ON THE PECULIAR MORALITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT,
AS IT AFFECTS NATIONS AND POLITICAL SOCIETIES.
After having seen the uselessness, and even the danger, to
individuals, of the perfections, the virtues, and the duties, which
Christianity peculiarly commands; let us now see whether it has a
more happy influence upon politics; or whether it produces real
happiness among the nations with whom this religion is
established, and the spirit of it faithfully observed. Let us do so,
and we shall find, that wherever Christianity is established and
obeyed, it establishes a set of laws directly opposed to those of a
well ordered national society; and it soon makes this disagreement
and incompatibility distinctly to be felt.
Politics are intended to maintain union and concord among the
citizens. Christianity, though it preaches universal love, and
commands its followers to live in peace; yet, by a strange
inconsistency, consequentially annihilates the effect of these
excellent precepts, by the inevitable divisions it causes among its
followers, who necessarily understand differently the Old and New
Testaments, because the latter is not only irreconcilably
contradictory to the former, but it is even inconsistent with itself.
From the very commencement of Christianity, we perceive very
violent disputes among its founders and teachers; and through
every succeeding century, we find, in the history of the Church,
nothing but schism and heresy. These are followed by persecutions
and quarrels, exceedingly well adapted to destroy this vaunted
spirit of concord, said by its defenders to be peculiar to Christianity;
and the existence of which is, in fact, impossible in a religion
which is one entire chaos of obscure doctrines and impracticable
precepts. In every religious dispute, both parties thought that God
was on their side, and, consequently, they were obstinate and
irreconcilable. And how should it have been otherwise, since they
confounded the cause of God with the miserable interests of their
own vanity? Thus, being little disposed to give way on one part or
the other, they cut one anothers throats; they tormented, they burnt
each other: they tore one another to pieces; and having
exterminated or put down the obnoxious sects, they sung Te Deum.
It is not my intention to pursue, in this place, the horrid detail of
ecclesiastical history, as connected with that of the Roman empire.
Mr. Gibbon has exhibited in such colours this dreadful record of
follies, and of crimes, that it is difficult to see how the maxim of
judging the tree by its fruit, will not fatally affect the cause of the
Christian religion. I refer to Mr. Gibbons history as a cool and
impartial narrative; for I am well satisfied that, so far from having
reason to complain of him, the advocates of Christianity have very
great reason, indeed, to thank him for his forbearance, since, with
his eloquence, he might have drawn a picture that would have
made humanity shudder. For, throughout the whole history, if a
man had wished to know what was then the orthodox faith, the best
method of ascertaining it, would have been, undoubtedly, to ask,
What is the catechism of this public executioner.
The Christian religion was, it is evident from his history, the
principal, though by no means the only cause of the decline and
fall of the Roman empire. Because it degraded the spirit of the
people, and because it produced monks and hermits in abundance,
but yielded no soldiers. The heathen adversaries of Christianity
were in the right when they said, that if it prevailed, Rome was no
more! The Christians would not serve in the armies of the
emperor, if they could possibly avoid it. They justly considered the
profession of a soldier, and that of a Christian, as incompatible.
Celsus accuses them of abandoning the empire, under whose laws
they lived, to its enemies. And what is the answer of Origen to this
accusation? Look: at his pitiful reply! He endeavours to palliate
this undutiful refusal by representing that--the Christians had
their peculiar camps, in which they incessantly combatted for the
safety of the emperor and empire, by lifting up their right hands--
IN PRAYER!! (See Origen contra Celsum, Lib. 8, p. 437.) This is
a sneaking piece of business truly! But Origen could have given
another answer, if he had dared to avow it, which is, that his
co-religionists, in his time, had not ceased to expect their master
momentarily to appear; and, of course, it little mattered what
became of the emperor, or the empire. This notion was the
principal engine for making proselytes; and it was by this
expectation that many were frightened into baptism.
That Christianity was considered incompatible with the military
profession, is evident from many passages of the fathers. And one
of them, I believe, Tertullian, ventures to insinuate to the
Christians in the legions, the expediency of deserting, to rid
themselves of their carnal employment. Nay, to such a height did
this spirit prevail, that it never stopped till it taught the Roman
youth in Italy the expedient of cutting off the thumbs of their right
hands in order to avoid the conscription, and that they might be
allowed to count their beads at home in quiet.
If we examine, in detail, the precepts of this religion, as they affect
nations, we shall see, that it interdicts every thing which can make
a nation flourishing. We have seen already the notion of
imperfection which Christianity attaches to marriage, and the
esteem and preference it holds out to celibacy. These ideas
certainly do not favour population, which is, without contradiction,
the first source of power to every state.
