SOME OF THE STEPS BY WHICH I CAME TO FAITH IN CHRIST.
I am not certain that I can state the exact process by which I passed
from doubt and unbelief to faith in Christ, but the following, I
believe, is very near the truth.
1. There was, first, a sense of the cheerlessness of unbelief--the
sadness and the sorrow resulting from the loss of trust in God and hope
of immortality, and from the wretched prospect of a return to utter
nothingness.
2. Then came the distressing feeling of inability to comfort my
afflicted or dying friends--my utter helplessness in the presence of
sorrow, grief and agony.
3. And then I found myself unable to account for the wonderful marks of
design appearing in nature, and especially in my own body, without the
acknowledgment of an intelligent Deity. The wonderful perfection and
beauty of a flower or a feather would confound me; while mysterious
adaptations in my own frame would fill me with amazement. Darwin's
theory of development relieved me for a time; but I soon came to see
that some of his explanations of natural phenomena were erroneous, and
that none of his facts proved the truth of his theory. Still later I
found that Darwin himself acknowledged that the evidences of design in
the methods by which certain species of plants were fertilized, were not
only overpowering, but startling.
4. Then came dissatisfaction with the theories by which unbelievers
sought to account for the existence and order of the universe. They
supposed the universe to be eternal, and attributed the production of
plants, and animals, and man to the blind unconscious working of
lifeless matter. They attributed to dead matter the powers which
believers attributed to a living God. They were obliged to believe that
senseless atoms could produce works transcending the powers of the
mightiest minds on earth. To reconcile their belief in the eternity of
the universe, and in the unchanging properties of matter, with the
phenomena of change and progress, they supposed an infinite succession
of worlds, or of beginnings and endings of the same world, and imagined
the earth running exactly the same course, and having exactly the same
history, every time it came into existence. Hence it became with them an
article of faith, that we had ourselves lived an infinite number of
times, and should live an infinite number of times more in the future,
repeating always exactly the same life, with exactly the same results.
It was also an article of faith that we were mere machines, governed by
powers over which we had no control; that our ideas of liberty, and our
feelings of responsibility, or of good and ill desert, were all
delusions; that all the errors, and crimes, and miseries of our race
were inevitable, and were to be eternally repeated; and that a change
for the better was eternally impossible. But time would fail me to
mention all their theories. It is enough to say that the wild and
unsatisfactory nature of these dreams helped to drive me back to
Christianity.
5. There was, of course, no tendency in unbelief to promote virtue, or
to check vice. Its natural tendency was to utter depravity. And
Christianity retained such an influence over me, even to the last, that
I could never reconcile myself to a vicious life.
6. Then came another trouble. Infidelity could give no guarantee that
wrong should not finally triumph, and right be finally crushed. It is
belief in God alone that can give assurance that virtue shall be
ultimately rewarded, and vice ultimately punished. The Christian can
believe past doubt, that "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also
reap;" that "with what judgment we judge, we shall be judged; and with
what measure we mete, it shall be measured to us again." But the infidel
has no foundation for such a faith. For anything he knows, a man may sow
villany, and reap honor and blessedness. He may live by injustice and
cruelty, and meet with no punishment, either here or hereafter; while
another may spend his days in doing good, and give his life for the
salvation of his fellows, and receive only torture, reproach, and death.
Nor is there any security for the triumph of truth on the infidel
principle. For anything infidelity knows, truth may be always in the
mire, and its friends be forever reproached and shunned; while error may
always be in the ascendant, and its propagators honored and rewarded.
Indeed this is the case at present, if infidelity be true. For
infidelity is in the dust, while faith in God and Christ is in high
repute. And infidels are suspected and dreaded, while consistent
believers are loved and trusted. Faith smoothes man's way through life,
and in some cases raises him to honor and power; while Atheism makes a
man's pathway rugged, and prevents his elevation. This state of things
is exceedingly unsatisfactory to unbelievers. They ought, if they are
the wisest of men, as they suppose, to be everywhere received with
honor. They ought to be placed in power. The world should ring with
their praise. The universe should enrich them with its treasures. The
names of their predecessors in unbelief should be had in the greatest
honor. They should stand first on the roll of fame. Their monuments
should fill the earth. The sweetest poets should sing their praises;
the most eloquent orators should proclaim their greatness; and the
nations should delight to celebrate their worth. Their pictures and
statues should grace our courts, our temples, and our palaces. Their
deeds should form the staple of our pleasant histories, and their
writings crowd the shelves of our libraries. Children should be taught
to lisp their names with reverence, and the aged should bless them with
their parting breath.
On the other hand, if religion be false and foolish, if it be unnatural
and mischievous, its friends should be pitied or despised, if not
rebuked and punished. Its founders and propagators should be branded as
the weakest or the basest of men. Their names should be had in contempt
or abhorrence. Their writings should be everywhere decried. Their
pictures and statues should fill some chamber of horrors. Historians,
poets, and orators should hold them up to reprobation. Christians should
be kept from places of trust, and from posts of honor. They should be
wretched, and poor, and miserable, and the hearts of men, and the powers
of nature, should combine for their destruction, and for the utter
extinction of their cause.
Yet the state of things is just the contrary. Christianity triumphs, and
Christians are honored; while infidelity languishes, and its disciples
are covered with shame. On the Atheist's theory the human race has
existed for millions of years, yet it has never produced more than a few
individuals who have acknowledged the principle of his creed. The mass
of men, in all ages, have been believers in God. The civilized as well
as the savage, the learned as well as the ignorant, the high as well as
the low, alike have adored a Deity. Even the greatest of our race have
been believers. The sweetest poets, the profoundest philosophers, the
greatest statesmen, the wisest legislators, the most venerable judges,
the most devoted philanthropists, have all believed in God. Two or three
tribes have been found, it is said, without an idea of God; but they
were savages of the lowest grade; and it is not yet settled whether the
accounts that have been given of those wretched creatures be correct or
not.
And Atheism has always been regarded with horror. It is so still. It is
believed to be the nurse of vice and crime. Atheists are everywhere
looked upon with suspicion and dread. The prevailing impression is that
they are bad and dangerous men,--that no reliance is to be placed on
their word,--that they are naturally licentious, dishonest, deceitful,
cruel,--that they are prepared for any enormity,--that they are enemies
to domestic purity and civil order, and that no one is safe in their
power. If ever they were regarded by mankind with favor, the time is
forgotten. There is not a nation on earth in which they are popular now.
They are everywhere branded as infamous.
If Atheists have always been so bad as to _deserve_ this fate, their
principles must be bad. If they have deserved a better fate,--if they
have been pure, and just, and true,--if they have been remarkable for
generosity, patriotism, and philanthropy,--if they have distinguished
themselves as the friends of virtue, and the benefactors of mankind, how
sad to think that they have never received their due at the hands of
men.
The longer the Atheists look on their condition, the less satisfactory
it appears. They have no grand history, no glorious names, to reflect
honor on their cause. They have no noble army of martyrs. They have no
great monuments. And they can have no assurance of anything better in
days to come. The probability is that their memory will rot, and that
their principles will be an offence and loathing to mankind through all
succeeding generations.
But look on the other side? The highest name on earth is a religious
name; the name of Jesus. The names which stand next in honor are those
of His Apostles and followers. The mightiest nations on earth are
Christian nations. Christians rule the world. Christian ministers are
honored and revered. Christian churches rise to wealth and power. The
Church controls the state. It controls it most when it is least
ambitious, and most consistent. The Church has a glorious history. It
has the grandest array of honorable names. It has the noblest army of
martyrs. It has the richest literature. Its sacred books are read in all
the leading languages of the earth. The great geniuses are her's. The
richest poetry, the grandest eloquence, the divinest philosophy, the
noblest courage, the richest generosity, the most devoted philanthropy,
are all her's. She has the credit of being the parent and the nurse of
our highest civilization. She is the great educator. She builds our
schools. She rules our colleges. She controls the press. She plants new
nations. She spreads herself and exerts her influence in every land. You
cannot destroy the Church. It is immortal. You cannot limit its power.
It is irresistibly expansive and invincible. If at any time it suffers
loss, it is through its own unfaithfulness; and a return to duty is a
return to dominion.
Even in countries not Christian the religious element is supreme, and
the religious men alone are honored. The greatest names in the history
of India and China, of Persia and Turkey, are the names of their
prophets and religious leaders.
What follows from all this? That if infidelity be true and good, and
religion false and mischievous, the world and the human race are wholly
wrong. The best and wisest men are everywhere despised, and the weakest
and wickedest are everywhere honored. The originators of the greatest
delusions are deified; and the revealers of the greatest truths are
regarded as monsters. Truth no longer can be said to be mighty, and
error can no longer be said to be weak. The right is no longer sure of
triumph, nor the wrong of overthrow. Men love darkness and hate the
light; and it is not the few that do so, but the many. And there seems
no hope of a change for the better. Earth is no place for the great, the
good, the wise; but for the ignorant, the deluded, and the base alone.
It is the paradise of fools, and the purgatory of philosophers.
But I asked, "_Is_ infidelity true and good, and religion false and
mischievous? Am I not laboring under some monster delusion? Have I not
been imposed upon by a vicious logic? Are not mankind right in hating
and dreading infidelity, and in loving and honoring religion? There is a
tremendous mistake somewhere. Either infidelity is wrong, or mankind and
the universe are fearfully perverse."
7. And now I began a reconsideration of the claims of religion and
infidelity. As I have said, I re-read the Bible. I reviewed Church
history. I examined the character and workings of religious communities.
And I found the Bible a better and a wiser book than I had ever
imagined. And I found Christianity, as presented in the teachings and
life of Jesus, the fairest and loveliest, the most glorious and
beneficent of all systems. I found Jesus Himself to be the most
beautiful and exalted of all characters. I saw in Paul a dignity and a
glory second only to those of Christ. I found in the New Testament the
perfection of wisdom and beneficence. I found in the history of the
Church a record of the grandest movement, and of the most glorious and
beneficent reformation, the world had ever witnessed. I found in the
churches the mightiest agencies and the most manifold operations for the
salvation of mankind. "Christianity," said I, "whether supernatural or
not, is a wondrous power. It is good, if it is not true. It is glorious.
It _deserves_ to be Divine, whether it be so or not. What a world we
should have,--what a heaven on earth--if men could be brought to believe
its teachings, to imbibe its spirit, and to obey its precepts. What a
heaven of bliss it would be to one's soul if one could see it and feel
it to be really true."
It had conquered my heart. It had won my love. And I would gladly have
died, or would gladly have lived through ages of hardship and toil, to
be satisfied of its divinity. How glad I was when I found men heartily
believing it. How sad when I found them doubting, like myself. How
delighted I was when I found my objections to its truth slowly fading
away, and saw facts in its favor coming gradually into view.
But doubt had become a powerful tyrant, and I had become a slave; and
though I _wished_ I could be a Christian, I could indulge no hope of
ever experiencing so great a happiness. But I would do Christianity
justice, to the best of my ability. I would exhibit its excellencies. I
would defend it against false accusations. I would preach it so far as I
honestly could. I would practise its precepts so far as I was able. I
would cherish its spirit. "If it is not from God," said I, "it is the
best production of the mind of man. If I cannot hold it forth as a
divine revelation, I can extol it as the perfection of human wisdom. And
some of its teachings are evidently true, and others are easily proved
to be so. It is true throughout, so far as I can test it; and it may be
true--perhaps I shall some day find it to be true--on points on which I
am unable to test it at present. I will wait, and labor meanwhile to
promote its beneficent influence!"
