REV. DAVID M'KINNEY,
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REV. DAVID WKINNEY,
Pittsburgh, Pa.
For the Preahyterten Benner
Fallacies and Falsities about Religion.
BY nEv. J F. M'CLAREN
Much undeserved reproach has been
thrown upcn religion, as I have shown in a
former article, on account of the number
and variety of sects and denominations.
The Theological controversies of Christians
have also been the occasion of a large
amount of obloquy. Cavilers and skeptics
have delighted themselves with the view
of these religious conflicts, and have en
deavored to make out of them some capital
for their unbelief; and some justification of
their hostility.
I admit, that controversies have often
been conducted with little regard to the
sacred dignity and purity of Christian
truth, and with, perhaps, still less to the
claims of charity and decorum. But eon
troversy is not necessarily and of itself
wrong; nor does it involve, unav)idably,
the indulgence of angry passions. Contro
versy is simply a method of discussing
principles. It is designed to sweep the
ground of error and to plant and onitivate
convictions of the truth. The builders of
the sacred temple of religious faith might,
perhaps, make more rapid and agreeable
progress, could they employ their whole
strength and time directly on that work;
but, when enemies annoy, threaten, or as
sail them, the implements of warfare are as
suitable for their use, as those of peaceful
labor are at other times. The exposure of
error and the advocacy of truth are, both,
proper measures for the settlement of
principles.
But error may contend with error. That
two opinions are antagonistic,does not
prove either of them to be soun and true.
Infidelity and irreligion have had their
sharp and acrimonious controversies, in
which both the opposing sentiments were
equally remote from truth. It is not very
dignified nor sensible, I admit, for men to
get into hot and angry debate about a mat
ter, on which the view 3 of both are ab
surdly erroneous. Yet such has often been
the position of those who are load in their
vituperations of Christians who contend
earnestly for the faith which God has de
livered to them.
But let me refer to another department
of thought and interest--the healing art
Not only are there numerous sects and de
nominations of physicians, but on no sub
ject have there been more earnest contro
versies. Leading minds have buckled on
their armor and have put forth all their
strength, in contending for their several
doctrines and theories. Warmth and bit
terness have highly seasoned their debates.
From the days of Hyppoorates to the pres
ent hour, physicians have been ranged into
antagonistic schools, and have denounced
and ridiculed each other's theories and
practice; Eclectic systems have sprung up,
from time to time—medleys, formed out of
the boundless diversity—a proof of the ex
istence of that diversity, and at the same
time an extension of it. This is in strict
analogy with the "Primitive churches,"
Bible churches," " Disciples' .churches,"
that frequently rise in the ecclesiastical
world, testifying against corruptions and
confusions, which they only increase. But,
do we, on account of the controversies of
medical doctors, hold the doctrines of all in
contempt ? Do we ignore the existence of
disease? Do we hold that all medical sci
ence is a cheat and an imposture; that
there is no use of remedies; no benefit in
the prtficription of skill ? Have we a
skepticism so absurd that we passively suc
cumb to fever, because one doctor treats it
with hot water,' and another with cold ?
Or stand we indifferent to the progress of
consumption,
wasting away our own life or
that of our friends, till we shall see how
the rancorous disputants shall settle the
competing claims of vegetable and mineral
remedies f No such insane procedure
occurs, among men, only with reference to
religion. But why should religion be de-
SPised and rejected, any more than medical
science, on account of the controversies of
its professional advocates ? Professors of
the healing art have evinced as vehement a
zeal in controversy, and have broached the
ories as absurd, startling and ridiculous, as
any that can be found in the history of re
ligious polemics.
The true cause of men's captiousness, in
relation to religion, must be sought not in
it, but in themselves. If they were to act
and speak on all subjects, as many do on
the subject of religion, this world would
present the appearance of a universal insane
asylum. If'every truth that has been con
troverted by errorists, or that has been
simulated by pretenders and fanatics, must
be rejected; the area of human knowledge
and belief will be a very narrow one indeed.
