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To "A Native of Germany."
There would have been less occasion to offer myself again to your notice, if the
language I used in my late very imperfect essay had not been misconceived. The limits I
had prescribed myself did not allow me sufficient room to express my meaning with all the
clearness I could have desired; and I am therefore under the necessity of explaining my
views more fully. Before I do this, however, permit me, my dear friend, (and I reciprocate
the term with the utmost cordiality,) to express the gratification I feel that you were so
well pleased with the spirit of my remarks. In return, I beg leave to offer my
acknowledgements for the courtesy and kindness you have shown in replying to me. I am
happy in having so generous and temperate an opponent. Indeed it was the presence of those
estimable qualities in your vindication of the Jews from opprobrious and unmanly attacks,
and not any predilection for controversy, that made me consent to claim your attention at
all. I wish you every success in your attempts to allay the prejudice that exists against
your nation; and I trust your appeal to the liberality of an enlightened people will not
be in vain, so far, at least, as it may be enforced by the virtue and integrity of your
lives. To this test I doubt not you will be perfectly willing to submit yourselves.
In the application I intended to make of the passage from Matthew, chap. v. v.43,
"Ye have heard it said, thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy," you
have entirely misapprehended my object; and I am the more grieved at it, as you have
manifested so much generous sensibility on the occasion. I cheerfully acknowledge that, if
war is admissible, the provisions of your law tended very much to mitigate its rigors,
considering the principles on which it was waged by contemporary nations. When I quoted
the precept — "But I say unto you, love your enemies," I did it for the
purpose of showing, that not only war and every species of violence, but every thing like hatred,
is opposed to the benign spirit of the gospel. To say the least, you cannot deny that war
was tolerated under certain circumstances by the Mosaic law — indeed, you have
defended it to a particular extent. But the gospel injunction, if I understand it, strikes
at the very root of all discord and dissention, by inculcating brotherly love and peace;
for if the passions and feelings which lead to strife are subdued, all contention must
cease to exist (a). And in this view, the injunction is in perfect harmony with the
angelic anthem chanted on the birth of Christ: "Glory to God in the highest, on earth
peace, good will towards men." In these few words the character and object of his
mission are beautifully declared; and the whole course of his ministry, the whole tenor of
his spotless life, go conclusively to show that it was for the attainment of this end that
he labored and that he died. Our religion in its purity is emphatically a religion of
charity and peace. This feature so strikingly pervades the whole series of the writings of
the New Testament, that I believe (b) nothing can be found in them which will bear
an opposite construction, when taken in connection with the whole. "My kingdom is not
of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight." John
xviii. 36. This language was uttered at a time when Christians must all believe that it
was in the power of Jesus to call down assistance even from heaven, to
(c) protect
himself from the violence of man. We can imagine no situation when the desire to avail
ourselves of relief can be greater, than when we are in the act of being dragged to a
cruel and ignominious death. And the apostle James asks, "Whence came wars and
fighting among you? Come they not hence, even from the lusts that war in your
members:" iv. 1. Now, my dear friend, though you say the Mosaic law is a
superstructure of perfect symmetry, in which there is not the least disproportion,
"nothing too much, and nothing too little," — you must either prove the
advantages of a state of war, however modified, in favor of the happiness of mankind,
(d)
over the contrary state of peace and good will, to enable you to establish the superiority
of that law, — or you must acknowledge its inferiority to the gospel. And I will
endeavor to deprive you, from your own showing, of any argument you might advance in
support of a justifiable resort to war. You say that the Jews considered peace as the
greatest blessing, and that this doctrine was taught by the Mosaic law, inasmuch as God
promised peace as a reward for their obedience to the divine will. You moreover state
that, whenever the Jews were doing the will of heaven, they lived in perfect security; but
when they were disobedient, God sent the surrounding nations to oppress them. Now, if
peace is a blessing, and obedience to the divine will is a sure means of meriting and
enjoying tranquility, my position is established, that war is not only no part of the
divine economy in the government of mankind, but that it is in every aspect offensive in
the sight of heaven. Is it not, moreover, a rational conclusion, that when the children of
Israel had been guilty of a defection from the law of God, so as to call down his
displeasure upon them, he would, even if they had not resisted the scourge sent to
chastise them, have interposed his powerful arm in favor of his chosen people, as soon as
their transgressions had been atoned for by suffering or repentance?