I looked on the other side. I read the Secularists' Bible: I reviewed
the history of unbelief; I examined the character and working of infidel
communities. And what was the result! The Secularists' Bible I found to
be a huge and revolting mass of filth and loathsomeness; the most
shameless attack on virtue and happiness that ever came under my view. I
remembered that Carlisle and Robert Owen had published books of the same
immoral and dehumanizing tendency. The history of infidelity I found to
be a history of licentiousness, and of every abomination. The infidel
communities I found to be hot-beds of depravity. The leaders of the
party were teachers and examples of deceit, of dishonesty, of
intemperance, of gambling, and of unbounded licentiousness. They had no
virtue; they had no conscience; and it was only when they were in the
presence of men of other views, that they had any shame, or modesty, or
regard for decency. And they were fearfully intolerant and malignant
towards those who crossed them, or thwarted them, in their projects.
They were no great workers, but they would exert themselves to the
utmost to annoy or vilify the objects of their displeasure. The facts
that came to my knowledge with regard to the morals of the Secularists
contributed to my deliverance from the thraldom of unbelief.
The honor awarded to Christ, and the infamy attached to infidelity, are
no mistakes. Jesus has never been exalted beyond His merits, and
infidelity has never been hated or dreaded beyond its deserts.
Christianity is the sum and perfection of all that is good, and true,
and glorious; and atheism is the sum and aggravation of all that is
vile, and mischievous, and miserable. It would be sad for the world if
men should lose their instinctive dread of infidelity, and begin to
speak of it as an error of little moment. It is a monster
conglomeration of all evil, and it has no redeeming quality.
8. Among the lectures which I delivered in my transition state was one
in answer to the question; "What do you offer as a substitute for the
Bible? Can you give us anything better?" I said that I had no desire to
_do away_ with the Bible; that I wished them to read it, study it, and
reduce the better part of its precepts to practice. I said: "With those
who would destroy the Bible, or prevent its circulation, I have no
sympathy and no connexion. The Bible is a book of great interest and
value; to say the least, it presents us with the thoughts of the best
and wisest of men, on subjects of the greatest interest and importance;
it gives us the best picture of the life and manners of the nations and
institutions of the ancient world; it is a wonderful revelation of human
nature; it tells the most interesting stories; it contains the grandest
and most beautiful poetry, the wisest proverbs, the most faithful
denunciations of vice and crime, the most earnest exhortations to duty,
the best examples of virtue, the most instructive and touching
narratives of people of distinguished worth, the most rational and
practical definitions of religion, the worthiest representations of God
and the universe, the greatest encouragement to fidelity under reproach
and persecution, the richest consolations under afflictions and trials,
and the most cheering exhibitions of future blessedness. We know of
nothing good in any system which is not favored by some portion of the
Bible. We know of nothing evil which is not condemned by other portions.
All that is best and noblest and grandest in man's nature is there
embodied. We know of no good or generous feeling which is not there
expressed. We cannot imagine it possible for a book to be more earnest
in its exhortations to the performance of duty, or to the culture of
virtue. There is no book on earth that we should be more reluctant to
part with than the Bible. Its destruction would be a fearful loss to
mankind. It is a mine containing treasures of infinite value. The wisest
may learn more wisdom from its teachings, and the best be raised to
higher virtue by its influence. It has done much good; it is doing good
still; it is calculated to do still greater good in days to come. Old as
it is, it is a wiser book than the books of religion that are written
in the present day. It is wiser than the preachers; wiser than the great
divines. It is infinitely superior to the Bibles that have been made in
later times, such as the Bible of the Shakers, the Bible of Reason, and
the Book of Mormon.
"It is superior to the Koran, though the authors of the Koran, like
later makers of Bibles, had the older Bible to help them. The Koran is
the best of modern Bibles, because it borrows most freely from the Old
and New Testaments.
"The Bible is vastly better as a moral book, and as a persuasive and
help to duty, than the writings of the best of the ancient Greeks and
Romans. The Bible is consistent with itself as a moral teacher, though
the precepts of Judaism are inferior to those of Christianity. The Bible
treats man as a subject of law, as bound to obey God and do right, from
first to last; and though it begins with fewer and less perfect
precepts, suited to lower states of society, it goes steadily on to
perfection, till it gives us the highest law, and the most perfect
example, in the teachings and life of Christ. Read your Bibles; commit
the better portions of the Book to your memory; think of them, practise
them. Don't be ashamed to do so. The greatest philosophers, not
excepting such men as Newton, Locke, and Boyle; the most celebrated
monarchs, from Alfred to Victoria; the most venerable judges, with Sir
Matthew Hale as their representative; the sweetest poets, from Chaucer,
Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton, down to Dryden, Young, and Cowper; and
the most devoted philanthropists, from Penn, and Howard, and Wesley, to
Elizabeth Fry and Florence Nightingale, have been lovers and students of
the Bible. The men that hate the Bible and wish for its destruction, are
the base and bad. The men who love it and labor for its world-wide
circulation, are the good and the useful. You cannot have a better
companion than the Bible, if you will use it judiciously. There is no
danger that you should rate it too high. If you should regard it as
supernaturally inspired, it will do you no harm. Such ideas may make you
read it more carefully, and pay more respect to its teachings, and that
will be a blessing. Men are in no danger of prizing good books too
highly. As a rule, they esteem them far too lightly. A great good book
is one of the richest treasures on earth. There is still less danger
that you should think too much of the Bible. The man does not live that
has erred in that direction. The best friends the Bible has, the most
strenuous advocates of its divinity, do not estimate the Book above its
worth. They do not value it according to its worth. It is richer in its
contents, it is better and mightier in its influences, than its
devoutest friends are aware.
"There are men who prate about Bibliolatry, and labor to lower men's
estimate of the Bible. They may spare their breath. The people who
idolize the Bible too much are creatures of their own imagination only,
and not living men and women. People may love the Bible unwisely, but
not too well. To place it too high as a means of instructing,
regenerating and blessing mankind, is not in man's power.
"I esteem it myself more highly than I ever did. My ramblings in the
regions of doubt and unbelief; my larger acquaintance with the works of
infidel philosophers, atheistical reformers, fanatical dreamers,
re-organizers of society, makers of new moral worlds, skeptical
historians of civilization, Essays and Reviews, Elements of Social
Science, Phases of Faith, and Phases of no Faith, and a world of other
books; my enlarged acquaintance with men, my sense of spiritual want and
wretchedness when shut out from religious consolations, have led me to
value the Bible, skeptical as I yet am, as I never valued it before.
"I was born in a town on a hill, from which I had delightful views of a
rich and beautiful valley. I looked on those beautiful prospects spread
out before me, with their charming variety of scenery, from my earliest
days, to the time I left my native land, but I have no recollection that
I ever experienced in those early times any large amount of pleasure
from the sight. In course of time I left the place of my birth and the
home of my childhood, and visited other lands. I saw rivers and lakes,
and mountains and plains, and forests and prairies in great abundance,
and in almost endless variety. And I compared them one with another, and
marked their points of difference and resemblance. And then after my
many and long wanderings, I returned to the place of my birth, and
looked on the scenes of my childhood again; and I was lost in ecstacies.
I was amazed that I had seen so little of their beauty, and been so
little transported with their charms before.
"And so with regard to the Bible. I was born in a family in which the
Bible was read every day of the year. I heard its lessons from the lips
of a venerable father, and of a most affectionate mother. I read the
book myself. I studied it when I came of age, and treasured up many of
its teachings in my heart. I preached its truths to others. I defended
its teachings against infidel assailants, and was eloquent in its
praise.
"But a change took place; a strange, unlooked-for change. I was severed
from the Church. I became an unbeliever. I turned away my eyes from the
book, or looked chiefly on such portions of it as seemed to justify my
unbelief. I have been led of late to return to the book, and to study it
with a desire to do it justice; and the result is, I love it, I prize
it, as I never did in my life. I read it at times with unshakable
transports, and I am sorry I should ever have been so insensible to its
infinite excellences."
Such was my lecture. Those who had come to oppose, seemed puzzled what
to say. One man said I had been brought there to curse the Bible, and
lo! I had blessed it altogether. Another said that what I had uttered
could not be my real sentiments--that my praise of the Bible must be a
trap or a snare. My answer was, They are my real convictions, and the
sentiments that I publish in my weekly paper. Then how comes it that you
are brought here by the Secularists? I answered, My custom is to accept
invitations from any party, but to teach my own sentiments.
One young man came to me at Bristol, after hearing me deliver this
lecture, and said how glad he was at what I had said. "When my mother
was dying," said he, "she gave me a Bible, and pressed me to read it;
and I did so for a while. But when I became a skeptic, I lost my
interest in the book, and I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't
like to sell it, or destroy it, because it was the gift of my mother;
yet I seemed to have no use for it. I shall read it now with pleasure."
On the following evening I lectured on _True Religion_. The gentleman
who had come to oppose me said it was the best sermon, or about the
best, he had over heard. He seemed at a loss to know what right I had to
speak so earnestly in favor of all that was good, and appeared inclined
to abuse me for not saying something bad. I took all calmly, and the
meeting ended pleasantly.
9. And now, instead of trying to shake men's faith in religion, I
labored to strengthen it. I was satisfied that the faith of the
Christian was right in substance, if it was not quite right in form. And
I was satisfied there was something terribly wrong in unbelief, though I
could not yet free myself entirely from its horrible power.
10. The feeling grew stronger that my remaining doubts were
unreasonable; that my soul was a slave to an evil spell, the result of
long persistence in an evil method of reasoning; yet I lacked the power
to emancipate myself. At length, as I have said, I appealed to Heaven
and cried, "GOD HELP ME!" and my struggling soul was strengthened and
released.
11. I had looked at the Church when a Christian minister from the
highest ground, and it seemed too low. I had compared it with Christ and
His teachings, and it seemed full of shortcomings. I now looked at it
from low ground, and it seemed high. I compared it with what I had seen
in infidel society, and read in infidel books; and I was filled with
admiration of its order, and of its manifold labors of love. I tried to
imitate the order and beneficent operations of the Church in my Burnley
society, but failed. Faith in Christianity, and the spirit of its
glorious Author, were wanting. The body without the spirit is dead.
