Critical Notices. The least satisfactory part of the volume before us is that On the applicability of the Principle of Authority to questions of Religion. After pointing out that the state of religion differs from that of science, inasmuch as no trustworthy human authority is generally acknowledged throughout the Christian world, our author proceeds to give the following summary of reasons to account for the differences of opinion which prevail on the former subject: "Various causes have conspired to prevent a general agreement throughout the civilized world respecting the particular doctrines of Christianity. The Christian religion first assumed a dogmatic form in the hands of the later Greeks, who had received from their ancestors the inheritance of a subtle, refined, and abstruse metaphysical philosophy. This instrument of reasoning and exposition they applied to the Christian religion, and particularly to its more mysterious portions; such as the doctrine of the Trinity, the relations of the three Divine persons, and their common essence or substance; the union of the Divine and human natures in the Saviour, and the procession of the Holy Ghost. At a later time, the Christian theology, now reduced to a more systematic form, passed through the hands of the schoolmen, and was treated in the spirit of the scholastic philosophy. Afterwards the Reformation awakened new controversies, or gave increased importance to old ones, concerning the eucharistic sacrament, the communion of the laity in both kinds, and the alleged substantial change and real presence in the consecrated elements; also as to the nature and operation of grace and good works, and the theory of original sin, regeneration, justification, and predestination. These, combined with other questions as to church authority, tradition, general councils, the power of the pope and of national churches, episcopal government, ecclesiastical ceremonies and vestments, monastic vows, ordinations, celibacy of the clergy, auricular confession, purgatory, baptism, individual inspiration, &c., have served to divide Christians into numerous churches and sects, and to keep up continual controversies between their respective advocates, which have never received any final settlement, and, when intermitted, are rather discontinued than decided. "The difficulty of determining the controversies respecting the different questions to which the interpretation of the Christian records has given rise, is, in great measure, owing to the fact that religion, as such, is conversant with matters which are neither the subjects of consciousness or intuition, nor within This is necessarily the case with all questions conthe range of the senses. cerning the nature of the Deity and his attributes; his permanent relations with mankind, and the state of human existence after death. Upon these subjects we have no experience, derived either from internal consciousness or external sensation, to guide us, and, accordingly, not only the abstract reasonings of natural religion, but the interpretation of the records of revealed religion, give rise to questions, for the settlement of which it is difficult to find any decisive rule of judgment. "Owing to the operation of these causes, the various Christian churches and sects into which the civilized world is divided continue to co-exist side by side with one another, and show little or no tendency to coalesce into a common belief, or to recognize a common organ of religious truth.”* There is one cause for the perpetuation of differences of religious opinion omitted in this summary, which we judge to be more powerful than any of those it enumerates. We refer to the imposition of fixed creeds of human device, upon the basis of which Christian churches have been constituted. Though the New Testament contains the only authentic record of Christian truth, it has been systematically put aside by almost all the sects professing Christianity, and the various interests created by those sects have been identified with independent formulas of doctrine, expressive of their distinct peculiarities. Every one must immediately see that if a similar course to this had been adopted with regard to science, the scientific world would have been divided into separate bodies, as little likely "to coalesce into a common belief” as the • Page 70. bodies which divide the Christian world. Why this great barrier to the existence of such a unity as Christianity is professedly designed to effect, was not mentioned, it is not for us to conjecture. One of the qualifications expressly mentioned by Mr. Lewis as necessary "to render a person a competent authority in matters of opinion," is, that "he ought to be exempt, as far as possible, from personal interest in the matter:"* and he thus strongly insists upon the injurious consequences of not possessing this qualification: "The operation of a personal interest, bearing closely and directly upon the question, generally causes a man, unless he be remarkably honest or