• tes, girtlan John.AW% r ir 18 july67 - i" New Series, Vol. IV, No. 20. anttrinit THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1867 EFFECTS OF OVER-CIVILIZATION ON THE OLOGY AND MORALS. 4 , There is a shape which Theology is extensively assuming in this age, originating in the feeling of kindness, compassion, charity. . . . In some respects it grows out of progress in civilization and refinement and cannot be rebuked without the suspicion of a de - sire to go back into the days of barbarism."—Albert Barnes. , . Many indications are abroad, in theology, in politics, in social morals of the debilitating effects of a civilization pushed too far, at least in some departments of human activity. The refinements of modern culture, if not un friendly to the manly and robust traits of character, yet seem to cast into the back ground that deep foundation of order, the sentiment of justice. Men are so engaged with the external and lighter aspects of things, that they forget the rock-ribbed frame of the world beneath their feet, or (lease to feel an interest in its nature and existence. In departing' from the barbarity of the Middle Ages, with its Inquisition and its Auto da fes, we are rushing to an extreme of charity exhibited in the greatest possible amelioration of the sufferings and discom forts of criminals. As far as practicable, the very idea of justice is abstracted from punishment; the mere protection of the community from loss or damage, or at most, the reforniation of .the offender is proposed as the chief, and, in fact, only end of pun ishment. It becomes altogether a mere matter of expediency how much the crimi nal is punished, or, indeed, whether he be punished at all. No high and awful duty is owed by the government to a Divine prin ciple. It is a mere matter of calculation; and if no clear ends - of utility are gained, punishment for a principle—to " satisfy jus tien," is vlAwed ,a,s,doWrirtgittAAT-trzsity,-. Many times have We had occasion to.re mark the extraordinary obstacles experi enced in the attempt—we will not say to punish rebellion, but suitably to indicate, in the policy of the nation, the moral difference between loyalty and rebellion, between pa triotism and treason. The most persistent opposition is made, even on the part of many truly loyal persons, to any measures of re construction involving the least punitive element. This was clearly illustrated in the transactions out of which grew the Re construction Bill of the Thirty-ninth Con gress, too familiar to our readers to need ex tended rehearsal. The two Houses agreed on all the main features of the plan, except the penal provision of rebel disfranchise ment which formed part of the bill, as ori ginally introduced into the lower House. Leading Republican Senators resisted this feature of the enactment, and framed a plan which would have given almost every rebel in the South the right to take equal part with the loyal people, in restoring civil goy; ornment in their section. When the Senate amendments came back to the House, it was doubtful whether there were enoughstrenu ous Republicans in that body to carry its own measure of rebel' disfranchisement. It was not merely Raymond, but such Men as Dodge, Thayer, Bingham, t.nd a score of others like them, who joined the Democrats in a vain effort to defeat Mr. Shellabarger's amendment, which saved the penalcharacter , of the Bill; and when the amendment came before the Senate again, even Henry Wilson objected to the disfranchising clause and gave his vote for the amended bill " with regret." • Passing now to the domain of Theology, we see the working of what seems to us the same spirit, in the attempts made to elimi nate all penal elements from the philosophy of the Atonement, and to limit the effects of that transaction solely to the moral nature of man. The death of Christ, according to such men as Bushnell and Dr. John Young, is not a Sacrifice, a Ransom, a Propitiation Especially, in these theories; it is argued that the death of Christ on the cross is quite unnecessary to the perfection of his work. Dr. Bushnell says, the moral. tragedy of th e tit garden is supplemented by that of the cross; as if the cross were a secondary matter, in stead of the central figure of Christianity. Dr. Young, in his book on the same subject, The Life and Light of Men," gives greater prominence to the cross as producing an ef fect upon the minds of men to subdue and grtsbictfriait. to attract theM, but denies to it any expia tory power. Such 'expiation is,in the view of these men, unnecessary. There is no de mand for it, in the nature of things, or in God'S moral governmpnt. The grand idea of justice, which blazeslike a star;iipon the very forehead of .all the orthodoX views of the Atonement, is hidden, nay, blotted out in these theories. Their resemblance to those theories of human punishment which are aimed solely at the reformation of the offender; is too plain to need pointing out. Before Christ comes, there is no obstacle in the . way of the forgiveness of