12. I was first convinced that Christianity was necessary to the
happiness of man, and to the regeneration of the world, but had doubts
as to its truth. I now saw that much of it was true. In course of time I
came to be satisfied that the religion of Christ was true as a _whole_;
that it was a revelation from God; that Christ Himself was a revelation
both of what God _is_, and of what man _ought_ to be; that He was God's
image and man's model: that He was God incarnate, God manifest in the
flesh, and the one great Saviour of mankind. My objections to miracles
gave way. They seemed groundless. I saw miracles in nature. They were
wrought on every emergency, even to secure the comfort of the lower
animals. What could be more rational than to expect them to be wrought
in aid of man's illumination and salvation? My moral and religious
feelings got stronger. My skeptical tendencies grew weaker. I continued
to look at Christ. I studied him more and more. My heart waxed warmer;
my love to God and Christ became a mighty flame. I got among the
followers of Christ; I gave free scope, I gave full play, to my better
affections, and heavenward tendencies. I read, I prayed, I wrote, I
lectured, I preached. I gave free utterance to what I believed, and
while doing so, came to believe still more, and to believe with fuller
assurance. I used no violence with myself, except my lower self. I went
no further in my preaching than I had gone in my belief, and I accepted
no doctrines or theories which did not present themselves to my soul as
true and right. But I came at length to see, not the perfection and
divinity of any particular system of theology, but the perfection and
divinity of Christianity, and the substantial perfection and divinity of
the Sacred Scriptures.
13. I examined the popular objections to Christianity and the Bible.
Some were exceedingly childish; some seemed wicked; some, it was plain,
originated in ignorance; some in error. Paine, Owen, Parker, and certain
students of nature, came to erroneous conclusions with regard to Christ
and the Bible, because they tried them by false standards. Jesus said
nothing on the value of representative and democratic forms of
government, so Paine considered Him ignorant of the conditions of human
happiness. It was Paine however that was ignorant, not Jesus. Jesus was
so wise, that Paine was not able to appreciate His views or do Him
justice. Owen believed that man was the creature of circumstances; that
his character was formed for him, not by him, and that he was not
responsible therefore for his actions. Christ taught a contrary
doctrine. Owen therefore considered Christ to be in error: but the error
was in himself. Parker did not believe in the possibility of miracles:
but the Bible contained accounts of miracles. The Bible therefore must
be pronounced, to a great extent, fabulous. But miracles _are_ possible;
miracles are actual, palpable realities, and Parker's objection falls to
the ground. Many smatterers in science object to the credibility of the
gospel history on the same ground, and are answered in the same way.
Some objections to the Bible and Christianity originate in
misinterpretations of portions of the Bible. The Scriptures are made
answerable for foolish doctrines which they do not teach. Some
objections seem based on a wilful misconstruction of passages of
Scripture. Many objections owe their force to wrong theories of Divine
inspiration, and to erroneous notions with regard to the design of the
Sacred Scriptures put forth by certain divines. These are obviated by
the rejection of those unwarrantable theories and erroneous ideas, and
the acceptance of better ones. Many get wrong notions about what
constitutes the _perfection_ of the Bible, and look in the Scriptures
for a _kind_ of perfection which is impossible in a book written in
human language, and meant for the instruction and education of imperfect
human beings. There is not a language on earth that is absolutely
perfect, nor is it likely that there ever was, or ever will be, such a
language. An absolutely perfect book therefore in any human language is
an impossibility. But no such thing as an absolutely perfect book is
necessary or desirable, any more than an absolutely perfect body or
soul, or an absolutely perfect church or ministry. There is a kind of
imperfection in God's works which constitutes their perfection. There is
a kind of perfection talked about by metaphysical divines, which would
be the extreme of imperfection. We have reason to be thankful that there
is no such perfection either in Nature or the Bible. Nature and the
Bible would be worthless if there were. But there is a practical
perfection, a perfection of _usefulness_, in both; a perfection of
adaptation to the accomplishment of the highest and most desirable
objects: and that is enough.
The principal objects for which the Bible was written were, 1. To make
men wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 2. To furnish
God's people unto every good work. 3. To support them under their
trials, and to comfort them under their sorrows, on their way to heaven.
No higher or more desirable ends can be conceived. And it answers these
ends, whenever its teachings are received and obeyed. And this is true,
substantial perfection. This is the reasoning of the Psalmist. "The law
of the Lord is _perfect_," says he, and the proof he gives is this, "_it
converteth the soul_." "The testimony of the Lord is sure, _making wise
the simple_. The statutes of the Lord are right, _rejoicing the heart_.
Moreover by them is Thy servant warned, and in keeping of them there is
great reward." This is all the perfection we need.
14. Spiritualism had something to do with my conversion. I know the
strong feeling prevailing among many Christians against spiritualism,
but I should feel as if I had not quite done my duty, if I did not, to
the best of my recollection, set down the part it had in the cure of my
unbelief. My friends must therefore bear with me while I give them the
following particulars:--
As I travelled to and fro in America, fulfilling my lecturing
engagements, I met with a number of persons who had been converted, by
means of spiritualism, from utter infidelity, to a belief in God and a
future life. Several of those converts told me their experience, and
pressed me to visit some medium myself, in hopes that I might witness
something that would lead to my conversion. I was, at the time, so
exceedingly skeptical, that the wonderful stories which they told me,
only caused me to suspect them of ignorance, insanity, or dishonesty;
and the repetition of such stories, to which I was compelled to listen
in almost every place I visited, had such an unhappy effect on my mind,
that I was strongly tempted to say, "All men are liars." I had so
completely forgotten, or explained away, my own previous experiences,
and I was so far gone in unbelief, that I had no confidence whatever in
anything that was told me about matters spiritual or supernatural. I
might have the fullest confidence imaginable in the witnesses when they
spoke on ordinary subjects, but I could not put the slightest faith in
their testimony when they told me their stories about spiritual matters.
And though fifty or a hundred persons, in fifty or a hundred different
places, without concert with each other, and without any temptation of
interest, told me similar stories, their words had not the least effect
on my mind. The most credible testimony in the world was utterly
powerless, so far as things spiritual were concerned. And when the
parties whose patience I tried by my measureless incredulity, entreated
me to visit some celebrated medium, that I might see and judge for
myself, I paid not the least regard to their entreaties. I was wiser in
my own conceit than all the believers on earth.
At length, to please a particular friend of mine in Philadelphia, I
visited a medium called Dr. Redman. It was said that the proofs given
through him of the existence and powers of departed spirits were such as
no one could resist. My friend and his family had visited this medium,
and had seen things which to them seemed utterly unaccountable, except
on the supposition that they were the work of disembodied spirits.
When I entered Dr. Redman's room, he gave me eight small pieces of
paper, about an inch wide and two inches long, and told me to take them
aside, where no one could see me, and write on them the names of such of
my departed friends as I might think fit, and then wrap them up like
pellets and bring them to him. I took the papers, and wrote on seven of
them the names of my father and mother, my eldest and my youngest
brothers, a sister, a sister-in-law, and an aunt, one name on each; and
one I left blank. I retired to a corner of the room to do the writing,
where there was neither glass nor window, and I was so careful not to
give any one a chance of knowing what I wrote, that I wrote with a short
pencil, so that even the motion of the top of my pencil could not be
seen. I was besides entirely alone in that part of the room, with my
face to the dark wall. The bits of paper which the medium had given me
were soft, so that I had no difficulty in rolling them into round
pellets, about the size of small peas. I rolled them up, and could no
more have told which was blank and which was written on, nor which,
among the seven I had written on, contained the name of any one of my
friends, and which the names of the rest, than I can tell at this moment
what is taking place in the remotest orbs of heaven. Having rolled up
the papers as described, I laid them on a round table, about three feet
broad. I laid on the table at the same time a letter, wrapped up, but
not sealed, written to my father, but with no address outside. I also
laid down a few loose leaves of note paper. The medium sat on one side
the table, and I sat on the other, and the pellets of paper and the
letter lay between us. We had not sat over a minute, I think, when there
came very lively raps on the table, and the medium seemed excited. He
seized a pencil, and wrote on the outside of my letter, wrong side up,
and from right to left, so that what he wrote lay right for me to read,
these words: "I CAME IN WITH YOU, BUT YOU NEITHER SAW ME NOR FELT
ME. WILLIAM BARKER." And immediately he seized me by the hand, and
shook hands with me.
This rather startled me. I felt very strange. For WILLIAM BARKER was the
name of my youngest brother, who had died in Ohio some two or three
years before. I had never named him, I believe, in Philadelphia, and I
have no reason to suppose that any one in the city was aware that I had
ever had such a brother, much less that he was dead. I did not tell the
medium that the name that he had written was the name of a brother of
mine; but I asked, "Is the name of this person among those written in
the paper pellets on the table?"
The answer was instantly given by three loudish raps, "Yes."
I asked, "Can he select the paper containing his name?"
The answer, given as before, was "Yes."
The medium then took up first one of the paper pellets and then another,
laying them down again, till he came to the fifth, which he handed to
me. I opened it out, and it contained my brother's name. I was startled
again, and felt very strange. I asked, "Will the person whose name is on
this paper answer me some questions?"
The answer was, "Yes."
I then took part of my note paper, and with my left hand on edge, and
the top of my short pencil concealed, I wrote, "_Where d----_,"
_intending_ to write, "_Where did you die?_" But as soon as I had
written "_Where d----_," the medium reached over my hand and wrote,
upside down, and backwards way, as before,--
"_Put down a number of places, and I will tell you._"
Thus answering my question before I had had time to ask it in writing.
I then wrote down a list of places, four in all, and pointed to each
separately with my pencil, expecting _raps_ when I touched the right
one; but no raps came.
The medium then said, "Write down a few more." I then discovered that I
had not, at first, written down the place where my brother died: so I
wrote down two more places, the first of the two being the place where
he died. The list then stood thus:--
SALEM,
LEEDS,
RAVENNA,
AKRON,
CUYAHOGA FALLS,
NEW YORK.
The medium then took his pencil, and moved it between the different
names, till he came to CUYAHOGA FALLS, which he scratched out.
That was the name of the place where he died.
I then wrote a number of other questions, in no case giving the medium
any chance of knowing by any ordinary means what I wrote, and in every
case he answered the questions in writing as he had done before; and in
every case but one the answers were such as to show, both that the
answerer knew what questions I had asked, and was acquainted with the
matters to which they referred.
When I had asked some ten or a dozen questions, the medium said, "There
is a female spirit wishes to communicate with you."
"Is her name among those on the table?" I asked.
The answer, in three raps, was, "Yes."
"Can she select the paper containing her name?" I asked.
The answer again was, "Yes."
The medium then took up one of the paper pellets, and put it down; then
took up and put down a second; and then took up a third and handed it to
me.
I was just preparing to undo it, to look for the name, when the medium
reached over as before, and wrote on a leaf of my note paper--
"IT IS MY NAME. ELIZABETH BARKER."
And the moment he had written it, he stretched out his hand, smiling,
and shook hands with me again. Whether it really was so or not, I will
not say, but his smile seemed the smile of my mother, and the expression
of his face was the old expression of my mother's face; and when he
shook hands with me, he drew his hand away in the manner in which my
mother had always drawn away her hand. The tears started into my eyes,
and my flesh seemed to creep on my bones. I felt stranger than ever. I
opened the paper, and it was my mother's name: ELIZABETH BARKER. I asked
a number of questions as before, and received appropriate answers.
But I had seen enough. I felt no desire to multiply experiments. So I
came away--sober, sad, and thoughtful.