. But it is not so. Men treat religion differ
ently from other subjects of thought and
interest. And, in so doing, they furnish
involuntary demonstration of the truth of
religion, in its portraiture of human char
acter, in its depraved condition. The wick
edness 'of the natural heart is the cause of
infiaelitY. The pure and heavenly doe,
tiines ot.' the Gospel are objects of aversion,
,not because they are defended with an in
telligent zeal and glowing affection; but
because the heart Is 'deceitful and desper
atelY Wicked. God's truth Cannot change,
to adapt itself to the relish' of depravity ;
the heart of unbelief must be changed, and
then it will' love the truth of God, most
pure, most elevating, most delightful.
Let not, t then, the senseless clamor of
those who are opposed tp all true religion,
disturb any one's faith in the precious
truths of the Gospel. It is commended to
ui by the Highest ,authority, and is entitkd
to our veneration and love. Let us giNe
no heed to the flippant fallacies ,pf unbelief
and enmity which proceed from a deceived
and deoeiviii - g heart:
For the Presbyterian Banner.
Word from Boston.
BOSTON, August 27, 1862.
Da. MCKINNEY :—ffear Sir--It is a
long, time since your old 'correspondent
from, this city has written you, and per
hapsn; in'these war-times, your readers may
wish to know something of what is being
done C 4 away down East."
Recruiting has been going. on tolerably
well in this city and throughout the State.
But the small towns have generally done
much better thin the large ones. Meetings
have been held daily at the "Old South
Church," and in various other parts of the
City, to 'Stir up the people's patriotism.
This has been a grand gala-day upon the
Gunn:lon and throughout the city. 'The
citizens' of Massachusetts, almost en mane)
' , have been in Boston, and addresses have
VOL. X., NO. 52.
been made by Gov. Andrew, (not Andrews,
as often written,) Edward Everett, Mr.
Winthrop, and a multitude of others, seem
ingly enough to stir up and fan into a
blaze every latent spark of patriotic feeling
in every heart.
The people are doing very well in this
State, but do not come forward with the
zeal and energy that they manifested a
year ago. It is in vain to regret the past;
still, who can but regret that the recruit
ing stopped when so many were coming
forward so readily, and when a million men
might have been put into the field without
a bounty.
I would not, upon any consideration,
drop a whisper to discourage enlistments,
nor to encourage secessionists among us—
of the latter of. which, I am sorry to say,
there are quite too many at the North. I
know your loyal feelings, and the sacrifices
your family have made for our country.
Heaven will reward you for training up
those patriotic sons, who have risked
their lives in defence of ours.
I still get the Banner, and like its tone
as well as ever.
There is an intimate connexion between
the support which a church may provide
for her ministry, and the reaainess of par
ents to expend their means for the educa
tion of their eons for the sacred . office.
This subject is attracting much attention
in Great Britain and Ireland at the preseut
time. As an illustration of the views of'
our brethren on the other side of the At
lantic, we subjoin a portion of the closing
address of the Moderator of the late As
sembly of the Free Church of' Scotland.
" On two points I intended to address
this Assembly. As to the missionary
cause, in which I feel the deepest interest,
I must leave that, if God spare me, to the,
sermon with which I shall open the next
General Assembly. To the other, there
fore, the minister cause, my fathers and
brethren, in taking leave of you, give me
liberty now fully and frankly to speak. I
will speak frankly, and I'll honestly tell
you the reason why. I have had it long
in my head, and I have had it long in my
heart. I am' thankful that I am in cir
cumstances now, by the kindness of my
congregation and other thines to speak out
my mind, and no low-mintfed man or wo
man can suspect me of any personal or
mercenary motives in this matter. There
fore I intend to speak out fully and frankly
in this matter. Now, - I take leave to say
that the livings of our ministers are inade
quate. I take leave to say more—l take
leave to say that the livings of ministers
are quite inadequate to their position, and
to their inevitable and unavoidable outlay.