Commerce is not less obnoxious to the principles of a religion
whose founder is represented as denouncing an anathema against
the rich, and as excluding them from the kingdom of heaven. All
industry is equally interdicted to perfect Christians, who are to
spend their lives as strangers, and pilgrims upon earth, and who
are not to take care of the morrow.
Chrysostom says, that a merchant cannot please God, and that
such a one ought to be chased out of the church.
No Christian, also, without being inconsistent, can serve in the
army. For a man, who is never sure of being in a state of grace, is
the most extravagant of men, if, by the hazard of battle, he exposes
himself to eternal perdition. And a Christian who ought to love his
enemies, is he not guilty of the greatest of crimes, when he inflicts
death upon a hostile soldier, of whose disposition he knows
nothing: and whom he may, at a single stroke, precipitate into hell?
A Christian soldier is a monster! a non-descript! and Lactantius
affirms, that a Christian cannot be either a soldier, or an accuser
to a criminal cause. And, at this day, the Quakers, and
Mennonites refuse to carry arms, and, in so doing, they are
consistent Christians.
Christianity declares war against the sciences; they are regarded as
an obstacle to salvation. Science puffeth up. says Paul. And the
fathers of the church, St. Gregory, St. Ambrose, and St. Augustine
denounce vehemently astronomy, and geometry. And Jerome
declares, that he was whipped by an angel only for reading that
Pagan Cicero.
It has been often remarked, that the most enlightened men are
commonly bad Christians. For independent of its effects on faith,
which science is exceedingly apt to subvert, it diverts the Christian
from the work of his salvation, which is the only thing needful. In
a word, the peculiar principles of Christianity literally obeyed,
would entirely subvert from its foundations every political society
now existing. If this assertion is doubted, let the doubter read the
works of the early Fathers, and he will see that their morality is
totally incompatible with the preservation and prosperity of a state.
He will see according to Lactantius, and others, that no Christian
can lawfully be a soldier. That according to Justin, no Christian
can be a magistrate. That according to Chrysostom, no Christian
ought to be a merchant And that according to several, no
Christian ought t study. In fine, joining these maxims together
with those of the New Testament, it will follow, that a Christian,
who as he is commanded, aims at perfection, is a useless member
of the community, useless to his family, and to all around him. He
is an idle dreamer, who thinks of nothing but futurity; who has
nothing in common with the interests of the world, and according
to Tertullian has no other business but to get out of it as quietly as
possible.
Let us hearken to Esebius of Caesarea, and we shall abundantly
discover the truth of what has been said.
The manner of life, (says he,) of the Christian church, surpasses
our present nature, and the common life of men. It seeks neither
marriage, nor children, nor riches. In fine, it is entirely a stranger
to human modes of living. It is entirely absorbed in an insatiable
love of heavenly things. Those who follow this course of life, have
only their bodies upon earth, their whole souls are in heaven, and
they already dwell among pure and celestial intelligences, and they
despise the manner of life of other men Demonstrat. Evang. vol.
ii. p.29.
Indeed a man firmly persuaded of the truth of; Christianity cannot
attach himself to any thing here below. Every thing here is an
occasion of stumbling, a rock of offence. Every thing here, diverts
him from thinking of his salvation. If Christians in general,
happily, for society, were not inconsistent, and did not neglect the
peculiar precepts of their religion, no large society of them could
exist; and the nations enlightened by the gospel would turn
hermits, and nuns. All business, but fasting and prayer, would be at
an end. There would be nothing but groaning in this vale of
tears; and they would make themselves, and others, as miserable
as possible, from the best of motives, viz; the desire to fulfill what
they mistakenly conceived to be the will of God.
Is this a picture taken from the life, or is it a fanciful representation
of something different from the peculiar morality of the New
Testament? This serious question demands a serious answer. If it
be such as it is represented above and such it really appears to me,
and such I have unfortunately experienced its operation to be on
my own mind--I would respectfully ask--can such a religion,
whose peculiar principles tend to render men hateful, and hating
one another: which has often rendered sovereigns, persecutors, and
subjects, either rebels, or slaves: a religion, whose peculiar moral
principles and maxims, teach the mind to grovel, and humble, and
break down the energies of man; and which divert him from
thinking of his true interests, and the true happiness of himself and
his fellow men. Can such a religion, I would respectfully ask, be
from God, since where fully obeyed, it would prove utterly
destructive to society?