(e)
I am sensible, my friend, and I shall not affect to conceal it, that you may retort
with far more severity than you have indulged, and demand, in a voice of thunder, if
universal love be to strongly inculcated by the gospel, why do not its followers practice
it? It can only be accounted for on the supposition that they had fallen short of a
complete and unreserved submission to the will of God. And wherever this disobedience
exists, in every age and nation, the result is invariably the same, namely, aggression,
insult, and injury, and a consequent substraction from the sum of human enjoyment. Jews
and Christians have alike been guilty of a departure from the spirit of the religion they
have respectively professed; and if a comparison were instituted, it would be found that
there is hardly any thing in the Jewish wars, down to the destruction of the holy city, to
which a parallel might not be furnished in the butcheries which have been practiced at
various times by the nations of Christendom. If Christ had commanded his followers to
hate, not only their enemies, (for that, comparatively speaking, would have been mercy, if
they had proceeded no farther,) but all mankind, and one another, they could scarcely in
some instances have resigned themselves more completely to his will. Not only can the
golden regions of Mexico and Peru attest the tender mercies of Christian warfare, but
history records many a bloody conflict waged by one Christian power against another, in
the holy cause of religion; and individuals have been subjected to martyrdom, and
communities to massacre, for the ostensible purpose of promoting the glory of the God of
love! Indeed, a faithful ecclesiastical history would, I fear, embrace one half the crimes
and enormities of Christendom. But though this may be an awful truth, still it does not
impair the intrinsic excellence of the gospel, any more than the iniquities of the Jews
detracted from the purity of the law of Moses. No abuse of any blessing can constitute a
valid objection against the use for which it was designed.
(f)
But you may say all this is a Utopian scheme, incapable of being realized. In reply, my
friend, I would again refer you to the pages of history, where, in "words that
burn," you may discover that it has been triumphantly reduced to practice, under the
auspices of the wise and benevolent Penn, who has been eulogized by the philosophic
Jefferson as one of the greatest lawgivers of any age. One clear
(g) and
incontestable fact cannot be overturned by all the wit and ingenuity of man.
After this exposition of the peaceful character of the gospel, it may not be necessary
for me to notice particularly your evidence to show that the oppressed part of mankind,
namely, the slave, was more humanely provided for by the Mosaic law. If I have succeeded
in convincing you that violence and injustice form no part of the gospel, it must follow
that slavery, which is one of the most odious species of violence, inasmuch as its effect
is to bind the free spirit of man, which should be left as uncontrolled in the exercise of
its legitimate powers as the air we breathe, is at war with the whole genius of the
gospel. If, after all, however, and contrary to my most sanguine expectations, it can be
established that war and slavery are not incompatible with genuine Christianity, I should
then enter upon a vindication of its excellence with extreme diffidence.
In enumerating the duties which the Mosaic law imposes, you divide them into three
classes, namely, our duties to God, to our fellow-men, and to ourselves. That the gospel
imposes solemn duties of the same character, cannot, I presume, be denied by its most
inveterate enemies. Now, admitting the Jewish religion to be founded on the power of God,
which I firmly believe, (though adapted in some of its details to the particular state of
the children of Israel,) I may reasonably ask you to make the same concession in regard to
our religion, in so far as it enjoins the same duties with yours. The same truths cannot
be derived from sources contradictory in their nature. If any great moral duty is founded
on the power of God in one instance, it must be equally so wherever it is known and
acknowledged. If this concession is granted, I presume you will not withhold your assent
to the following propositions: 1. That the object of true religion is to reform the heart,
and cleanse it from all impurity. 2. That consequently no religion of which this is not
the legitimate effect can be of any value. If, therefore, this be, in any degree, the
effect of Christianity, which I have feebly endeavored to show, just so far is it entitled
to respect, and no farther. (h) It is far from my intention, however, to be
understood as confining the exercise of these redeeming virtues to those who profess the
Christian name.