I take leave very' distinctly and very ex
pressly to say that; and what is the result
of that ? What shall be, and will be, the
result of it ? the greatest calamity that can
befall the Church, far worse than persecu
tion, and far worse than oppression. All
hail to the storm, that, with God's blessing
and goad management,-drives-the ship on,
instead of driving her back. The calamity
which I dread, next to the withdrawal of
the Divine blessing, the greatest of all, is
that the rising talent, and genius, and en
ergy of our country,'may leave the Church
for other professions. This is what moves
me to speak, and what I have now to ex
press on this subject. 'A' scandalous main
tenance,' as Matthew Henry says, ' makes
a scandalous ministry.' I'll give you
another sentence, which, though it is my.'
own, is pregnant with truth—is as preg
nant with truth, in my opinion, as
Matthew Henry's, ' that the poverty of
the manse will develop itself in the
poverty of the pulpit.' I have no doubt
about it; and that is the evil I am anxious
to avoid. Genteel poverty—may you never
know it—genteel poverty, to which some
doom themselves, but to whiGh ministers
are doomed, is the greatest evil under the
sun. Give me liberty "to wear a frieze coat,
and I will thank noone for 'black. Give
me liberty to rear my sons -to be laborers,
and my daughters to be' domestib servants,
and the manse, in contentment and piety,
will enjoy the sun that shines on many a
pious and lowly house; but -to place a man
in circumstances where he is expected• to be
generous and hospitable ; to have a hand as
open as his heart is'to the poor ; to give to
'his family a liberal education ; to breed
them up according to what they call genteel
life—to place a man in these circumstances,
and expect that from him; and deny him
the means of doing it all, is, but for the
hope of heaven, to embitter existence itself.
I know some people do not like to hear of
them, and those who like -least to hear of
them, need most to hear 'of them. There
are many people like an honest man be
longing to Aberdeenshire, Who once was
asked what he thought of' the Free Church.
Oh says he, I admire her principles,
but I detest her schemes. Now allow me
to state two or three ways in which the
claims of the ministers are evaded. I will
give you cases, because theSe are best re
membered. Many a long year and day ago,
there was an excellent minister by the name
of Mr. Gray, and he got his son, whom I
knew, a highly-esteemed Old Light—a
better never- lived—he got his son to be
appointed his assistant and successor. The
people gave the father £lOO ($500) a year,
and they gave his son £BO ($400); which,
in those days,
was perhaps better than the
Free Church ministers are paid at the
present time. It was most creditable to
•the . congregation, and 'to the good' old Se
ceders. At length the father died, and the
congregation met to consider what stipend
they should give the son, now that he was
sole pastor of the congregation; and the
question was not whether- they would give
him £lBO,. which.they ought to - have done,
seeing that the giving of £lBO before;
proved that they were able to do it; the
question was whether they would give the
son the £l.OO the -father had, or keep him
at the £BO. Well; the question was put,
whereupon an honest weaver stood up, and
was clear for keeping the incumbent at £BO.
He said that he did not'see any reason for
ministers having more for , weavinf; sermons
than he had for weaving webs. He was
for holding them down to the lowest figure,
in proof of which, he said,- the• fact was,
that the Church never had such ministers
Us . in 'those days when the went about in
sheepskins and goatskins, and lived in
caves and holerof the earth. If any peo
ple sympathize. with the weaver, I answer
that I have a radical objection to caves
they create damp; and, secondly, as to the
habiliments, it' will be time enough to take
up that question when our people are pre
pared to walk along Prince's Street with
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From the Home and Foreign Record
Ministerial Support
PITTSBURGH, SATURDAY, SEP TEMBER 13, 1862:
us—with me, not in this antique dress, but
in the more primitive and antiquated-fash
ion of goatskins with the horns on. It is
easy to dispose of this evasion. I shall
pass on to the second evasion, and it was
from a case too. It was not in my own
congregation—let me say that it was not in
any congregation of the Free Church. It
is contained in a remark I shall repeat.