I had a particular friend in Philadelphia, an old unbeliever, called
Thomas Illman. He was born at Thetford, England, and educated, I was
told, for the ministry in the Established Church. He was remarkably well
informed. I never met with a skeptic who had read more or knew more on
historical or religious subjects, or who was better acquainted with
things in general, except Theodore Parker. He was the leader of the
Philadelphia Freethinkers, and was many years president of the Sunday
Institute of that city. He told me, many months before I paid my visit
to Dr. Redman, that _he_ once paid him a visit, and that he had seen
what was utterly beyond his comprehension,--what seemed quite at
variance with the notion that there was no spiritual world,--and what
compelled him to regard with charity and forbearance the views of
Christians on that subject. At the time he told me of these things, I
had become rather uncharitable towards the Spiritualists, and very
distrustful of their statements, and the consequence was, that his
account of what he had witnessed, and of the effect it had had on his
mind, made but little impression on me. But when I saw things resembling
what my friend had seen, his statements came back to my mind with great
power, and helped to increase my astonishment. But my friend was now
dead, and I had no longer an opportunity of conversing with him about
what we had seen. This Mr. Illman was the gentleman mentioned on a
former page, whom I attended on his bed of death.
The result of my visit to Dr. Redman was, that I never afterwards felt
the same impatience with Spiritualists, or the same inclination to
pronounce them all foolish or dishonest, that I had felt before. It was
plain, that whether their theory of a spirit world was true or not, they
were excusable in thinking it true. It _looked_ like truth. I did not
myself conclude from what I had seen, that it was true, but I was
satisfied that there was more in this wonderful universe than could be
accounted for on the coarse materialistic principles of Atheism. My
skepticism was not destroyed, but it was shaken and confounded. And now,
when I look back on these things, it seems strange that it was not
entirely swept away. But believing and disbelieving are habits, and they
are subject to the same laws as other habits. You may exercise yourself
in doubting till you become the slave of doubt. And this was what I had
done. I had exercised myself in doubting, till my tendencies to doubt
had become irresistible. My faith, both in God and man, seemed entirely
gone. I had not, so far as I can see, so much as "a grain of mustard
seed" left. So far as religious matters were concerned, I was insane. It
makes me sad to think what a horrible extravagance of doubt had taken
possession of my mind. A thousand thanks to God for my deliverance from
that dreadful thraldom.
15. I have been asked how I meet my own old objections to the Divine
authority of the Bible. I answer, some of them originated in
misinterpretations of Scripture. Others originated in mistakes with
regard to the character of Christ. Some things which I regarded as
defects in Christ were, in truth, excellencies. Some were based on
mistakes with regard to the truth of certain doctrines, and the value of
certain precepts. I looked on certain doctrines as false, which I now am
satisfied are true; and I regarded certain precepts as bad, which I am
now persuaded are good. Some things which I said about the Bible were
true, but they proved nothing against its substantial perfection and
divinity. Much of what I said in my speech at Salem, Ohio, about the
imperfection of all translations of the Scriptures, the various readings
of Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, the defects of Greek and Hebrew
compilations, and the loss of the original manuscripts, was true; but it
amounted to nothing. It disproved the unguarded statements of certain
rash divines; but it proved nothing against the divine inspiration or
substantial perfection of the Bible as taught in the Bible itself, and
as held by divines of the more enlightened and sober class. That which
is untrue in what I wrote about the Scriptures is no longer an obstacle
to my faith, now that I see it to be untrue. And those remarks which are
true in my writings on the Bible give me no trouble, because my faith in
Bible inspiration is of such a form, that they do not affect it. They
might shake the faith of a man who believes in a kind of inspiration of
the Bible which is unscriptural, and in a kind of perfection of the Book
which is impossible; but they do not affect the faith of a man who keeps
his belief in Bible inspiration and Bible perfection within the bounds
of Scripture and reason.
And here I may say a few words about the objections I advanced in my
debate with Dr. Berg.
1. The great mass of those objections prove nothing against the Bible
itself, as the great and divinely appointed means of man's religious
instruction and improvement. They simply show that the theory held by
Dr. Berg about the inspiration and absolute perfection of the book was
erroneous. If Dr. Berg had modified his notions, and brought them within
Scriptural bounds, this class of objections would all have fallen to the
ground.
2. But some of my statements were untrue and unjust. For instance, in
one case I said, 'The man who forms his ideas of God from the Bible can
hardly fail to have blasphemous ideas of Him.' Now, from the account of
the Creation in Genesis, to the last chapter in Revelation, the one
grand idea presented of God is that He is good, and that His delight is
to do good,--that He is good to all, and that His tender mercies are
over all His works. Whatever may be said of a few passages of dark or
doubtful meaning, the whole drift of the Bible is in accordance with
that wonderful, that unparalleled oracle of the Apostle, 'GOD IS LOVE.'
3. Another statement that I made was, that the man who studies God in
Nature, without the Bible, is infinitely likelier to get worthier views
of God, than he who gets his ideas of God from the Bible without regard
to Nature. Now the truth is, no man _can_ get his ideas of God from the
Bible without regard to Nature; for the Bible constantly refers to
Nature as a revelation of God, and represents Nature as exhibiting the
grandest displays of God's boundless and eternal goodness. The Bible and
Nature are in harmony on the character of God. The only difference is,
that the revelations of God's love in the Bible, and especially in
Christ, are more striking, more overpowering and transforming than those
of Nature. And lastly, the notions of God entertained by those who have
the light of Nature alone, are not to be compared with the views
entertained by those who form their views of God from the Bible alone,
or from the Bible and Nature conjoined.
4. One of my strongest objections was based on the 109th Psalm. This
Psalm contains strong expressions of revenge and hatred towards the
enemy of the Psalmist. The answer to this objection is,
1. That the Psalmist is not set up as our great example, and that his
utterances are not given as the highest manifestation of goodness.
2. The Psalms are exceedingly instructive and interesting, and must have
been of immense value, both as a means of comfort and improvement, to
those to whom they were first given; but the perfection of divine
revelation was yet to come. The Psalms are of incalculable value still,
but they are not our standard of the highest virtue. John the Baptist
was greater, higher, better than the Psalmist; yet the least of the
followers of Jesus is higher than he.
3. But thirdly; we must not conclude that the feelings and expressions
of the Psalmist were wicked, merely because they fell short of the
highest Christian virtue. 'Revenge,' says one of our wisest men, 'is a
wild kind of justice;' but it _is_ justice notwithstanding, when called
forth by real and grievous wrong. It is goodness, though not goodness of
the highest kind. It is virtue, though not perfect Christian virtue. And
the revenge of the Psalmist was provoked by wrong of the most grievous
description. Read the account of the matter given in the Psalm itself.
'Hold not thy peace, O God of my praise; for the mouth of the wicked and
the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken
against me with a lying tongue. They compassed me about also with words
of hatred; and fought against me without a cause. For my love they are
my adversaries: but I give myself unto prayer. And they have rewarded me
evil for good, and hatred for my love.' This was injustice, ingratitude,
cruelty of the most grievous kind. And these wrongs had been continued
till his health and strength wore reduced to the lowest point. 'I am
gone,' says he, 'like the shadow when it declineth. My knees are weak;
my flesh faileth; so that when men look at me, they shake their heads.'
And a similar cause is assigned for the revengeful expressions in the
69th Psalm. There we find the persecuted Psalmist saying, "They that
hate me, and would destroy me, are my enemies wrongfully, and they are
many and mighty. Then I restored that which I took not away. For _thy
sake_ have I borne reproach: the reproaches of them that reproached thee
are fallen upon me. I was the song of the drunkards. Reproach hath
broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some one
to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but none
appeared." Thus the men that wronged and tormented the Psalmist were
enemies to God and goodness, as well as to himself.
We know that the virtue of the injured and tormented Psalmist was not
the virtue of the Gospel; but it _was_ virtue. It was the virtue of the
law. And the law was holy, just, and good, so far as it went. If the
resentment of the Psalmist had been cherished against some good or
innocent man, it would have been wicked; as it was, it was righteous.
True, if the Psalmist had lived under the better and brighter
dispensation of Christianity, he would neither have felt the reproaches
heaped on him so keenly, nor moaned under them so piteously, nor
resented them so warmly. He might then have learned
"To hate the sin with all his heart,
And still the sinner love."
He might have counted reproach and persecution matters for joy and
gladness. And instead of calling for vengeance on his enemies, he might
have cried, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do." But
the Psalmist did _not_ live under the dispensation of the Gospel. He
lived under a system which, good as it was, made nothing perfect. And he
acted in accordance with that system. And the intelligent Christian, and
the enlightened lover of the Bible, will not be ashamed either of the
Psalmist, or of the Book which gives us the instructive and interesting
revelations of his experience.
5. Another of my objections to the Bible was grounded on the statement,
that God visits the iniquities of the fathers on the children. But it is
a fact, first, that children _do_ suffer through the sins of their
fathers. The children of drunkards, thieves, profligates, all suffer
through the misdoings of their parents. It is also a fact, that men
generally suffer through the misdoings of their fellow-men. We all
suffer through the vices of our neighbors and countrymen. The sins of
idlers, spendthrifts, misers, drunkards, gluttons, bigots, persecutors,
tyrants, thieves, murderers, corrupt politicians, and sinners of every
kind, are in this sense visited on us all. And we derive advantages on
the other hand from the virtues of the good. And it would be a strange
world, if no one could help or hurt another. It is better things are as
they are. The advantages we receive from the good, tend to draw us to
imitate their virtues. The sufferings entailed on us by the bad, tend to
deter us from their vices.
And so it is with parents and children. Children are specially prone to
imitate their parents. If they never suffered from the evil ways of
their parents, they would be in danger of walking in those ways
themselves for ever. When they suffer keenly from their parents'
misdoings, there is ground to hope that they will themselves do better.
I have known persons who were made teetotalers through the sufferings
brought on them by the drunkenness of their fathers. And on the other
hand; the blessings entailed on children by the virtue of their parents,
tend to draw them to goodness. And I have known fathers, who would
venture on evil deeds when they thought only of the suffering they might
bring on themselves, who have been staggered, and have shrunk from their
contemplated crimes, when they have thought of the ruin they might bring
on their children. And where is the good parent who is not more
powerfully stimulated to virtue and piety by thoughts of the blessings
which he may secure thereby to his offspring? The whole arrangement, by
which our conduct is made to entail good or evil on others, and by which
the conduct of others is made to entail good or evil on us, tends to
engage us all more earnestly in the war with evil, and to make us labor
more zealously for the promotion of knowledge and righteousness among
all mankind.
6. Another of my objections to the Bible was based on those passages
which represent God as causing men to do bad deeds. Joseph tells his
brethren, that it was not they, but God, who sent him into Egypt. David
says, 'Let Shimei curse; for God hath bidden him.' Of course, the words
of men like Joseph and David are not always the words of God. But Jesus
Himself speaks of Judas as appointed or destined to his deed of
treachery. What can we make of such passages? Does God make men wicked,
or cause them to sin? We answer, No. How is it then? We answer, What God
does is this: when men have made themselves wicked, He turns their
wickedness to good account, by causing it to show itself in some
particular way rather than in some other. God did not make the brethren
of Joseph envious and malicious; but he caused their envy and malice to
induce them to sell their brother into Egypt, rather than to kill him
and throw him into a pit. The wickedness was their own; the particular
turn given to it was of God. God did not make Shimei a base, bad man;
but Shimei having become base and bad, God chose that his villany should
spend itself on David, rather than on some other person. God did not
make Judas a thief and a traitor; but Judas having made himself so, God
so places him, that his avarice, his dishonesty and his treachery shall
minister to the accomplishment of a great beneficent design. God did not
teach the spirits that deceived Ahab to lie; but those spirits having
given themselves to lying, God chose that they should practise their
illusions on Ahab rather than on others. God did not make Pharaoh mean
or tyrannical; but Pharaoh having become so, God chooses to employ his
evil dispositions in bringing about remarkable displays of His power.