the sinner, but such as exists in the sinner's own heart and character. The very idea of moral govern- ment, in any true sense of the term, is ab sent from the" mind Of such speculator's. It is distasteful to them. "There is, then, no such' thing in God," says. Dr. Bushnell, '" or in any other being, as a kind of justice which goes by the law of desert, and ceases to 'be justice when not exactly matched by suffer ing " "It is another misconception, "he says again, "that we assUme . the essential priority' of law and justice asrelated to Mer cy." Says Dr. Young: "Always God is more and better than merely just, and acts on the ground of pure mercy. . . . There is no such attribute [as rectilineal justice] with God." The appearance ofsuch treatises as these of Drs. Bushnell and Young, with similar phe nomena in many other theological and moral treatises, must be regarded as a symp tom of the dithinished power of the senti ment of justice in the minds of this class of thinkers. They reluctate• from an exhibi tion of the character of God, at least in his relations to the atonement, in which a su preme place:is given to justice. Mr. Barnes, in his " Thoughts on Theology," published thirteen years ago, anticipated this class of speculations, in the remark which we have put at the head of this article. " There is a shape 'which: , Theology is extensively as suming irthis - affe, originating in the feel ing of of niphision, kindness, and charity. . . In some - respects it grows out of progress . in eivilizaticin and refinement, and cannot be rebuked without the suspicion of a desire: to go back into the days of barbarism."--i -(Essays and Reviews, 1., 331.) " Whatever else God may be," says'an-, other recent essayist, "he must be jnst:. rt is not optional with him to exercise this at tribute or not to exercise it. . . . We can say, God may be merciful or not, as . he pleases,' but we cannot say, God .maybe just or not, as he pleases:" We do not won der that Dr. Young is not altogether satis fied with , the essay of Dr. Shedd, from which this extract. is taken. [See Life and Light of Men; p. 116. note.] Finally, we may class with these pheno mena, the infrequency with which the doc trine of Eternal Punishment..is preached and the subdued manner in which it is treated, as 'compared with the representa tions of earlier times. In art, as well as in preaching, the difference .is marked. No. great painter now thinks of taking " The Last Judgment" as a subject for his pencil, and no decorator of a Christian temple would be likely to order it. And as to the holding and maintaining of the doctrine of eternal .punishment, while there is no evi dence to show that its avowed opponents are gaining numerically upon those who hold orthodox views, or that the doctrine is losing its hold on the p.opular conscience, we think it is much less frequently made a set topic of preaching, and is put in the back ground as a matter of allusion and inference, when referred to all Such a sermon as that of Jonathan Edwards, on "The Sinner in the Hands of an angry God," is as much out of the ordinary vein, and we may add capacity, of modern sermonizing, as Michael Angelo's "Last Judgment" is beyond the taste and capacity of modern painters. There seems to be no spontaneous impulse towards the subject, as there is towards the thousand and one social, moral and political subjects, with which Christianity has become associ ated in modern times. There is, in fact, a tenderness or delicacy of feeling, which makes men shrink from treating with un due frequency, or in an uncompromising way, a doctrine which nevertheless they cannot but entertain, as a most evident part of Divine Revelation. On the whole, we arc inclined to class all these and similar phenomena, as results of that refinement of the sensibilities which Christian civilization itself must bring with it, but to which there is liability of excess PHILADELPHIA, THURSDAY, MAY ,16,.1867. or of perversion: . ' 'Refinement and delicacy of feelingi are Among the Most - 61dable' dis tinctions of a Civilized state; VA; few Calanii ties can be'So terrible as to hhve strength and princlple and ' conscience refined and t polished quite away from ' e's life and character. No policy can 13 '' more truly cruel, than that which is 'toll' tender and merciful adequately to philfsh 'criminals. Nothing is more akin to crim.4., Or more cer tain to breed crime, thhn a whiit of a quick appreciation of crime in its enormity and ill desert. ' ' ' ' And we! to the' preacher o ''the 'Gospel ' who allows his creed to be enf bled ; arid'hiS message to be deprived of str gth and rn e ct phasis and autherity, by conSc dus or iineori scions conformity to' the stun ot idis 'of what we may :term' the' over-civilized 'age in which he lives.' 