There was the same evasion in it, but it
looks very pious, and it is all the worse for
that. It was contained in a remark made
by a lady to the wife of a poor minister of
a wealthy congregation, who, by keeping
boarders, had to eke out a living that some
of the merchant princes in his congrega
tion could have paid out of their own
pocket, and never missed it. The lady,
rustling in silks, and in a blaze of jewels,
went to visit the minister's wife, more a
lady than herself, with the exception of the
dress. The lady condoled with the minis
ter's wife on the straitened circumstances
and means of the ministers, and she con
doled thus : Ah says she, '• my dear,'
looking into the pale, careworn face of the
excellent woman, 'My dear,' she said,
' your reward is above. From the blood
less lips of some poor sinner in an unfur
nished garret, where the man of God has
gone to smooth. the dying pillow, and to
minister consolation in that last dark hour,
I have been thankful to hear those words—
' Your reward is above ;' but from silks and
satins—disgusting ! It is cant—the vilest
cant—and enough to make religion stink
in the nostrils of the world. Would that
saying pay the minister's stipend? pay the
minister's accounts ? Fancy the worthy
man going to his baker or his butcher, and
instead of paying down money, turning up
the white of his eyes, saying, ' Your •re
ward is above.' I fancy they would say,
0 no, my good sir, that will not pay the
bill ; ;' and I say what does not pay the bill,
does not pay the ministers' stipends as they
ought to he paid: There is another an
swer, another way of getting rid of this
question, that I want the Christian public
to look at. I have heard it myself; it is a
very common answer, and it is this—that
ministers should not be rich. Now lam
not wanting ministers to be rich; I do not
want to be' rich myself; although it is a
sweet thing to be able to pour a blessing
into an empty cup. I want to know why I
should be deprived of that pleasure any
more than other people? I want to know
if I have not a heart as well as other men ?
Have not I pity as well as other men ?
Have not I. delighted in seeeing and hear
ing the widow's blessing as well as other
men ? I want to know more than that; I
demand to know the reason why riches are
more dangerous to ministers than they are
to other people? I want to know why
men can stand up before the public and
say that ministers would make wworse use
of their money than other people? Are
those who have received a liberal educa
tion, cultivated minds, holding a sacred
office, occupying a public position, whose
piety should be fired at the altars where
they minister, and whose sympathies are
daily moved by the misery and poverty
they see—are - they less likely to make
a good use of money than other men?
Does any man in this house say that
Agur's prayer was made for ministers
Give me neither poverty nor riches ?'
Tell me no more about ministers not being
'rich. But I don't want ministers to be
rich; that is not my object. My object,
my only object, for which I stand here to
plead, is, that ministers should have such
maintenance as shall relieve them of the
evils that I shall call poverty. Don't be
ashamed of poverty. Poverty in 'a good
cause is a noble thing. Don't stagger at
the word. There was a man came once to
the person who•did the writing on Pitt's
monument; which was something to •this
effect—that millions had passed through
his hands, and that he died poor. It was
the 'noblest thing ever said about a. states
man but the man, with a very delicate
sensibility;
said—' Oh I don't like that
word poor: I think it ought to have been,
that millions passed through his hand, and
that he died in einbarrassed - oircmustances.'
What I. want is thisand I. tell this house,'
and tell the public—that I stand here this
night to plead that my brethren should
have livings adequate to their position, and
adequate to the expense in which they are
necessarily involved. That is my object.
I need not tell the intelligent public, or
the fathers and brethren of this House—l
do not need to tell you that the ministers'
livings have not risen in'any church--Free
Church, United Presbyterian, Congrega
tional, Established—that the ministers'
livings of no church, endowed or unen
dowed, have -risen with the••increase of la
borers' wages, with the revenues of land,
with the incomes of proprietors, with the
profits of commerce, with the salaries of
schoolmasters, with the incomes of clerks;
and that, in point of fact--and let it go
abroad as with a trumpet-voice—the posi
tion of ministers , is ; in , many respects,
worse this day than it was half w-century
ago. That is the true position of minis
ters, and the sooner the-public know> that,
the be,tter."
