and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. And, therefore, methinks this also should be another consideration distinguishing the persons; for, if the persons be Christians in their lives, and Christians in their profession, if they acknowledge the eternal Son of God for their Master and their Lord, and live in all relations as becomes persons making such professions, — why, then, should I hate such persons whom God loves, and who love God; who are partakers of Christ, and Christ hath a title to them; who dwell in Christ, and Christ in them, because their understandings have not been brought up like mine, have not had the same masters ? &c. JEREMY TAYLOR: Epist. Dedic. to the Liberty of Prophesying; in Works, vol. vii. p. ccccii.

There is but one universal church of Christians in the world, of which Christ is the only King and Head, and every Christian is a member.... If thou hast faith and love and the Spirit, thou art certainly a Christian, and a member of Christ and of this universal church of Christians. . . . Thou art not saved for being a member of the church of Rome or Corinth or Ephesus or Philippi or Thessalonica, or of any other church, but for being a member of the universal church or body of Christ; that is, a Christian. RICHARD BAXTER: Christian Directory; in Practical Works, vol. ii. p. 138.

We should be so far from lessening the number of true Christians, and from confining the church of Christ within a narrow compass, so as to exclude out of its communion the far greatest part of the professors of Christianity, that, on the contrary, we should enlarge the kingdom of Christ as much as we can, and extend our charity to all churches and Christians, of what denomination soever, as far as regard to truth and to the foundations of the Christian religion will permit us to believe and hope well of them; and rather be contented to err a little on the favorable and charitable part, than to be mistaken on the censorious and damning side. ARCHBISHOP TILLOTSON: Serm. 31; in Works, vol. ii. p. 266.

Men's different capacities and opportunities and tempers and education considered, it is in vain to expect that all good men should agree in all their notions of religion, any more than we see they do in any other concerns whatsoever. And who am I that I should dare to pronounce a sentence of reprobation against any one in whom there appear all the other characters of an humble, upright, sincere Christian, only because he has not perhaps met with the same information, or read the same books, or does not argue the same way; in a word, because he is not so wise, or, it may be, is wiser than I am, and sees

farther than I do, and therefore is not exactly of my opinion in every thing?... Men's understandings are different, and they will argue different ways, and entertain different opinions from one another, about the same things, and yet may nevertheless deserve on all sides to be esteemed very good and wise men for all that. · ARCHBISHOP WAKE: Sermons and Discourses, pp. 184–5.

It is to be regretted, that, afterwards in the same discourse, this distinguished prelate seems disposed to confine his Christian charity, here so liberally expressed, only to Protestants who are agreed as to the "fundamentals of faith."

I think I have but one objection against your proceedings, — your insisting only on Presbyterian government, exclusive of all other ways of worshipping God. Will not this, dear sir, necessarily lead you, whenever you get the upper hand, to oppose and persecute all that differ from you in their church government, or outward way of worshipping God?... For my own part, though I profess myself a minister of the church of England, I am of a catholic spirit; and, if I see a man who loves the Lord Jesus in sincerity, I am not very solicitous to what outward communion he belongs. GEORGE WHITEFIELD: Letter 150; in Works, vol. i. p. 140.

Persons may be quite right in their opinions, and yet have no religion at all; and, on the other hand, persons may be truly religious, who hold many wrong opinions. Can any one possibly doubt of this, while there are Romanists in the world? For who can deny, not only that many of them formerly have been truly religious (as Thomas à Kempis, Gregory Lopez, and the Marquis de Renty), but that many of them, even at this day, are real, inward Christians? And yet what a heap of erroneous opinions do they hold, delivered by tradition from their fathers! Nay, who can doubt of it while there are Calvinists in the world, — assertors of absolute predestination? For who will dare to affirm, that none of these are truly religious men? Not only many of them in the last century were burning and shining lights, but many of them are now real Christians, loving God and all mankind. And yet what are all the absurd opinions of all the Romanists in the world, compared to that one, that the God of love, the wise, just, merciful Father of the spirits of all flesh, has from all eternity fixed an absolute, unchangeable, irresistible decree, that part of mankind shall be saved, do what they will, and the rest damned, do what they can ? JOHN WESLEY: Sermon 60; in Works, vol. ii. p. 20.

To every truly pious and consistent Christian, literate or illiterate, he [the Author of the "Plea"] would give the right hand of fellowship, and bid him God-speed, in the name of the Lord, wherever he is found. A liberal-minded and benevolent soul, who embraces every human being in the arms of his charity; who rises superior to the superstitious tribe of infallible doctors, the genus irritabile vatum ; who can pierce through the guise of human distinctions, and trace religious excellence among all orders and descriptions of men, he would clasp to his bosom, make him room in his heart, and give him a place in the attic story of his affections. He that worships God most spiritually, and obeys him most universally, believing in the name of his only-begotten Son, is the best man, and most acceptable to the Divine Being, whether he be found in a church, in a Quaker's meeting-house, in a Dissenting place of worship of any other description, or upon the top of a mountain. . . . " In every nation," and among all denominations of men," he that feareth God and worketh righteousness is accepted with him." And, if God will accept, why should not man? — DAVID SIMPSON: Plea for Religion, pp. xxiii. and 97.