perspicacious, insensibly to adopt prejudices, or partial and unexamined opinions. The dislike of listening to unpalatable truths, induces him to shut his ears against evidence and arguments opposed to the views which he considers favourable to his own interest; while, on the other hand, the desire of hearing evidence of a different character, leads him to read only the books, and to frequent only the company of persons, where opinions, in accordance with his interest are likely to be expressed. The operation of a personal interest in perverting the judgment is so insidious, that great honesty, combined with perpetual vigilance, is necessary in order to guard against its influence. Men utterly incapable of telling a deliberate untruth, or deliberately expressing an insincere opinion, are nevertheless liable to be warped by personal interest in the deliberate formation of opinions. When a strong bias of this sort exists, their minds, ready to receive every tittle of evidence on one side of a question, are utterly impervious to arguments on the other. Hence we see opinions founded on a belief (and often a radically erroneous belief) of self-interest pervade whole classes of persons. Frequently, the great majority of a profession, or trade, or other body, adopt some opinion in which they have, or think they have, a common interest, and urge it with almost unanimous vehemence against the public advantage."+ Such sentiments as these ought certainly to have been brought to bear upon the religious case to which they so fitly apply that case being actually mooted -but we the less wonder that this was not done, when we find it quietly assumed, that "the doctrine of the Trinity, the relations of the three Divine persons, and their common essence or substance, the union of the Divine and human natures in the Saviour, and the procession of the Holy Ghost," are portions of the Christian religion as it was originally delivered. The assumption proves that our author is dealing all along with nothing better than a second-hand Christianity. We next meet with a statement of the desirableness of there being, if possible, some competent church authority, by submitting to which the trouble and pain of forming a personal judgment on the subject of Christian Truth might be saved. "It has always been perceived and admitted that diversity of opinion, in religious as well as in scientific matters, is necessarily a mark of error, and that, of several conflicting or discordant opinions, one only can be true. It has, therefore, been the great aim of writers on theology, to whatever sect or denomination they might belong, to discover one standard or canon of religious truth, which should be universally applicable to the Christian world, should serve as a decisive authority in matters of faith, and thus give unity to the church. All Christians, whatever might be their creed, would be glad to find any living person, or body of persons, whom they could conscientiously recognize as an infallible organ and exponent of religious truth. The general feeling on this subject is bluntly expressed by Dryden in his Religio Laici,— Such an omniscient church we wish indeed; 'Twere worth both Testaments, cast in the creed."‡ Now these lines of Dryden, and the sentiment they are brought forward to support, are not at all to our taste. Christianity itself, in its free application to the individual reason and conscience of man, is calculated to produce a truer and nobler religious agreement than could be produced by such an * Page 27. † Page 36. + Page 75. Critical Notices. agency as "an omniscient church." The whole question, as it appears to us, Mr. Lewis goes on to shew that none of the attempts which have been made to bring about an agreement of Christian belief were likely to be successful. He examines the different claims to authority in matters of opinion which the Church has made, and decides that they are all invalid, whether relating to universality, infallibility, tradition, fundamental truth, or the interpretation of Scripture. This examination is ably conducted; but the conclusion to which it is brought is a somewhat pitiful one. We give it as it stands. "On reviewing what has been said above on the state of religious opinion in Christendom and the claim to authority possessed by any one of its churches or sections, we are led to the following conclusions : "1. That no agreement as to the distinctive or characteristic doctrines of the several Christian sects exists among the theologians of Christendom, and consequently that no church or denomination of Christians can claim assent to its tenets, and by its legitimate authority command the belief of a conscientious inquirer, on the grounds on which a reasonable deference may be paid to authority in secular matters. "2. That although there is no agreement as to the peculiar doctrines of any Christian church, there is an agreement among all civilized nations in accepting some form of Christianity, and in recognizing the Christian revelation according to