'lie; may :byno inencts ignore the real advances of the.age in evizry kindly ele ment. •It would be unpardonable in him to go, back to the rude and coarie, exhibitions of an era which kneW less of the refining in fluences of true Christianity than this. The arrows of truth which he shbots may, in deed, be more polished and shakly, but only', a' false. and cruel tenderness' will shrink' from planting them sharp in the . heart of the Kinc o e's enemies. The release cif 'Jefferson Dittis. on bail, since.the alioire was in type, iit' a commen tary and corroboration of the Ibading points of this article. . . ' Wo take pleasure in laying before our readers a cut representing the Brick Church, Rochester, in which the sessions of the General Assembly, commencing this day, are held. It was built in 1860 ; and is of ample proportions, being one of the most commodious and well-devised edifices for Christian worship in the land. It is seventy six by one hundred and fifty-eight feet, part of th% great length being, in fact, the front of the building arranged for lecture room, Sunday-school room, and other apartments, and - communicating directly with the main building. The audience room is seventy-three by eighty-eight feet, with galleriee, and will comfortably seat 1250. Two thousand: can We reprint our two question's to the Pres byterian of this city, as yet unanswered, for two reasons; _first, lest our cotemporary should by accident have overlooked them in our issue of . April 25;•and secondly, because if the failure. is an intentional one, we think it should be known what sort of questions they are, which it refuses to answer. • And we fear the failure is intentional, from the fact that the last number of The Presbyterian bears evidence of pretty close attention to other recent articles of ours on the same general subject. Here are the questions: I. Does The Presbyterian subscribe to the language of the answer to the 16th Question of the Shorter Catechism: "Sinned in hiM and fell with him," taken in its literal im port ? 11. Does The Presbyterian believe that sub scription to the doctrine of a limited atone ment is necessary to good standing in the Presbyterian Church; or, in other words, does it regard the• belief that Christ died for all, one of the. New School peculiarities which must be ruled out of the reunited Church? Rev. John Hall, D. D , of the Irish Depu tation, •arrived at New York, on Monday, May 13. BRICK Cline THE PRESBYTERIAN. 'CEDAR (SotriTO'ST.=The Pa3tor, under date of Map 7 th. says : "Last week I had; the pleasure of receiving into the-communion of our church thirty-five (35) p'erSons. Men and; women of ripe years stood -beside children and youth to con fesS Christ. From two families a tirother and sister =stood together, and from another tatiliatera were-glad to ftnd they sympathized in their new found joys and hopes. 'Another family Sent•the only one of their number, tvho, till then, had , re fused 'Christ, and the *hole fam'ily were thus per mitted tOsit tcog . ethei at the Lord's Table. Two families, Who before were all of the world, were divided;•by two from 'each standing up for Jesus, and we hope the divisinn 'will :b'e healed by their leading the test • to the • cross. The parents of two that we welcomed, when Y asked their cow sent'to theii becoming members of church, told me they had • noe been in. a 'place of worship for fifteen yeara;hut ever since, they have been con , stant attendants upon our * Sabbath and week night , services, and are new seeking the truth."' TABOR CHURCH.-At the communion season last Sabbath, twenty-six persons were received, all but three on profession. The work of a, build- ing _ parsonage, on the lot adjoining the church, is rapidly proceeding, the people having formed themselves alniOst en mane, into a mite society, for the purpose of equalizing the burden and meeting the expense, if possible, entirely among themselves. The membership is now over four hundred; Rev. George Van Deurs Pastor. ROCHESTER, be accommodated and often have been when aisles and areas are filled. The chapel or end building, is forty-four by one hundred feet; eight hundred scholars can be accom modated in the school room, and the lecture room, forty-four by fifty-six feet, will hold four hundred. The present structure is in place of one erected in 1826, fifty by seven ty-two feet. The name "Brick Church" ap pears to have been used first in 1834. Rev. Dr. Shaw, who is the fourth pastor, was in stalled Sanuary Ist, 1841. This church has had a most prosperous history, and has steadily grown from its organization in 1825, with tweuty-fiVe members, to number nearly 1100, being one of the four largest Presby terian churches in the country. THE REUNION COMMITTEES. The Joint Committee on Union resumed its sittings in New York city, week before last. The members, feeling the profetind im portance of their mission, resolved to lay aside at once all thoughts of haste, and they . devoted nearly a week to the deliberate consideration of the subject before them. Every, aspect of the subject was thoroughly and frankly discussed, both in the suarate - committees, in joint meeting, throne/a sub committee, and •in joint committee again. They finally agreed upon a report, covering the entire ground of possible differences be