I would educate young men in sentiments of the warmest affection and the highest reverence to the established religion of this free and enlightened country. I would at the same time endeavor to convince them, that, in all the various modes of Christian faith, a serious observer may discover some sound principles and many worthy men. I would tell them, that the wise and the good cherish within their own bosom a religion yet more pure and perfect than any formulary of speculation they externally profess; that their agreement upon points of supreme and indisputable moment is greater perhaps than they may themselves suspect; and that upon subjects the evidence of which is doubtful, and the importance of which is secondary, their differences are nominal rather than real, and often deserve to be imputed to the excess of vanity or zeal in the controversialist, more than to any defect of sagacity or integrity in the inquirer. DR. S. PARR: Discourse on Education; in Works, vol. ii. pp. 171-2.

Where, after all the heart-burnings and blood-shedding occasioned by religious wars, where is the true church of Christ but in the hearts of good men; the hearts of merciful believers, who from principle, in obedience to and for the love of Christ, as well as from sympathy, labor for peace; go about doing good; consulting, without local prejudice, the happiness of all men; and, instead of confining their good offices to a small part, endeavor to pour oil into the wounds

of suffering human nature? In the hearts of such men, united in love to God and his creatures, is the church of Christ. - VICESIMUS KNOX : Preface to Antipolemus; in Works, vol. v. p. 418.

If party names must subsist, let us carefully watch against a party spirit; let us direct our chief attention to what constitutes a Christian, and learn to prize most highly those great truths in which all good men are agreed. In a settled persuasion that what is disputed or obscure in the system of Christianity is, in that proportion, of little importance, compared to those fundamental truths which are inscribed on the page of revelation as with a sunbeam; whenever we see a Christian, let us esteem, let us love him; and, though he be weak in faith, receive him, "not to doubtful disputation.” . . . . . . At last the central principle of union [among the genuine disciples of Jesus Christ] begins to be extensively felt and acknowledged. Amid all the diversities of external discipline or subordinate opinion, the seed of God, the principle of spiritual and immortal life implanted in the soul, is recognized by the sincere followers of the Lamb as the transcendent point of mutual attraction in the midst of minor differences. Even Protestants and Catholics, influenced by a kindred piety, can now cordially embrace each other; as in the case of that zealous professor of the Romish church to whom I before referred [Leander Van Ess], who corresponds in terms of cordial affection with the Protestant secretary of the Bible Society for its foreign department. The essential spirit of religion begins to assert its ascendancy over all besides. The most enlightened, the selectest Christians in every denomination are ready to cultivate an intercourse with kindred spirits, with all who hold the same essential principles, in any other. ROBERT HALL: Sermons; in Works,

vol. iii. pp. 180 and 420–1.

Religious sects are not to be judged from the representations of their enemies, but are to be heard for themselves, in the pleadings of their best writers, not in the representations of those whose intemperate zeal is a misfortune to the sect to which they belong. . . . Imitate the forbearance of God, who throws the mantle of his mercy over all, and who will probably save, on the last day, the piously right and the piously wrong, seeking Jesus in humbleness of mind. SYDNEY SMITH: Sermon on Christian Charity; in Works, p. 310.

For the rest, I think as that man of true catholic spirit and apostolic zeal, RICHARD BAXTER, thought; and my readers will thank me for conveying my reflections in his own words, in the following golden passage from his Life: ... "I doubt not that God hath many sanctified

ones among them [the Papists], who have received the true doctrine of Christianity so practically, that their contradictory errors prevail not against them, to hinder their love of God and their salvation; but that their errors are like a conquerable dose of poison, which a healthful nature doth overcome. And I can never believe, that a man may not be saved by that religion which doth but bring him to a true love of God and to a heavenly mind and life, nor that God will ever cast a soul into hell that truly loveth him." S. T. COLERIDGE: Aids to Reflection; in Works, vol. i. p. 240.

Amongst us there is a host of theologians, each wielding his separate authority over the creed and the conscience of his countrymen; and you Catholics have justly reproached us with our manifold and never-ending varieties. But here is a book [the Bible], the influence of which is throwing all these differences into the background, and bringing forward those great and substantial points of agreement which lead us to recognize the man of another creed to be essentially a Christian; and we want to widen this circle of fellowship, that we may be permitted to live in the exercise of one faith and of one charity along with you. DR. THOMAS CHALMERS: Select Works, vol. iv. p. 247.

These are matters particular, but all bearing upon the great philosophical and Christian truth, which seems to me the very truth of truths, that Christian unity and the perfection of Christ's church are independent of theological articles of opinion; consisting in a moral state and moral and religious affections, which have existed in good Christians of all ages and all communions, along with an infinitely varying proportion of truth and error; that thus Christ's church has stood on a rock, and never failed; yet has always been marred with much of intellectual error, and also of practical resulting from the intellectual. . . . . . . I want to get out a series of “ Church-of-England Tracts," which, after establishing again the supreme authority of Scripture and reason against tradition, councils, and fathers, and showing that reason is not rationalism, should then take two lines, the one negative, the other positive; the negative one showing that the pretended unity, which has always been the idol of Judaizers, is worthless, impracticable, and the pursuit of it has split Christ's church into a thousand sects, and will keep it so split for ever: the other position, showing that the true unity is most precious, practicable, and has in fact been never lost; that, at all times and in all countries, there has been a succession of men, enjoying the blessings and showing forth