Vor the Preebyteriark Banner
Death of "'a Minister.
We have to record the . death of another
of our younger ministers, since the meeting
of the last. General Assembly. The Rev.
John E. Woods, pastor of the church of Li
thopolis, in the Presbytery of Columbus,
died on the 25th of August, 1862, after a
short illness. He had gone to visit his
father near Pittsburgh, , Pa., and being un
well, returned to Lithopolis ' and lived but a
few days after his arrival. He leaves.a be
reaved and mourning widow, and two in
fant children.
His age was a few months over thirty
one years. He graduated at Jefferson Col
lege, Pa: in August, 1852 and at the
Western Theological Seminary in April,
1856, having been licensed by the Presby
tery of Ohio a few days previously. He
then went to Bentonsport; lowa, and was
ordained pastor. of the Presbyterian church
in: that place in 1857. 11l health and other
circumstances induced him:to obtain -a dis
mission from that charge in 1858. He
then settled at Lithepolis ' in Fairfield
County, Ohio, and was installed as, pastor
in July, 1859. He was a grandson, of the
Rev. William Woods, who was the. pastor
of the congregation of Bethel, in the Pres
bytery of Ohio.
In his:ministerial labors at Lithopolis
he was, in•a high degree, able and-faithful,
and also very successful. The church was
much 'edified, both in respect of improve
ment in spirituality, and increase of the
14.. r
;,~~~: ~;~-~t_~;
number of communicants and hearers.
Many were added to the church, of those
who profess to believe to the saving of the
soul—especially ia the Winter of 1860-61,
during a time of refreshing from the pres
ence of the Lord.'
His attention to his people, in their fam
ilies, and especially Sabbath School,
was the means of much good, and secured
their confidence and affection in an uncom
mon degree. Such was his Christian de
meanor and ministerial conduct,. that he
was highly ,esteemed.by the whole commu
nity, and especially by Christians of other
denominations. But it was not by agoid
ing, or explaining away the distinctive
doctrine or order of the Church of. which
he was a minister, that -he-gained popular
approbation in this respect' he.was openly
and thoroughly orthodox.
His end was peace. He was one of the
many who receive abundant grace during
life, so as to be faithful, and yet have much
fear in the Or evio US contemplation of death°;
but when the time to depart draws near, re-.
ceive grace to overcomethe fear of death,
and rejoice in departing tobe with Christ,
which is far better. He talked much to his
beloved wife, and to ,his:people, of Christ
and of the joy and blessedness of the..be
liever's death, and of a glorious and happy
immortality. Before his death he named
the preacher who should officiate at his fu
neral; and selected the text of the funeral
discourse, and the hymns to be sung by the
congregation. The text, "To me, to live
is Christ, and to die is gain;" the hymns,
358, 667, and 627. , J. H.
Letter of Aired - jean Congregationalists to the En
glish Congregational Union—Analysis of its Con
tents—The English Secretary's Remarks—Prep
arations for .the .Bicentenary Commemoration—
Letter from the Bartholomew Committee, to, the
Churches—Bearings on the Church of England—
Professor Godwin's " Christian Faith"—The
Subtle Heresy Exposed—Howard Hinton—Brit
ish Standard and the Patriot--Maynooth College
—Number and Attendance of Students—Annual
Average.of Priests Sent Out—lncome and Prop
erty Tax Statistics—Church Missionary Society—
Its Agents and hield—The Romish Propaganda
—Receipts and Disbursements—Crystal Palace
and Exhibition—A Seceding Clergyman.
LONDON,- August 16,'1862.
ECROPEAN CORRESPONDENCE
THE AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALISTS
having addressed a fraternal letter .to the
Congregational Union of England and
Wales, the document has been published
in the Nonconformist papers. The letter
is signed by Joseph P. Thompson, pastor
of the Broadway Taberliacle, New-York ;
W. Ives Budington, of Brooklyn; and
David B. Coe, Secretary of the American
Missionary Society. This-letter conveys
warm congratulations on the measures ta
ken for the worthy commemoration of. the
Bicentenary" of Nonconformity.