tween the two bodies, as they presented themselves to the Committee. The report will be laid before both Assemblies ; and in the near approach of the meeting, it is re garded inexpedient to make it:public. It is, however, proper to • say that hohtisty action is counselled; it is proposed that a year be given for full discussion before any formal action is initiated, and the COmmittee re commend that the . vote of three-fourths of the Presbyteries in bothbodies be made ne cessary for ratification, whenever the sense of the Church is taken. The members of the Committee express themselves mutually gratified by the truly Genesee Evangelist, No. 1095. Christian , spirit of frankness, brotherly re gard and humble and prayerful dependence on God, which marked the entire proceed ings, and declare themselves rewarded for all their pains-, if nothing beyond the establish ment of finch happy relations -between indi vidual members of the Committee, is the re sult._ INTEMPERANCE-ENCOURAGING• FACTS. Our• excellent Union League in this city prohibits the sale:of spirituouS liquors in its refectory, but it follows an evil custom in providing'them in abundance at the public banquets• given in its splendid hall. One would think the exlimple of General Grant, who at one of these banquets rebuked the custom by refusingto touch a drop, and the example of the sturdy teetotal Governor Geary would prompt them to a reforin in this particular; not to speak of the Con , . gressional• Temperance Society, and of the remarkable accumulation of grave instances of excess on the Democratic side in high po litical circles in Washington. And we have now to add another recent example of ab stinence tit; the4e over bountiful tables in the person.of Speaker Colfax, at the supper given him on Tuesday night of last week. The steady nerves, the clear head and the unfeigned geniality of that remarkable man were not on that occasion put at the mercy of the intoxicating cup, and never are. • Judge Brewster, in his elegant address to the Scotch and Irish Presbyterian delegation at the residence of Matthew Newkirk, Esq., said that we would not, like Acestes, send our guests away with refilled casks of wine. That was literally true for that .evening. There was not a drop of wine visible in the truly sumptuous entertainment which fol lowed the speech-making. This, it is true, was not ,unexpected, hut the example was none the less important in the present revi val• of the' Temperance cause. Let wine dis appeart.Yrom the Union League banquets, and from festivities in high places, and it will be comparatively easy to deal with whiskey in the low. 11•11111111 KO,LAPOOR MISSION, INDIA, is an indepen dent enterprise, surported at an expense of between two and three thousand dollars per annum, which is contributed by indiViduals .and Sunday-schools among Congregational ists, and New and Old School Presbyterians in this country, and by individuals princi pally in Her Majesty's civil and military ser vice in India. In the report for 1865,. con tributions are also acknowledged from the Female Normal School and Instructjon So ciety, London, and from a Christian lady in England, who bore the expenses of the preachi❑g tour through the villages. The India contributions for 1866, were about $650 in gold, considerably more than in the year previous; there is ,also .also acknow ledged a legacy of 81000 from Mrs. Ham mond in this country, realized last year. A stone Chapel, 36 by 65 feet, has been built, and a congregation of two hundred hearers gathered, with a church, which, fif teen months ago, numbered eleven commu nicants. It is a solitary witness for Jesus in a city containing two hundred and fifty-two idol temples. The missionaries are Rev. R. G. Wilder and wife, with a female Bible Reader; there are four schools embracing, at the last report, two hundred and thirty four pupils. 2949 volumes, 293,007 pages of religious literature were distributed, most ly by gift, in 1865. Extensive preaching tours are made . during the cool season through the numerous villages of the dense ly crowded province, where there is not an other missionary to be found. Some single wealthy church or cluster of churches should take charge of this hope ful and much needed enterprise, and place it on a permanent basis: THE N. Y. CHRISTIAN INTELLIHENCER (Re formed Dutch) quotes our description of the Old School character, as deduced from his tory, and admits the justness of the portrai ture ,as regards individual cases, but finds fault with us for applying it to an entire denomination. This we did not do. The careful reader will notice that the subject of all our propositions in that article, was "the thorough-going Old School man." We by no means believe that the other branch contains only such men, although we find such almost exclusively represented in the newspaper organs of the body. Our views and lan guage naturally take shape from the class with whom we, in our editorial capacity, are brought in contact.
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