God does not make politicians corrupt; but politicians having become
corrupt, God chooses to place them in positions in which they can rob,
and torment, and dishonor us, and so incite us to labor more zealously
for the Christianization of our country. A man becomes a thief, and
says, I will rob John Brown to-night. And he places himself in the way
along which he expects John Brown to pass, and prepares himself for his
deed of plunder. But God does not wish to have John Brown robbed; so He
arranges that David Jones, a man whom he wishes to be relieved of his
money, shall pass that way, and the thief robs _him_. The dishonesty is
the thief's own, but it is God that determines the party on whom it
shall be practised.
I have a bull-dog that would worry a certain animal, if I would take it
where the animal is feeding. But I choose to bring it in view of another
animal which I wish to be destroyed, and he worries that. I do not make
the bull-dog savage; but I use his savagery for a good purpose, instead
of letting him gratify it for an evil one. This view of things explains
a multitude of difficult passages of Scripture, and enables us to see
wisdom and goodness in many of God's doings, in which we might otherwise
fancy we saw injustice and inconsistency.
I have not time to answer all my old objections to the Bible, advanced
in the Berg debate, nor have I time to answer any of them at full
length: but I have answered the principal ones; and the answers given
are a fair sample of what might be given to all the objections.
As for the objections grounded on little contradictions, on matters of
little or no moment, they require no answer. Whether the contradictions
are real or only apparent, and whether they originated with copyists,
translators, or the original human authors of the Books in which they
are found, it is not worth our while to inquire. They do not detract
from the worth of the Bible one particle, nor are they inconsistent with
its claims to a super-human origin.
And so with regard to the expressions scattered up and down the
Scriptures in reference to natural things, which are supposed to be
inconsistent with the teachings of modern science. They are, in our
view, of no moment whatever. Men writing or speaking under divine
impulse, with a view to the promotion of religion or righteousness,
would be sure, when they alluded to natural things, to speak of them
according to the ideas of their times. Their geography, their astronomy,
and even their historical traditions, would be those of the people among
whom they lived. Their spirit, their aim, would be holy and divine.
Nor have we any reason to wish it should be otherwise. Nor had our old
theologians ever any right, or Scriptural authority, for saying it was,
or that it ought to be, otherwise. To us it is a pleasure and an
advantage to have a record of the ideas, of the first rude guesses, of
our early ancestors, with regard to the wonders and mysteries of the
universe, and of the events of 'the far backward and abyss of time.' It
comforts us, and it makes us thankful, to see from what small and
blundering beginnings our numberless volumes of science have sprung. And
it comforts us, and makes us thankful, to see how the first faint
streaks of spiritual and moral light, that fell on our race, gradually
increased, till at length the day-spring and the morning dawned, and
then the full bright light of the Sun of Righteousness brought the
effulgence of the Perfect Day.
And here perhaps may be the place for a few additional remarks on Divine
inspiration.
We may observe, in the first place, that a man moved to speak by the
Holy Spirit, will, of course, speak for holiness. His aim will be the
promotion of true religiousness, and this will be seen in all he says.
He may not be a good scholar. He may not speak in a superhuman style.
His reasoning may not be in strict accordance with the logic of the
schools. His dialect may be unpolished. He may betray a lack of
acquaintance with modern science. He may not be perfect even in his
knowledge of religion and virtue. But he will show a godly spirit. The
aim and tendency of all he says will be to do good, to promote
righteousness and true holiness.
And so if a man be moved to _write_ by the Holy Spirit, there will be an
influence favorable to holiness in all he writes. His object will be
good. If he be a scholar, he will unconsciously show his learning; if he
be a man of science, he may show his science. If he be ignorant of
science, his ignorance may show itself. The Spirit of Holiness will
neither remove his ignorance nor conceal it: it will not make him talk
like a learned man or a philosopher; but it will make him talk like a
saint, like a servant of God, and a friend of man. His writings will
breathe the spirit and show the love of holiness, and a tendency to all
goodness.
And these are just the qualities we see in the Bible. It breathes a holy
spirit. It tends to promote holiness. The writers were not all equally
advanced in holiness; hence there is a difference in their writings.
They were not alike in their mental constitutions or their natural
endowments. They were not equal in learning, or in a knowledge of
nature, or in general culture. They differed almost endlessly. And their
writings differ in like manner. But they all tend to holiness. Some of
the writers were poets, and their writings are poetical. Others were not
poets, and their writings are prose. The poets were not all equal. Some
of them were very good poets, and their writings are full of beauty,
sublimity and power. Others of them were inferior poets, and their
compositions are more coarse, or more formal. Some of the writers were
shepherds or herdsmen, and their writings are rough and homely. Some of
them were princes and nobles, scholars and philosophers, and their
writings are richer and more polished. Some of them were mere clerks
and chroniclers, and their writings are dry and common-place; others
were fervid, powerful geniuses, and their works are full of fire and
originality. Their thoughts startle you. Their words warm you. They are
spirit and life. All the writers show their natural qualities and
tempers. All exhibit the defects of their learning and philosophy. All
write like men,--like men of the age, and of the rank, and of the
profession, and of the country, to which they belong. They write, in
many respects, like other men. The thing that distinguished them is, a
spirit of holiness; a regard, a zeal, for God and righteousness, and for
the instruction and welfare of mankind. In their devotion to God and
goodness they are all alike, though not all equal; but in other respects
they differ almost endlessly. In their devotion to God and goodness,
they are _unlike_ the mass of pagan worldly writers, but not so unlike
them in every other respect.
The divine inspiration of the sacred writers, or their wondrous zeal for
righteousness, is hardly a matter for dispute. It is a simple, plain,
palpable matter of fact. We see it on almost every page of their
writings. We feel it in almost every sentence.
Take the account of Creation in Genesis. No one could have written that
document under the influence of an ungodly or unholy spirit. It speaks
throughout with the utmost reverence of God. It represents Him as acting
from the best and noblest feeling. He works, not for His own interest or
honor, but solely for the purpose of diffusing happiness. He not only
does the greatest, the best, the noblest things, but He does them with a
hearty good will. Every now and then He stops to examine His works, and
is delighted to find that everything is good. It is plain He _meant_
them to be good. He creates countless multitudes of happy beings, and
does it all from impulses of His own generous nature. All living things
are made to be happy, and all nature is made and adapted to minister to
their happiness. And when at length He has completed His works, crowning
all with the creation of man, He looks on all again, and with evident
satisfaction and delight, declares them all very good.
Read the account of His creation of man. "And God said, Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the
fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and
over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the
earth. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created
he him, male and female created he them. And God blessed them, and God
said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and
subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl
of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. And
God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is
upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the
fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. And to every
beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that
creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green
herb for meat: and it was so. And God saw everything that he had made,
and behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the
sixth day." There can be no mistake as to the spirit and disposition of
the Great Being whom we see working, and hear speaking, in this passage.
Everything savors of pure and boundless love.
1. He makes man male and female, that they may have the comfort and
advantages of society, and of love and friendship in their highest,
holiest, and most intimate form.
2. Then He makes them in His own image, which, whatever else it may
mean, means ungrudging and unbounded goodness on His part. There can be
nothing higher, greater, better, happier than God. To make man in His
own image, and to appoint him, so far as possible, to a like position,
and a like lot with Himself, was the grandest display of goodness
possible.
3. And He gives the man and woman dominion over every living
thing,--makes them, next to Himself, lords of the universe. And He
blesses them, speaks to them sweet good words; and His blessing maketh
rich and adds no sorrow. He encourages them to be fruitful; to multiply,
and replenish the earth, and to subdue it,--to turn it ever more to
their advantage. He in effect places all things at their disposal;
every green herb, bearing seed, and every tree yielding fruit, is given
to them for food; and they are at the same time given for food to every
beast of the field, and to every fowl of the air, and to everything that
creepeth on the face of the earth. A richer, sweeter story,--a story of
more cheerful, generous liberality,--a picture more creditable or
honorable to God, one cannot imagine.
And the story is all of a piece. There is not a jar in it from first to
last. Its consistency is complete. Whatever else may be said of the
author of this account, it is certain that he was moved by a Holy
Spirit, that he had the loftiest and worthiest views of God, and that he
loved Him with all his heart and soul. He believed in a good and holy
God, and in a good and holy life.
I say nothing about the harmony or discord between this account of
Creation, and the facts of Geographical, Astronomical, or Geological
science. I do not trouble myself about such matters. To me it is a
question of no importance or concern whatever. And I have no trouble
about the interpretation of the story.
It wants no interpretation. It is as plain as the light. And I take it
in its simple, obvious, literal, natural sense. I keep to the
old-fashioned meaning--the meaning generally given to it before the
disputes about Geology and Astronomy seemed to render a new and
unnatural one necessary. The days of the story are natural days, and the
nights are natural nights. The length of each of the six days was the
same as that of the Sabbath day. The seven days made an ordinary week.
The first verse does not refer to a Creation previous to the week in
which man was made. It is a statement of the work of Creation in
general, of which the verses following give the particulars. All the
work that is spoken of was believed by the writer to have been begun and
ended in six ordinary natural days.
As to whether the story be literally or scientifically correct or not, I
do not care to inquire. I am satisfied that it is the result of divine
inspiration--that he who wrote it or spoke it was moved by the Holy
Spirit. The Spirit of truth, of love, of purity, of holiness pervades it
from beginning to end. It does justice to God; it bears benignly on
man; it favors all goodness. I see, I feel the blessed Spirit in every
line, and I want no more.
We are told that there are _two_ accounts of Creation, and that on some
points they differ from each other. For anything I know this may be the
case. But one thing is certain, they do not differ in the views they
give of God or of His objects. They both represent Him as a being not
only of almighty power and infinite wisdom, but of pure, unsullied,
boundless generosity. In truth, the only impulse to Creation that
presents itself is, the natural, spontaneous goodness of the Creator.
And on some points the manifestations of God's love and purity, of His
righteousness and holiness, are more full and striking in the second
account than in the first. God's desire for the social happiness of man
comes out more fully. Man, according to this second account, is made
previous to woman, and permitted for a time to experience the sense of
comparative loneliness. He is left to look through the orders of
inferior creatures, in search of a mate, and permitted to feel, for a
moment, the sense of disappointment. At length he is cast into a deep
and quiet sleep, and when he awakes, his mate, his counterpart, an exact
answer to his wants, his cravings, perfect in her loveliness, stands
before his eyes, and fills his soul with love and ecstacy. Marriage is
instituted in its purest and highest form. The law of marriage is
proclaimed, which is just, and good, and holy in the highest degree.