" Though the . Pilgrim Exodus," it is
said, " brought religious freedom and
church purity to these shores, preceded by
forty-two years, the exodus of the two
thousand Nonconformists• from their pul
pits and livings from the - Church of Eng
land, both were prompted by the intoler
ance of the same ecclesiastical corporation,
and each by moral influence-furthered the
aims and results of the other. The Con
gregational churches of. New-England—.
the, original seat of Congregationalism in
America—trace their ecclesiastical pedi
gree to the Scrooby church in Nottingham
shire, and to the Southwark church in Lon
don. Thus they are rooted in English
soil, and English. memories. The, exode:
of the pilgrim Fathers was an, offshoot of
the same principle of conscientious spir
ituality in the worship of God, which in
1662 led •to that , -testimony against Con
formity, which• gave to-Dissent.a substan
tial and organic existence in England it
self."
The epistle also points out how " Chris
tians in America claim a common- inheri
tance with their brethren- in England, in
the names and works of Baxte,r. and Bates,
of Calamy and Charnoek, of. Henry, Howe,
and Owen, and the scores of recusant min
isters who have enriched English theology
with the wisdom of their teachings, and
hallowed the English language with the
fervor, of their< piety., It also indicates
" special ties of association with the era of
Nonconformity in' England, through pas
tors and teachers,"who at that period went
to America, an 'quotes Cotton Mather,
who laments the loss sustained .by. New-
England " in the interruption," as he calls
it, " which a particular providence oflleav
en gave unto the designs of that incom
parable person, Dr. John Owen, .who had
gone so far as to ship himself, with intents
to have taken this country," (New-Emg
land) " on his way to his eternal rest."
- The letter further details-how, in 1661--
62, the Rev. John Norton was deputed by
the State of Massachusetts, to. visit Eng
land with an address to Charles 11.,-the re
stored Sing, supplicating (with success,)
the continuance of its civil and religious
liberties. Thus "New -England became a
refuge for some of the Nonconformists of
the mother country, though with a refine
ment of cruelty, the _ Conventicle Act of
1664 forbade such as were banished to set
tle in , New-England,. where they would
have 'found religious liberty, and sympa
thizing friends! . -
The writers then go on to show the fruits
of the voluntary prineiple--- T as: contrasted
with State endowments-.-rin the support of
the Gospel at heme, and its diffusion
abroad; 'how in 36 years X 1,500,000 have
been contributed to Missions in other lands,
and. large incomputed amounts have been
given by.oongregationalists to :help .weak.
churches in the Western States and terri
tories, as well as to Bible and Tract Some=
ties, and Sabbath Schools!. Affiliated with
the Congregational. body are ‘ l3 colleges
and t six seminarier, and schools very nu
merous for the benefit of ;the masses.,
Finally the lett4r refers to the early ab
olition i of., slaver in., the New-England
States,: to the. resillutions condemnatory of
the syhtem and itp abettors in the Conven
tion at Albany in 1852, and to the very
full and ready response made by those
States in: furnishing: -volunteers : and, chap
lains for the army, and- r for the defence of
theconntry, V against the slavehelder's in
surrection.