some construction of its effect and intent. "The practical deduction from these results seems to be, that the mere authority of any church or sect cannot of itself reasonably command assent to its distinctive and peculiar tenets, while the present divisions of Christendom continue, and that a person born in a Christian country can only with propriety adopt one of two alternatives, viz., either to adhere to the faith of his parents and predecessors, and that of the church in which he has been educated, or, if he is unwilling to abide by this creed, to form his own judgment as to the choice of his sect by means of the best independent investigation which his understanding and opportunities for study enable him to make.' It must be perfectly evident to the man who penned these sentences, that the "practical deduction" they express is neither more nor less than a dismissal, without decision, of the question on which he touches. To say that a man may, with propriety, either adhere to his present sect or choose another, is to say nothing to the point. We should have preferred that, under these circumstances, nothing had been pretended to be said. The only "practical deduction" which can be legitimately drawn from this mode of treating the case, is in favour of religious indifference; and such indifference does not derive any attraction, in our eyes, from the air of philosophical judgment which We beg to assure Mr. Lewis that his conclusion it is thus made to assume. is not, as he asserts, "in the main, identical with the result at which Jeremy Taylor arrives, in his Liberty of Prophesying." Taylor meant far more than this by the "mutual toleration and private liberty of persuasion" mentioned in the passage quoted by our author. Such toleration and persuasion may lead a man neither "to adhere to the faith of his parents and predecessors, and that of the church in which he has been educated," nor to make choice of any * Page 103. other "sect;" and we humbly submit that the personal independence thus cultivated presents a third alternative, the adoption of which may involve a much higher "propriety" than can be pleaded for either of the courses here exclusively recommended. The following quotations from Taylor's Liberty of Prophesying contrast strangely with the two alternatives which the authority of that book is brought forward to support. "He that resolves not to consider, resolves not to be careful whether he have truth or no, and therefore hath an affection indifferent to truth or falsehood, which is all one as if he did choose amiss." "God will have no man pressed with another's inconveniences in matters spiritual and intellectual, no man's salvation to depend upon another, and every tooth that eats sour grapes shall be set on edge for itself and for none else."+ Taylor's general doctrine on this subject is thus beautifully stated by him at the commencement of his work: "A holy life will make our belief holy, if we consult not humanity and its imperfections in the choice of our religion, but search for truth without designs, save only of acquiring heaven, and then be as careful to preserve charity, as we were to get a point of faith. I am much persuaded we should find out more truths by this means; or, however, (which is the main of all,) we shall be secured though we miss them; and then we are well enough." We could have wished to extend these remarks by noticing Mr. Lewis's views on the relation between Religion and the State; but time and space forbid. We therefore conclude by simply saying, that though we are compelled to differ from some of its positions, we can sincerely recommend this book, as one which will repay a careful perusal. The Almanacs, &c., for 1850. г. FREE-TRADE in Almanacs, consequent on the abolition of the old unproductive eighteenpenny stamp-duty, works well for the public. Many of these publications will keep their place on the shelves of our libraries as reliable statistical documents. The British Almanac and Companion, the pioneer in Almanac reform, still keeps its place-far ahead of all its rivals. The Companion is more than usually valuable and interesting. The article on Public Libraries gives an excellent resumé of the report of the Committee which, under the guidance of Mr. Ewart, devoted much time to this subject during the last session of Parliament. A passage towards the conclusion contains a useful suggestion: Employers in America and in many towns in the North of England have begun, at their own cost, to erect libraries in their mills and workshops for the free use of their hands. They find their own profit and moral advantage in it-in the improved and improving character of their work-people. Others have adopted the plan of appropriating all fines levied on the workers for inattention, late hours or bad work, to the purchase of books for their daily use. There is a double advantage in this course. Formerly, these fines went week by week into the pocket of the master; and the man who had a fraction of his scanty earnings thus