Provision is made for the comfort and welfare of the new-created pair.
Their home is a paradise, or garden of delights; their task is to dress
it and to keep it. Their life is love. The _general_ law under which
they are placed is made known to them, and they are graciously warned
against transgression. The law is the perfection of wisdom and
generosity. It allows them an all but unlimited liberty of indulgence.
They may eat of the fruit of every tree in the garden but one.
Indulgence must have its limits somewhere, or there could be no virtue,
and without virtue there could be no true happiness.
Law, trial, and temptation are all essential to virtue and
righteousness. Here they are all supplied; supplied so far as we can
see, in their best and most considerate forms. No law is given to the
lower animals. No self-denial is required of them. They are incapable
of virtue or righteousness, and are therefore left lawless. A _child_
left to himself would bring his mother to shame; a man left to himself
would rush headlong to destruction. But birds and beasts do best when
left to themselves, or when left to the law in their own natures. Their
instincts, or God's own impulses, urge them ever in the right direction,
and secure to them the kind and amount of happiness they are capable of
enjoying. They are incapable of virtue, so they are made incapable of
vice. They cannot share the highest pleasures; they shall not be exposed
therefore to the bitterest pains. Man is capable of both virtue and
vice, and he must either rise to the one or sink to the other. He cannot
stay midway with the lower animals. Man must be happy or miserable in a
way of his own; he cannot have the portion of the brute. He must either
be the happiest or the most miserable creature on earth. He must either
dwell in a paradise, or writhe in a purgatory. He must either live in
happy fellowship with God, or languish and die beneath his frown. And in
the nature of things, the possibility of one implies liability to the
other. This is man's greatness, and bliss, and glory, that he is capable
of righteousness; capable of fellowship, unity, with God; and capable of
progress, improvement, without limits, of life without end, and of
happiness without bounds.
All this, which is the perfection of true philosophy, the sum of all
true wisdom and knowledge, is presented in the most striking,
astounding, and intelligible form in this second, or supplementary
account of creation. Duty is defined in the clearest manner. It is
enjoined in the plainest terms. The results of transgression are
foretold with all fidelity. The great principle is revealed that
righteousness is life and happiness, and that sin is misery and death.
And man is left to his choice.
Here we have the substance, the elements, of all knowledge, of all law,
of all duty, of all retribution. We have the principles of the divine
government. We have the substance of all history. We have in substance,
the lessons, the warnings, the counsels, the encouragements, the
prophecies and revelations of all times and of all worlds. The tendency
of the whole story is to make us feel that righteousness is the one
great, unchanging and eternal good; and that sin, unchecked indulgence,
is the one great, eternal, and unchanging curse. The spirit of the
story, its drift, its aim, is _holiness_ from first to last. The writer
is moved throughout by the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of truth and
righteousness--the Spirit of God. We see it, we feel it, in every part.
We want no proof of the fact in the shape of miracle; the proof is in
the story itself. It is not a matter of dispute; it is a matter of plain
unquestionable fact. And that the story is essentially, morally, and
eternally true, is proved by all the events of history, by all the facts
of consciousness, and by the laws and constitution of universal nature.
And in the history of man's first sin as here given, and in the account
of its effects, and in the conduct of God to the sinning pair, I find,
not the monster fictions of an immoral and blasphemous theology, but the
most important elements of moral, religious, and physical science. And
instead of feeling tempted to ridicule the document, I am constrained to
gaze on it with the highest admiration and the profoundest reverence for
its amazing wisdom.
As to whether the account of the creation of the man and the woman, and
the story of the forbidden fruit, and of the serpent, and of the tree of
life, are to be taken literally or allegorically, I have no concern at
present. My sole concern with it is that of a Christian teacher and
moralist. The only question with me is: 'Is it divinely inspired? Does
the writer speak as a man moved by the Holy Spirit? Is it the tendency
of the story to make men lawless, recklessly self-indulgent, regardless
of God and duty; or is it the tendency of the story to make men fear God
and work righteousness?' And that is a question answered by the story
itself. On other matters the author writes as a man of his age and
country; on this, the only matter of importance, he writes as a man
moved by the Spirit of God.
And what I say of the accounts of Creation, I say of the history of Cain
and Abel, of Enoch and Job, of Noah and the Flood, of Abraham and Lot,
of Moses and his laws, and of the Hebrews and their history, of the
Psalms and Proverbs, of the Prophets and Apostles. All have one aim and
tendency; all make for righteousness. The writers are all moved by one
Spirit--the Spirit of holiness.
With the exception of the Book called Solomon's Song, and some other
unimportant portions of the Bible, the Scriptures all bear
unquestionable marks, are full from Genesis to Revelations, of proofs
indubitable, that they are the products of divine inspiration; that
their authors wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Whatever
their rank or profession, whatever their position or education, whatever
their age or country, whatever their particular views on matters of
learning or science, the sacred writers all speak as men under holy,
heavenly influences, and their writings, however they may differ in
style, or size, or other respects, are all, "profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the
man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."
16. I have been asked why I do not publish a refutation of my former
reasonings one by one, and a full explanation and defence of my present
views. I answer, my only reason for not doing this, so far as it is
really desirable, is a want of time. I did something in this line in my
_Review_. I have done a little more in my lectures on the Bible and on
Faith and Science, and I hope, in time, to do more.
17. I have been asked again, why I shun discussion on the subject. I
answer, I have never done so. When those who invite me to lecture wish
me to allow discussion, I comply with their wishes. I agreed to a public
discussion at Northampton; but the person who was to have met me drew
back. Again, if any one really wishes to discuss with me, he can do so
through the press. I published my views in my _Review_ thirteen or
fourteen years ago. I have published many of them since in a number of
pamphlets, giving all as good an opportunity of discussing them as they
can wish. And there is not the same necessity for a man who has
published his views through the press, to invite discussion on the
platform, as there is for a man who has _not_ given his views through
the press.
The following letter, written to a friend in Newcastle-on-Tyne, may
explain my views on this point a little more fully:--
MY DEAR SIR,--In answer to your question whether I will meet
the Representative of Secularism in debate, I would say, that I had
rather, for several reasons, spend what remains of my life and strength
in peaceful labors as a preacher, a lecturer, and an author. I seem to
have done enough in the way of public discussion. And I have not the
amount of physical or nervous energy, or the strength of voice and
lungs, which I once had. I am suffering, not only from the effects of
age, but from a terrible shock received in a collision on the railway,
causing serious paralysis of my right side, and greatly reducing the
force and action of my heart and brain.
Then I am not the representative of the Church, or of any section of it.
I can only stand forth as the advocate of my own views. Further; there
are many questions connected with the Bible, which appear to me more
fitted for quiet thought and friendly discussion among scholars and
critics, than for debate in a popular audience. On many of those points
Christian divines differ among themselves. They differ, for instance, to
some extent, in their views of Bible inspiration and the sacred canon;
they differ as to the worth of manuscripts, texts, and versions, the
validity of various readings, the origin and significance of
discrepancies in some of the historical and chronological portions of
the Bible, &c., &c. On none of these points do I consider myself called
upon to state or advocate any particular views.
There are however points of a broader and more important character, on
which a public popular discussion might be proper and useful; such as
the general drift and scope of the Bible, or its aim and tendency; the
character and tendency of Christianity as presented in the life and
teachings of its Author, and in the writings of the Apostles; the
comparative merits of Christianity, and of Atheistic Secularism as set
forth in the writings of Secularists.
I understand the leaders of the Secularists to teach, that Christianity
is exceedingly mischievous in its tendency,--that it is adverse to
civilization, and to the temporal interests of mankind generally,--that
the Bible is the curse of Europe, &c. These are subjects on which a
popular audience may be as well qualified to judge, as scholars and
critics. And if you particularly desire it, I will authorize you to
arrange for a discussion on them between me and such representative of
Secularism as you may think fit. I should not however like the
discussion to occupy more than three nights in any one week. And I
should wish effectual precautions to be taken to secure a peaceful and
orderly debate. It will be necessary also to have the subjects to be
discussed plainly and definitely stated.
Yours, most respectfully,
JOSEPH BARKER.
18. I may now add, that the evidences which had most to do in convincing
me of the truth and divinity of Christianity, were the internal ones. I
was influenced more by moral and spiritual, than by historical and
critical considerations. I do not think lightly of Paley's works on the
Evidences, or of Miall's _Bases of Belief_, or of Dr. Hopkins', or Dr.
Channing's, or Dr. Priestley's _Evidences of Christianity_; but the
Bible, and especially the story of Christ, was the principal instrument
of my conversion. I believed first with my heart rather than my head.
True, my head soon justified the belief of my heart: but my heart was
first in the business. I believe in miracles; I think them of great
importance. I believe especially in the miracles of Christ. But that
which melted my heart; that which won my infinite admiration; that which
filled me with unspeakable love and gratitude; that which made me a
Christian and a Christian believer, was Christ himself. Even His
miracles moved me more as expressions of His love, than as proofs of His
power. The great thing that overpowered me was the infinite excellency
of Christ, and the wonderful adaptation of Christianity to the spiritual
and moral, the social and physical, wants of mankind, Christ Himself is
His own best advocate. His life and character are His strongest claims
on our love and loyalty. And His religion, like the sun, is its own best
evidence of its divinity. The infinite worth of the sun--the astonishing
and infinitely varied adaptation of his light and warmth to the wants of
every living thing--his wonderful and beneficent effects on plants and
trees, on animals and man, are the strongest proofs of His Divine
original. And so with Christianity, the Sun of the moral and spiritual
world. It proves its heavenly origin by its amazing adaptation to man's
nature, and by its almighty tendency to promote his improvement and
perfection; by the light, the life, the blessedness it gives; by the
love it kindles; by the glorious transformations which it effects in
depraved individuals and degenerate communities; by the peace, the hope,
the joy it inspires; and by the courage and strength it imparts both in
life and in death.
19. The form in which Christianity presented itself to me, and the way
in which it operated on my soul, may be seen from the articles I wrote
on "Christ and His teachings," about the time of my conversion. They
refer to the doctrine of Christ with regard to a Fatherly God, and His
loving care of His creatures. The first thing that struck me in this
doctrine was its beauty and tenderness. It is just the kind of doctrine
which the hearts of the best of men would wish to be true. It answers to
the weaknesses and the wants of our nature; to the longings and
aspirations of our souls. It is full of consolation. It makes the
universe complete. It makes man's life worth living. It makes the
greatness, the vastness, the infinitude of our intellectual and
affectional nature a blessing. It gives peace--the peace that passes
understanding. It gives joy,--the joy that is unspeakable and full of
glory. It opens our lips in the sight of sorrow, and enables us to give
the sufferer consolation. It gives the universe a head. It gives it
unity. It gives to man a Ruler. It gives to law a commanding force. It
gives to conscience a controlling power. It makes virtue duty, while it
gives to it fresh grandeur and beauty. It exalts it in our eyes; and it
endears it to our hearts. And it furnishes the all-perfect example. And
it makes reasonable the inculcation of humility and charity, of
forbearance and forgiveness. And it dignifies the work of beneficence.