In every important discussion, it is proper that a definite meaning should be attached
to particular terms. This is the more indispensable on the present occasion, as you seem
to have taken a very limited view of the gospel. The New Testament is not the
gospel of Christ, but a written testimony in support of it. "The gospel is the
power of God unto salvation." Romans i. 16. Wherever, therefore, the power of God
is manifested to salvation, there is the gospel known. The apostle Paul says, moreover,
that "it is preached to every creature under heaven." Col. i. 2,3. It follows of
course that the law of Christ cannot be any external written law; and though many of my
fellow-professors believe it to be essentially such, yet there is no evidence in the New
Testament at all conclusive in support of such an opinion. We are never referred to it as
containing in itself any redeeming power; but Christ and his apostles unceasingly
directed the attention of the people to the spirituality of religion. "And I
will pray the Father, and he will give you another comforter, and he shall abide with
you for ever, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it sees him not, neither knows him; but you know him, because he dwells with you and shall
be in you." John xiv. 16,17. (i) This spirit of truth was to teach his
followers all things. v.26. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
because that which is to be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it unto
them." Rom. i. 18,19. And the same apostle goes on to say in the same epistle:
"The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart; that is, the word of
faith which we preach" x.8. "The grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men, teaching us that by denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we
should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world," &c. Titus,
ii. 11,12. "We have also a more sure word of prophecy (than the outward knowledge of
Christ); whereunto ye do well to take heed, as to a light that shines in a dark
place." 2 Peter, i. 19. There are a very few of the passages that might be cited from
the New Testament to prove the entire spirituality of the gospel. And this gospel state is
to clearly foretold by the sacred writers, that it will be unnecessary for me to refer to
more than one or two passages in the Old Testament in evidence of it. "But this shall
be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: after those days, says the
Lord, I will put my law in their hearts, and write it in their inward parts; and they
shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man this brother, saying, Know the
Lord; for they shall all know me from the least of them to the greatest of them."
Heb. 31. 33-34. "And it shall come to pass afterwards, that I will pour out my
spirit on all flesh." Joel. ii. 28. And Moses expressly speaks of this same spiritual
guide and teacher, when in his last and solemn advice to the children of Israel he says:
"This commandment, which I command thee this day, if not hidden from thee;
neither is it far off: but the word is nigh thee, (k)
in thy heart, and in thy
mouth, that thou mayest do it." Deut. 30. 11-14. Those passages are also referred to
by the apostles, in proof of the religion of Jesus Christ. It is in this comprehensive
law, that the beauty, the simplicity, and the efficacy of the Christian religion consist.
It is this word of God "which is quick and powerful, even to the dividing asunder of
soul and spirit," that may be said to be the flaming sword which guards the entrance
into the paradise of God, through which none can pass without having every thing slain
that is opposed to the divine nature.
Such a religion as this cannot be extended nor limited by the notions or opinions of
mankind, concerning outward or temporal circumstances. This view is predicated on the
fact, which is alike obvious both to Jew and gentile, that goodness or righteousness is
the same thing in all; and is the effect of a power which proceeds from the same universal
and blessed fountain; and produces the same fruits in every individual of the human family
who submits himself to its influence. Doubtless it was by this efficient power that Abel
offered an acceptable sacrifice; that Enoch walked with God; that Noah preached and
practiced righteousness; with all the other illustrious examples which are recorded in the
Old and New Testaments. The histories of nations or individuals are religiously available
to the rest of mankind, only because of the development of the principles by which they
were actuated in what they did: and it would be as rational to deny, that the principle of
honesty or piety would make men honest or pious in the present day (and without
distinction as to nation or profession,) as that the sun shines with the same light, and
produces the same effects upon the earth and all its inhabitants now that it did five
thousand years ago. Permit me, my friend, to call your attention to the universality
ascribed to this power in Isaiah, chap. xlix. v.6. "It is a light thing that thou
shouldst be my servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and thus restore the preserved of
Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the gentiles, that thou mayest be my
salvation to the ends of the earth." I believe it is a pretty generally received
opinion, both with Jews and Christians, that those passages which relate to God's saving
power, both in the Old and New Testaments, should be interpreted as referring to a person.
