault which is common to all, tlie Spirit of Party. A very brief mention therefore •will suffice of some of the most prominent of two opposite classes of errors, (opposite, I mean, chiefly, as being the errors oi per- sons who are opposed to each other) which in the present day call for especial caution in avoiding them. 1. On the one side then, we should be warned against, first, the fault of not only introducing religious conversation injudici- ously,' indiscriminately, and with something of irreverent familiarity, but also of em- ploying in it constantly that fixed and uni- form phraseology, which has been above spoken of; and regarding with suspicion, as irreligious, all who do not adopt the same set of expressions. 2. Another fault commonly to be met with ia the same persons, is their permit- S 4 264 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIIL ting a vicious party-spirit to swallc*w up that just arid proper social-feeling, — that attachment to the Church, which they ought to cherish : so that while they regard with jealousy or aversion even the, most sincerely pious members of that Church, who dp not coincide in their peculiar views, they make light of the guilt of schism, and are forward to give the right hand of fel- lowship to dissenters from her communion, provided they wilLbut adopt those peculiar views, and make common cause with their party. 3. An unreasonable and injudicious aus- terity of manners, and a disposition to con- found together, things sinful in themselves, things merely inexpedient, or dangerous^ and things indifferent, is another error which often accompanies the foregoing; and which is sometimes productive of very serious ill consequences, by producing feel- ings of disgust towards Religion itself, and by driving many (according to the princi- ple above laid down) into the opposite ex- treme". a See Sumner's Apostolical Preaching, c. 8. THE GHURCH, 265 4. There are also .two faults in the preaching of some well-intentioned Minis- ters, which those most frequently fall into who are characterized by the peculiarities above .mentioned. The one is the error which ha§ been treated of in a former lec- ture ^ of attempting to explain too much, — of overlooking the boundaries of the hu- man faculties ; — and by presumptuously endeavouring fully to develop the most sublime and inscrutable otiysteries of our Religion, affording matter of triumph to the infidel, apd of perplexity to weak bre- thren. 5. The other fault is that of those who confine themselves too much to the incul- cation of a few fundamental doctrines ; — whose preaching is so exclusively elemen- tary, that they scarcely proceed beyond the first rudiments of the Christian faith ; and are perpetually occupied in laying the foundation, while they forget to rear the superstructure: so that sometimes a mul- titude of discourses from a preacher of this » Lecture vl. 265 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. description will be found to be, in sub- stance, but one ; all being strictly confined to the same topics, and differing merely in the order of their recurrence. That this ff^ult is less pernicious than the opposite one, of omitting the great fundamentals of Christianity, must be distinctly acknowledgi- ed; fbut it is no less certain that it is a fault; and how much, such a practice is at varir ance with that -of the Apostles, no one who carefully and cai^idly studies their writings, can doubt. In fact we may even lead our hearers into Antinomianism and the like per- nicious errors, with which we are not at all affected ourselves, if we lay before them a partial and imperfect view of the doctrines of the Gospel. The preaching of the Truth will not produce its appropriate effects, unless we are careful to preach the whole Truth, as well as nothing but the Truth, The faults to be guarded against on the op- posite side, being of course, generally speakr kigy^the contrary extremes to those just men- ^oned, it is not necessary to enter into any full description of them : such as, a dispo- sition to dread, as savouring of Methodism, HIY.i THE CHURCH. mf any mention of religious subjects, excejjt on the most solemn occasion, and in the most sacred places; — a leaning towards over-indulgence, and unsafe, if not sinful, C0ianpliance with the prevailing fashions of the world, from an excessive dread of the imputation of being *' righteous overmuch," without suflBcient care to keep on. the satfe side in doubtful matters;— and a tendency tOiwards that erroneous attachment to the Church, which is ready to tolerate in those who are free from any taint of schism, and vehemently hostile to all sectaries, if not gross vice, at least the absence of sincere and vital Christianity; and to have but little fear either of lukewarmness or reli- gious ignorance, in comparison of hetero- doxy or dissent. It is to be observed how- ever, that many who are by no means chargeable with any such laxity of senti- ment as this, manifest neviertheless, on the sanfief^ide, much of the same narrow-mind- ed bigotry and party-spfrtt with those who fall into the above-mentioned excess. ' The most prominent fault in the preaching of the class of persons now under eonsidera- 368 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIU. tion, is that which has been, already ad- verted to ; viz. that in their dread of enthu- siastic and antinomian excessies, they are apt to keep in the back-ground the great fundamental doctrines of Christianity ; and to dwell almost exclusively on such moral precepts, as might equally well have been de- livered by a Pagan or a Jew ;' so that while those just mentioned lay a right founda- tion, without building upon it, these, on the contrary, are apt to build without a founda- tion. Nor are they justified in thinking it sufficient, if at the great festivals of our Church they direct the attention of their hearers to points of faith, in appropriate and distinctly doctrinal discourses. Even a more frequent statement, proof, and in-^ culcation, of those points of faith, is far from being sufficient, if that faith be still* kept apart from practice, as a distinct con- sideration ; instead of being made, in the most conspicuous manner, the groundwork of it,-r— the motive from which it is to spring, . — ^the tree of which it is the fruit. If we place before* us, as a model, the writings of the Apostles, we shall plainly see that it is , THE CHURCH. 