It makes us the allies and fellow-workers of the infinite. It makes us
one with Him. In teaching the ignorant, in bringing back the erring, in
strengthening the weak, in reforming the vicious, in cheering the sad,
in blessing the world, we are working as children in fellowship with
their infinite Father, and the pulses of our generous nature beat in
harmony with the living, loving, all-pervading Spirit of the universe.
And while it brightens the present, it gilds the future. It makes a
blessed immortality a natural certainty. If God our Father lives, then
we His children shall live also. Death is abolished. Day dawns at last
on the night of the grave. Earth is our birth-place and our nursery;
death is the gate-way to infinity, and there is our glorious and eternal
home. Our work for ever is the joyous work of doing good. Our future
life is an eternal unfolding, and a delightful exercise, of our highest
powers. The mysteries of universal nature open to our view, and in the
confluence of the delights of knowledge and the transports of
benevolence, our joy is full; our bliss complete.
This doctrine, in the form in which Jesus presents it, has hold of the
hearts of nearly the whole population of Christendom. It has the
strongest hold on the best. Even those who doubt it, doubt it with a
sigh; and those who give it up, surrender it with regret. And as they
make the sacrifice the earth grows dark. And life grows sad. And nature
wears the air of desolation. The music of the woods becomes less sweet.
The beauty of the flowers becomes less charming. There creeps a dreary
silence over land and sea. Existence loses more than half its charms.
The light of life burns dim. The past, the present, and the future all
are cheerless. The world is one vast orphan-house. Mankind are
fatherless. Our dearest ones are desolate. And language has no word to
comfort them. The lover sighs. The husband and the father weeps. The
bravest stand aghast. The charm of life, the unmixed bliss of being, is
no more.
But the question of questions is, Is the doctrine true? The _heart_ says
it is, and even the intellect acknowledges that there are ten thousand
appearances in nature which cannot be accounted for on any other
principle. We cannot at present dwell on the subject; but the doctrine
of Jesus with regard to God and immortality is the grandest and most
consoling, and is the most adapted to strengthen the soul to duty, and
to cheer and support it under suffering, that the mind of man can
conceive.
And then as to Jesus Himself, the love and the reverence with which He
is honored by so large a portion of the foremost nations of the earth,
are no mistake,--no accident. They are the natural result of His worth
and excellency. They are the natural response of the generous heart of
humanity, to its wisest Teacher, its loftiest Example, and its greatest
Benefactor. The devoutest love, the liveliest gratitude, the richest
honors, the costliest offerings are his,--He deserves them all. And His
name shall remain, and His fame shall spread, as long as the sun and
moon endure.
All nations love and adore the good. Men will even die for them. What
wonder then that Jesus should be so loved? What wonder that so many
tongues should praise Him, so many hearts adore Him, and so many nations
bow before Him, and accept Him as their Lord? For He devoted Himself to
the service, not of a class or a nation, but of the world. The sick, the
poor, the ignorant, the fallen; the little innocent children, the
wronged and outcast woman, the hated Samaritan, the despised Pagan, the
obnoxious publican, the youthful prodigal, the dying penitent, the cruel
persecutor, all shared His love, His pity, and His prayers. He lived, He
taught, He died for all.
20. The first Christians that invited me to preach were the Methodist
Reformers of Wolverhampton. The next were the Primitive Methodists of
Tunstall and Bilston. The Primitive Methodists at Tunstall invited me to
join their community, and as soon as I consistently could, I did so. I
was afterwards accepted as a local preacher. My labors as a preacher and
lecturer have been mostly in connection with that community. I was
specially struck with the zeal, the labors, and the usefulness of the
Primitive Methodists while on my way from the wilds of error; and my
intercourse with its ministers and members since I became a Christian,
has proved to me an unspeakable comfort and blessing. I have received
from them the greatest kindness: and I pray God that I may prove a
comfort and a blessing to them in return.
21. I had great sacrifices to make when I renounced my connection with
the unbelievers and became a Christian, and for some time I and my
family had experience of severe trials. We had to give up our old
business, and it seemed impossible to obtain a new one, and for a time
we were threatened with the bitterness of want. We were unwilling to
ask a favor of any Christian party, lest our motives for embracing
Christianity should be suspected; and at times I felt perplexed and sad.
One day my eldest son, seeing I was depressed, said, "Father, dear,
don't be troubled. We must trust in God now. I _do_ trust in Him; and I
am so happy to think that we are all Christians, that I can bear
anything." God bless his dear good soul. We did trust in God, and He
sustained us. He supplied our wants. He overruled all things for our
good. And we can now say, "The lines have fallen to us in pleasant
places; we have a goodly heritage."
22. I have met with some unpleasantnesses since my return to Christ; but
I am not sure that they are worth naming; and for the present they shall
remain unnamed. I have met with many things of a very pleasant
character. Thousands that followed me into doubt have come back with me
to Christianity. Thousands that were sinking, were saved by my
conversion. I believe I may say thousands of unbelievers that were not
led into doubt by me, have been redeemed from their wretchedness through
my example and labors. Some young ministers have been kept from rash and
ruinous steps by the story of my experience. Many believers have been
strengthened in their faith and encouraged in their Christian labors
under my sermons and lectures. Many have been benefited by my
publications. My family has been greatly comforted and blessed. The
power of the infidel class has been diminished. I have myself enjoyed a
kind and a degree of happiness that I never enjoyed while the slave of
doubt and unbelief. And it is a great consolation to think that I was
brought to God while in my health and strength, and that I have now been
permitted to spend from eleven to twelve years in the work of Christ.
Another great comfort is, that my circumstances are such as to enable me
to give some proof of my devotion to the cause of Christ; of my infinite
preference of the religion of Christ, both to the miserable philosophy
of unbelief, and to the wretched fictions of ignorant or anti-Christian
divines.
23. I read quite a multitude of books on my way back to Christ, and if I
had time, I would give some account of the influence which some of them
made on my mind. But I have not. It may seem strange, but I had sunk
below the level of ancient Paganism, and the books which I read on my
first awaking to a consciousness that I was wrong, were Pagan works. I
read much in Plato and Aristotle, Cicero and Seneca, for a time, and
then in Plutarch, M. A. Antonine, and Epictetus. The works of Epictetus,
with the comments of Simplicius, proved exceedingly profitable. I then
read the writings of Theodore Parker, Dr. Channing, and some of the
works of Dr. Priestley, and got good from all. They all helped to
inspire me with a horror of Atheism, and to strengthen my faith in God,
and in His boundless and eternal love. I next read a number of my own
works, beginning with those that were somewhat skeptical, and reading
backwards, to those which were Christian. I then read freely my old
companions and favorites, including Hooker, Baxter, and Howe; Jeremy
Taylor, William Law, and Bishop Butler. I read Shakespeare freely, and
Pope, and then Thomson, and Goldsmith, and Young, and Cowper, and
Tennyson, and several others of our poets. Then came the works of
Carlyle, Burke, Penn, and Wesley; of Robert Hall, and Dr. Cooke, and Mr.
Newton; and the writings of Paley and Grotius. I also read Guizot's
_History of Civilization_, and those portions of Dr. Henry's _History of
England_ that referred to the Church and Christianity. Still later I
read Augustine's _Confessions_, Montalembert's _Monks of the West_, and
everything I could find to illustrate the history of Christianity.
I was delighted, transported, with many of Wesley's hymns. I found in
them an amount of truth, and beauty, and richness of good feeling, I had
never found in them before. I read many of the hymns of Watts with great
pleasure, as well as several collections of hymns and poetry by Roundell
Palmer and others. I also read the writings of Chalmers, Whewell, and
Lord Brougham on natural theology, and the works of several other
authors on that subject.
At a later period I read something in Neander, Lange, and others on the
life of Christ. Still later I read Young's _Christ of History_, with
Renan and _Ecce Homo_. Renan tried me very much. He seemed to write in
the scoffing spirit of Voltaire, and I laid the book aside before I got
to the end. _Ecce Homo_ delighted me exceedingly. I read it a dozen
times. I studied it, and it did me a great deal of good. It both
strengthened my faith in Christ, and increased my love to Him. Still
later I read _Ecce Deus_ with pleasure and profit.
The book however that did me most good was the Bible. I came to it
continually, as to an overflowing fountain, and drank of its waters with
ever-increasing delight.
24. I began to preach before I was fit; but I never might have been fit,
if I had not begun. I became fit by working while unfit. And my
imperfect labors proved a blessing to many.
25. There was much prejudice against me at first; but not more than I
had reason to expect; and it gradually gave place to confidence and kind
feeling. Some said I ought to remain silent a few years; but as I did
not know what a few years or even a few days might bring forth, I
thought it best to speak at once. I had spoken freely enough on the
wrong side, and I saw no reason why I should not speak as freely and at
once on the right side. Nor do I regret the course I took. It was the
best. Some that thought otherwise at first, think as I do now. For
instance, when Mr. Everett first heard that some of his friends had
invited me to preach for them, he was very angry, and said I ought never
to speak or show my face again in public as long as I lived. In less
than four years he came to hear me, was much affected, shook me by the
hand, thanked me, invited me to his house, showed me his library, and
his museum of Methodist antiquities and curiosities, offered me a home
in his house, and was as kind to me as a father.
I never quarrelled with people for regarding me with distrust or fear,
though I often checked my over-zealous friends, who were disposed to
quarrel with all who did not regard me with the same amount of love and
confidence as themselves.
I have never defended myself against slanderers, either by word or
writing, except when justice to my friends has seemed to require it.
I have never complained of any disadvantages under which I have labored.
It is right that a man who has erred as I have, should have something
unpleasant in his lot to remind him of his error, and render him more
careful and prayerful for the time to come: and there is to me a
pleasure in doing penance for my faults.
26. I have never thrown the whole blame of my errors on others, nor have
I ever seen reason to take the whole to myself. God alone is able to
distribute praise and blame, rewards and punishments, according to men's
deserts, and to Him I leave the task. At first I was disposed to be very
severe towards myself: but two years' experience in the religious body
that I first joined, of a kind of treatment resembling that of my early
days, satisfied me that I ought to judge myself a little more leniently.
I would not however be unduly severe towards others. I cannot tell, when
a man does me wrong, how far he may be under the influence of
unavoidable error, and how far he may be under the influence of a wicked
will. I may be able to measure the injustice of the act, but not the
wickedness of the actor. God alone can do that. A man's treatment of me
may satisfy me that I ought not to place myself in his power; but cannot
justify me in saying of him that he deserves the damnation of hell. The
rule with regard to men's deserts is, "Judge not, that ye be not
judged."
27. But when I have made the most liberal allowance for myself, and even
while I feel satisfied that in my investigations my object was the
discovery of truth, and that my errors were wholly unintentional, I must
still feel ashamed and mortified at the thought that I was so weak as to
be capable of such grievous errors. Even when I take into account the
imperfection of my education, and the disadvantages of my situation, and
all the temptations by which I was assailed, I am still ashamed and
humbled, and feel that my place is in the dust. But if, while prostrate,
God says to me, "Arise!" shall I resist the call? If in the exercise of
His love He restores to me the joys of His salvation, and bids me speak
and labor in His cause, shall I not thankfully obey the heavenly voice?