It is true that it is personified; but so is wisdom, so is death, and so is Jerusalem,
and many other things that all men know are not persons. The words of the prophet,
therefore, as I conceive, are only truly and adequately interpreted, when applied to the
universal power and wisdom of God, (l) which indeed did raise up the tribes of
Jacob and restore the preserved of Israel; and has been, is now, and always will be, the
only saving power to the end of the earth. No matter in what person, or in what period of
time it may be manifested, whether in Enoch, or Joseph, or Daniel, or Paul, or Peter; or
in the supremely holy and blessed Jesus [sic!]; it is still the "only thing under
heaven, given among men, by which we can be saved." It is the "fountain of
living waters" streaming through all generations applied to all conditions, and
perpetually performing the same glorious work of cleansing the defilements of the human
mind; and producing a change in all its propensities and faculties: so that in the
beautiful, figurative language of the prophet, "the wilderness" of human nature
is changed into an "Eden," and the "desert" of human thought and
affection "into the garden of the Lord," where "joy and goodness"
spring up in the place of "weeping and wailing;" and "thanksgiving and the
voice of melody" supplant the doleful Chorazins of "mourning and
lamentation." As this great and momentous change is accomplished, the prophecies are
found to be actually fulfilled in the experience of every individual who submits to the
divine government. The mind is then no longer under the necessity of looking outward, or
backward, or to futurity, for the coming or appearance of God's Messiah; but he is found
to be present to rebuke all fierceness and contention: and by the introduction of peace
and love, to cause them to "beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears
into pruning hooks." For every impure, dishonest, proud, or revengeful temper becomes
the object of his judgment; and as the creature submits to his blessed operation, he
changes these dispositions into concord and harmony; so that those which were as ravenous
as the "wolf, the leopard, and the young lion," become as innocent "as the
lamb, the kid, or the fatling, and so gentle that a little child can lead them." And
I appeal to the experience of all, if we have not witnessed the presence of this holy and
heavenly being, conversing in secret, by means of thought and affection, with the heart;
and producing all the righteousness we ever knew, and all the happiness we ever felt. In
the operations of this living reality does the Christian religion consist, according to my
belief, and not in the dogmas of men, nor in their conjectures concerning external
historical events. He who becomes a subject of the government of the spiritual Messiah, is
introduced by him into holiness and purity, whether he call him by one name or another.
For it is the thing that produces the effect; and not the name by which
it is called. All the prophetic declarations of the reign of the Messiah, are
predicated upon such a change in the human mind, as is above referred to; for it is
impossible, in the nature of things, that righteousness should cover the earth as the
waters do the sea, by any other means than the suppression of all unrighteousness. But the
power which is alone able to perform these miracles of love and goodness, must be
omnipresent; and, therefore, as Moses testified, it is not far from us: "it is very
high thee, in thy heart and in thy mouth, that thou mayest do it."
(m)
In conclusion, my friend, though these are my views, I always hope to be able to extend
to others who see through a different medium, that charity which I am well aware I shall
need on account of my own imperfections. You say you are determined never to change your
faith. It is far from my desire to make proselytes, for the name is perhaps no
essential part of Christianity. It is by "doing justly, loving mercy, and walking
humbly;" doing to others as we would they should do us; loving God above all things,
and our neighbor as ourselves; that we fulfill the end for which we were created, at least
during our present state of existence: and whoever does this I hope to regard him as a
brother, let his name be what it may.
A Professor of Christianity
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