269 not enough that the faith should be sound j and the conduct, right also, unless that Conduct be made to arise out o^that faith. • The faults however which have now been adverted to, as the most prevalent in the two opposite parties respectively, not only are less the appropriate subject of our pre- sent consideration, than the party-spirit which is common to both; but are so far of less practical importance, that they may be expected to diminish in proportion as that spirit itself is subdued, which contributes, above all other causes, to foster them. It should therefore be our first and most con- stant care, earnestly to protest against this; and to maintain a steady oppositioti to both parties, as parties; while we study, at the same time, to preserve the most friendly union possible with the members of both, considered as individuals ; doing full justice toithe merits of each, and carefully select- ing and adopting whatever is right in their sentiments and practice. And if those who are disposed, either by their own temper, or from the result of their experience, to m DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. VIII. reckon every one among the adherents of one party or another, — find themselves perplexed and at a loss in which class to place us,% we may regard this circumstance with self-congratulation, as a presumption that we have been successful in steering a middle course between opposite extremes, in keeping ourselves untainted with the spirit of party, and in preserving unbroken, as far as possible, the bond of charity with all men. III. That such a system of conduct how- ever as I have been recommending will uniformly obtain full credit from all parties, and readily succeed in producing the gene- ral conciliation at which it aims, I am far from supposing. Indeed, it would be nei- ther honest nor wise to deny, that the mid- a It jg observed by Aristotle, (Pol. b. 2.) that the con- stitution of Sparta had its elements so nicely blended, as to leave men in doubt to what class to refer it; some calling it a Royalty, some, an Oligarchy, others reckon- ipg it Aristocratical, and others again as rather Demo- cratical : a strong indication^as he observes, of its being so judiciously tempered, as to keep clear of the faults of each of the simple forms of government. THE CHURCH. 271 die course, which you have been all 'along exhorted to follow, has its own peculiar disadvantages : nor can these Lectures perhaps be more suitably closed, than by a distinct statement of these disadvantages, together with 4he counterbalancing bene- fits ; not only that the suggestions which have been offered may not be thought the result of over-sanguine views and miscalcu- lation of difficulties, and may be allowed; to be at least sober and deliberatie; but also that any one who is disposed to ap- prove them, may be duly prepared for the obstacles he will have to encounter, if he practically adopts the principles I have been inculcating. **i#* , 1. Let him be warned then, that he must expect to incur, if not hostility, at least un- friendly suspicion, from the violent, the narrow-minded, and the uncharitable, of all parties ; who are frequently the larger, and almost always the more forward and active,, portion of each. For a time at least, he will find that every word and action will be scrutinized with uncandid jealously, and not seldom inlsrepresented : by many of each party he will be considered as a dis- 272 DIVISIONS WITHIN Lect. Vill. guised adversary, the morfe to be dreaded and disliked for not professing open hosti- lity : while others regard him with contempt, as a weak, a lukewarm, or a timorous cha- racter, meanly seeking to retain the favour of both parties, by a partial sacrifice of the truth : while some again who are not dis- posed to judge so harshly, or so contemptu- ously, will yet doubt whether it Be safe to afford him their hearty co-operation, 2. In addition to this disadvantage he must expect also, even when he has sur- mounted unfriendly opposition, to forfeit, for the present at least, much of the cele- brity which he might otherwise have at- tained, and the desire of which is so natural to man. For unquestionably equal talents will obtain very unequal shares of applause, in the Advocate of a party, and in the Peace-maker. The former, besides that be is heard with partiality, and eagerly praised, by those whose cause he defends, has also the advantagej that there is in the very tone of controversy itself, something spirited and energetic, which attracts attention, and ex- cites a general interest; and likewise that if by his exertions a party is formed, or re- THE CHURCH. 273 vived, or raised into celebrity, he will not fail to partake of that celebrity; and per- haps will have his name transmitted to pos- terity among the distinguished champions of the cause ; while he, on the contrary, who. is labouring to extinguish controver- sies, and to suppress parties, must expect, and even hope, that if his efforts are suc- cessful, both their name and his own will be buried in peaceful oblivion *. Let hini hope however that by patient zeal, he may in time wear out both Obloquy and Suispicion ; — that by unconquerable gentleness, he will at length disarm hostility ; — that by his firmness and activity, -he will gradually do aWay the imputation of weak- ness and insincerity ; — and that whenever the storm of angry passion shall subside, the steady though quiet current of sound reason will prevail. He may trust at least, that if he incur the censure of the intemperate and bigoted on both sides, the candid and ju- ^ He must be ready to exclaim with the disinterested hero of classic fiction, Hsec dira, meo dum vulnere, pestis Pulsa cadat, patriam remeabo inglorius urbem. Virg.JEn. b. 11. T 274 DIVISIONS WITHIN &c. Lect. VIIL dlciOus, oxL bothi sides will support him by tbjejr approbation. And. let bim remember, that in proportion as he is advancing in the good opinion of the members of opposed parties, he is also promoting their benefit •: in pipportion as they become reconciled to him, they will also approach towards a re- conciliation with each other. And finally, let those who are disposed to regret that injustice is done to their abilities, or to their intentionSr-— to grieve'at meeting with calumny, or with unmerited neglect, — remember, that " there is nothing covered ** that shall not be revealed, and hid, that " shall, not be known :" — that He in whose service they are engaged, — who has blessed the Peace-makers as His own children, — and *• to whom all hearts are open,'-^— shall one day, by the brightness of His presence, clear away all obscurity, and dispel all falsehood and delusion ; and that on that day " their Father which seeth in secret, *' Himself, shall reward them openly." THE END.