Shall I carry my humility to the extreme of disobedience? Shall I not
rather arise, and, with a cheerful and joyous heart, do my Saviour what
service I can? I will not presume to usurp the prerogative of God, even
to judge and punish myself. I will leave myself to Him, the merciful and
all-knowing, and He shall do with me what He sees best. I will not
reject His mercy. I will not resist His will. Let Him do what seemeth to
Him good, whether it be in the way of tenderness or of severity. It has
pleased Him, thus far, to mingle much compassion with His chastisements,
and His goodness calls for gratitude and joy.
28. And as I act towards God, I will act towards His people. If they
frown on me, I will take it patiently; but if they welcome me with
demonstrations of affection, I will rejoice. If they close their pulpits
against me, I will say, "Your will be done." If they open them to me, I
will enter, and, to the best of my ability, declare the counsel of God.
A portion of God's people,--a large and most worthy portion--have
received me graciously; and my duty is, and my endeavor, I trust, will
be, to reciprocate their love and confidence. I say with the poet:--
"People of the living God,
I have sought the world around,
Paths of doubt and sorrow trod,
Peace and comfort nowhere found;
Now to you my spirit turns,
Turns, a fugitive unblest;
Brethren, where your altar burns
O receive me to your rest.
"Lonely I no longer roam,
Like the cloud, the wind, the wave;
Where you dwell shall be my home,
Where you die shall be my grave;
Mine the God whom you adore,
Your Redeemer shall be mine;
Earth can fill my heart no more,
All my joys shall be divine."
29. It seems strange that I should have been permitted to wander into
doubt and unbelief, and live so long under its darkness and horrors.
There is a mystery about it that I cannot understand. But what I know
not now, I may know hereafter. The mystery of Job's trial was explained
when his afflictions were at an end. The mystery of my strange trial is
still wrapt up in darkness. True, my strange experience has not been an
unmixed calamity. It has brought me advantages which I could not
otherwise have enjoyed. I know things which I never could have known, if
I had always remained within the enclosures of the Church, and under the
influence of Christianity. And my heart is more subdued to the will of
God. I am more at one with Him than I ever was before. I love Him more.
I love Jesus more. I love His religion more. I have a clearer view and a
fuller knowledge of its infinite worth. I have, of course, a fuller
knowledge of the horrors of infidelity. And my faith in God and
Christianity rests on a firmer foundation than it did in my early days.
Many things which I once only _believed_, I now _know_. Many things for
which I had formerly only the testimony of others, I now know to be true
by my own experience. There are quite a multitude of things on which I
have greater certainty, and on which I can, in consequence, speak with
more authority than in my early days. There are, too, cases of doubt
which I can meet, which formerly I could not have met. I can make more
allowances too, than formerly, for those who are troubled with doubt, or
ensnared by error. And my preaching, in some cases, is more powerful.
And I am more free from bigotry and intolerance. While I see more to
love and admire in the Church generally, I love _all_ hard-working
churches without partiality. I think less of the points on which they
differ, and more of the points on which they agree. They appear to me
more as one church. There are many points on which I might once have
engaged in controversy, which now appear of little or no moment. While I
have more zeal for God, I have more charity for men.
There are many things in Wesley's hymns, and many things in other hymns,
which formerly I did not understand or appreciate, or understood and
appreciated but very imperfectly, which now I understand more perfectly,
and prize more highly. And so with many things in the Bible.
30. And I have, at times, and have had for years, strange glimpses of
the magnificence and wondrousness of the universe; startling views of
the awful grandeur and movements of its huge orbs, and of the terrible
working of its great forces, and an overpowering sight and sense of the
presence and power of the living God in all, which I never had in my
earlier days. And I have often had, and still have, at times, strange
feelings of the fact and mystery of existence: of my own existence, and
of the existence of other beings, and of God.
31. And I have, at times, strange feelings with regard to the infinite
value of life and consciousness, and of my intellectual and moral
powers. And I have pleasant and wonderful thoughts and feelings with
regard to the lower animals, as the creatures of God, my Father; and as
manifestations of His goodness, and wisdom, and power; and as sharers
with me of an infinite Father's love. And I love them as I never loved
them in my earlier days. I feel happier in their company. I listen with
more pleasure to the songs of birds, and gaze with more delight on every
living thing. The earth and its inhabitants are new to me. The plants
and flowers are new. The universe is new. I am new to myself. All things
are new. It seems, at times, as if the new, enlarged, and higher life of
which I have become conscious through my strange experience, were worth
the fearful price which I have paid for it.
32. But then again I think of the time I spent in sin and folly,--of the
mischief I did in those dark days,--of the grief I caused to so many
good and godly souls,--of the sorrows I entailed on those most dear to
me, and of the terrible disadvantages under which I labor, and under
which I must always labor, in consequence of my unaccountable errors,
and I am confounded and dismayed. But then, on the other hand, I am
reminded that I did not sin wilfully,--that I did not err purposely or
wantonly,--that what I did amiss I did in ignorance,--that I verily
believed myself in the way of duty when I went astray,--that I was
influenced by a desire to know the truth,--that I believed myself, at
the outset, bound as a Christian, and as a creature of God, to use my
faculties to the utmost in searching the Scriptures, and exploring
Nature, in pursuit of truth,--that when I advocated infidel views, I
advocated them believing them to be true, and believing that truth must
be most conducive to the virtue and happiness of mankind. True,
appearances were against me; but I felt myself bound, even when an
unbeliever, to "walk by faith,"--by faith in principles which I supposed
myself to have found to be true. My life, even in my worst condition,
was a life of self-sacrifice for what I regarded as eternal truth. When
I gave up my belief in a Fatherly God, and my faith in a blessed
immortality, I believed myself to be making a sacrifice at the shrine of
truth. I thought I heard her voice from the infinite universe demanding
the surrender, and conscience compelled me to comply with the demand. I
felt the dreadful nature of the sacrifice, but what could I do?
I remember the words I uttered, and I remember the mingled emotions
which filled and agitated my soul, on that occasion. I was distressed at
the terrible necessity of giving up the cherished idols of my soul, yet
I was filled for a moment with a strange delight at the thought that I
was doing my duty in compliance with the stern demands of eternal law,
and the dread realities of universal being. And I hoped against hope
that the result would all be right.
I weep when I read the strange words which I uttered on that dark and
terrible occasion. I said to myself, "The last remains of my religious
faith are gone. The doctrines of a personal God, and of a future life, I
am compelled to regard as the offspring, not of the understanding, but
of the imagination and affections." It is no easy matter to wean
one's-self from flattering and long cherished illusions. It is no easy
matter to believe that doctrines which have been almost universally
received, and which have been so long and so generally regarded as
essential to the virtue and happiness of mankind--doctrines, too, which
have mingled their mighty influences with so much of the beautiful and
sublime in human history, and which still, to so many, form all the
poetry and romance, almost all the interest and grandeur and blessedness
of human life, have no foundation in truth. To persons who believe in a
Fatherly God, and in human immortality, pure naturalism is terribly
uninviting. It was always so to me. I well remember the mingled horror
and pity with which, when a Christian, I regarded the man who had no
personal God, and no hope of a future life. I remember too how I wrote
or spoke of such. I mourned over them as the most hapless and miserable
of all living beings. Yet I myself have come at length, by slow degrees,
after a thousand struggles, and with infinite reluctance, to the dread
conclusion, that a personal God and an immortal life are fictions of the
human mind. Yet existence has not quite lost its charms, nor life its
enjoyments. There is something infinitely grand, and unspeakably
exciting and elevating in the consciousness of having made a sacrifice
of the most popular and bewitching of all illusions, out of respect to
truth. It was an enviable state of mind which prompted, the grand and
thrilling exclamation, "Let justice be done, though the heavens should
fall." And that state of mind is no less enviable which can sustain a
man in the sacrifice of God and immortality at the shrine of truth. Such
a sacrifice, accompanied, as it must be in the present state of society,
with a thousand other sacrifices of reputation, friendships, popular
pleasures, and social favor, is an exercise of the highest virtue, a
demonstration of the greatest magnanimity, and is accompanied or
followed with an intensity of satisfaction which none but the
martyr-spirit of truth can conceive. It is often said by Christians,
that the reason why persons doubt the existence of God and a future life
is, that they have good cause to dread them; or, as Grotius expresses
it, that they live in such a way that it would be to their interest that
there should be no God or future life. This was not the case with me. My
unbelief came upon me while I was diligently striving in all things to
do God's will. My virtue outlived my faith.
"Born of Methodist parents, and reared under Christian influences, and a
Christian myself, and even a Christian minister for many years, I was
brought slowly and reluctantly, in spite of a world of prejudices, and
in spite of interests and associations and tastes all but almighty in
their influence, to the conclusion, that pure, unmixed Naturalism alone
accorded with what was known of the present state and the past history
of the universe. I say I was brought to these conclusions in spite of a
world of opposing influences. While a Christian, all that the world
could promise or bestow seemed to be within my reach. Friends,
popularity, wealth, power, fame; and visions of infinite usefulness to
others, and of unbounded happiness to myself in the future, were all
promised me as the reward of continued devotion to the cause of God and
Christianity. As the reward of heresy and unbelief, I had to encounter
suspicion, desertion, hatred, reproach, persecution, want, grief of
friends and kindred, anxious days and sleepless nights, and almost every
extreme of mental anguish. Still, inquiry forced me into heresy further
and further every year, and brought me at length to the extreme of doubt
and unbelief."
It was, then, in no light mood that I gave up my faith in God, and
Christ, and immortality. The change in my views was no headlong, hasty
freak. It was the result of long and serious thought--of misguided, but
honest, conscientious study. And hence I have sometimes thought, and am
still inclined to think, that God had a hand in the matter--that He led
me, or permitted me to wander, along that strange and sorrowful road,
and to pass through those dreary and dolorous scenes, and drink so
deeply of so dreadful a cup of sorrow, for some good end. "He maketh the
wrath of man to praise Him," and perhaps he may turn our errors also to
good account. I am not disposed to believe that my life has been a
failure. It may, for anything I know, prove to have been a great
success. "Men are educated largely by their mistakes," says one. It
hardly seems likely that God would suffer a well-intentioned, though
weak and erring child, to ruin either himself or others for ever. God is
good, and the future will justify His ways, and all His saints shall
praise Him.
My business meanwhile is, to do what I can to promote the interests of
truth, and the welfare of mankind. I must, so far as possible, redeem
lost time. I have a thousand causes for gratitude, and none for
complaint. I am very happy in general; as happy as I desire to be, and
as happy, I expect, as it is good for me to be. I sometimes feel as if
I were _too_ happy. And I certainly never ask God to make me _more_
happy. I ask Him to make me wiser, and better, and more useful, but not
more happy. At times my cup of joy runs over. It is strange it should be
so, yet so it is. But joy and sorrow are often found in company. Paul
says of himself, "Sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." The author of _Ecce
Deus_ says, "The good man's life is one unbroken repentance. Throughout
his life he suffers on account of his sins. What, then of joy?" he asks:
and he answers, "It is contemporaneous with sorrow. They are
inseparable. The joy that is born of sorrow is the only joy that is
enduring." It may seem strange, but it is true, the last year of my life
has been the happiest I ever experienced.