arrested, would seldom admit that the fine was justly inflicted-he would seldom fail to attribute it to his employer's wish to rob him of his hard-earned cash, and to load with curses those who grind the faces of the poor. Under the new system, he sees that his superior has no personal interest in inflicting such fines-that in fact they are inflicted only as a means of discipline, and out of his very faults good is made to come both to himself and to others of his class." There are valuable articles on several sanitary topics. Under the head of "Public Improvements,” we learn that under the "Church Commission" there * Liberty of Prophesying, Sect. 10. Ibid. Introduction. +Ibid. Sect. 10. have been erected altogether 449 churches, capable of holding 483,273 persons, and containing 281,076 free seats. The churches erected under their authority are said, latterly at least, not to be remarkable as buildings. The Hope-Street Church at Liverpool, erected for Mr. Martineau, is described as 66 a remarkable structure, in which some of the most elaborate features of our early ecclesiastical architecture are re-produced." Altogether, this church approximates very closely to the most beautiful models of the Pointed style; and, opposed as it is to the common notions of the utilitarian character of the body by whom it has been erected, is a vindication of the universality and permanence of the ancient architectural manifestations of beauty and holiness."The Protestant Dissenters' Almanac gives us 64 close and well-printed pages for one-sixth of the cost of the old almanac stamp. Its object is to promote fargoing views on all questions which interest Nonconformists. It ignores every thing relating to our body, not even naming our congregations, institutions or periodicals. This is a paltry evasion. If "orthodox" Dissenters are prepared to take away the Christian name from us, they cannot deprive us of that of Protestant Dissenters. It is stated in the Address, that during the last session of Parliament a clause was stealthily inserted in an Act of Parliament for increasing the powers of overseers of the poor and surveyors of highways, by which persons neglecting to obey a magistrate's order for the payment of Church-rates, are liable to three months' imprisonment. For his own sake and that of his Government, Lord John Russell will, we feel assured, not merely ask Parliament to repeal this offensive clause, but explain to the country through what agency it was foisted into the Bill.-There is also a Dissenters' Penny Almanac, of 32 octavo pages.-The British and Irish Unitarian Almanac, at twelve times the price of the last-named, contains 56 pages, of which but a very small part is original. It is evident that an almanac adapted exclusively to the use of a small religious body like our own, cannot be offered on very low terms. We are not sure that our denominational statistics afford sufficient materials for an annual publication of this kind. But even what there is, is made little use of by the unknown compiler of this almanac. Instead of full abstracts of the proceedings of our several societies, we have a skeleton list of their names. Under the Calendar of January and February, we have advertisements of " Alpaca Umbrellas," &c. Turning over the page to March and April, we have passages from Mr. Martineau and Mr. Kentish. Under the head of "Important Events" are some curiosities. Amongst them, Nov. 5 is set down as important by the death of Dr. James Forster (Foster). The Gunpowder Plot seems to have been forgotten; and the landing of William III. at Torbay is ignorantly set down under the 4th. William was born and married on Nov. 4, and wished to land on the same day; but Burnet expressly states that the landing took place on the "Gunpowder-treason day." The list of Unitarian congregations as given in this almanac, is not as correct as such a document should be. Chowbent is not "vacant," although the minister, Rev. A. Macdonald, has intimated his intention to resign. At Cradley, the Rev. William Bowen has resigned. At Dorchester, Mr. Bishop's lay services are no longer in request, the minister being Rev. T. Cooper. Lynn, marked "vacant," is supplied by Mr. Lunn. Rev. J. C. Woods has resigned Devonport and accepted Northampton. Rev. S. F. Macdonald, our worthy correspondent, is set down under Ashwick in Somersetshire, and Diss in Norfolk: he is, of course, minister only of the latter. Doblane is not vacant, but has been long filled up by Mr. Hibbert. The same place is also set down as "Failsworth." At Flagg, the resident minister is not Mr. Shenton, but Mr. Sutherland. Lewes, if still "vacant," is to be immediately filled by Rev. W. Smith, formerly of Stockport. Lympstone pulpit is, we believe, filled by the recent minister of Southampton, Mr. Barmby. Rev. W. Wilson resigned Newbury months ago, and the pulpit is at present occupied by Rev. T. F. Smith, late of Aberdeen. At Padiham, two names are marked as the ministers, Mr. Pollard and Mr. Robinson, of whom obituaries |