• The lieu. George Smith, Secretary of
the. Congregational .Union of England and
Wales, in forwarding this letter t la the Non
conformist organs: at thatpress, says-:,-" "Its
valuable historical notices, will, I doubt
not;: commend it to -your readers, and you
Will cheerfully do all you Ann, at. the pres
ent;moment, to promotathe spirit of. Chri
stian 'affection, between the Congregatienal
churches of these countries and:the United
States!' o 111
Preparations are being made for the gel
•• • - •
emn and special commemoration of the
Bicentenary day on the 24th of this pres
ent month of August, The Central Uni
-
ted Bartholomew Committee, with the
view of bringing out facts and lessons con
nected with the. Ejection, have published
in one volume all, the more important legal
historical documents, together with several
smaller and more popular works, illustra
tive of the period. The same Committee
has just issued a stirring appeal to the
Protestant Dissenters of the United King
dom. The following is an extract. In the
words which I have italicised, there is a
severe :retake implied, of the modern
Evangelical party in . the Church of Eng
land
froteatant Dissenters ! The devout celebra
tion of the Bicentenary of that day will well be
come you—you prOininently but not exclusively
—for it is ii..day to.be had in' grateful, remem
brance by all Englishmen. To the unswerving
firmness and the godly self-sacrifice of the Two
Thousand on St., Bartholomew's day historians
have concurred in ascribing, in great measure,
the 'Civil and religious liberties which are the
precious heritage and the proud boast of our
country. Had the moralikt of these holy men been
of a low type and flimsy`' texture—had it permitted
them• to declare, as part anti parcel" of their creed,
,doctrines which they had publicly and privately pro
tested against as contrary to Holy Writ—or had
they, whatever may have been their theories, practi
calty subscribed to
. the supremacy of law within the
domain of conscience—that eventful chapter of Eng
lish history would have been wanting which records
the Revolution off 1688 and all the constitutional
guarantees it heti given us of a rational and liberal
policy. We can see what these confessors could
not—that, in quitting what they took to be a
vantage ground of influence and usefulness, in
simple obedience to conscience, they entered
.upon a course which gave to both a wider scope
and a grander success. We are . called upon to
give' thanks to God that, in his wise and benefi
cent providence, out of the restrictions which
were designed to silence them, succeeding gen
erations got their liberty of prophesying and
worship. As citizens and as Christians we owe
much of what, we now most prize and enjoy to
their resolute resistance of temptation, their pa
tient enduranCe of suffering; their steadfast elle
.giance to truth, and their heroism
,in asserting
the personal rights of man in his personal rela
tion to God. Bravely and to the death they held
for us the Themopyhe of freedom against an
overwhelming host—and every Englishman ca
pable of appreciating his birthright may fitly
thank God that honesty and piety, truthfulness
and trust,. won for this_country, against fearful
odds, a fruitful victory on that black Bartholo
mew's day.
Special reasons are also assigned for the
due celebration of thisday
• They- vindicated for themselves the right of
private judgment—the foundation of all the re
ligious rights we poSsess or claim. They pre
served from destruction the germ which, since
their day, has expanded into the forms of bes.uty ,
.in Which we take increasing pride. They handed
to us, at,the expense of all that they, held dear,
the sacred fire at which we kindle our lamps.
We receive not our opinions from them—but we
do recognize in their united confession one of
the grandest illustrations contained in history of
the singular unsuitableness -of secular. authority
and power as an agency for building up the
Church of ,the living .God, and of the all-con
queiing might of simple truthfulness aid godli-•
fleas as weapons wielded for spiritual ends. If
Dissentmay be rightly regarded as the protest
of religious Individualism against Multitudin
ism, we, as Dissenters, have abundant reasons,
for, a thankful, commemoration of Sunday, Aug
ust the 24th, 1662—when that protest was so
solemnly and impressively given in to the ruling
powers of this , country:
The time,' at which the-ejectetiministers bore
such unfaltering testimony to the sincerity of
their faith was the beginning of a - reactionary
period of licentiousness and skepticism. Their
immovable conscientiousness opposed to the in
coming flood a solid embankment over which the
waters rolled ,in tumultuous fury, but which
effectually broke their force. The course of the
Reformation and of Evangelical Christianity in.
England might have been stayed for an indefinite
interval if these godly men had paltered, even
in appearance, with the sanctity of their con
victions. In unspeakable mercy to this country
and to the - world, ,grace was given to them of
God to hold that fast which was committed, to
them, and to be faithful unto death. Our com
memoration of the event, and our endeavor to
draw: from it tbe instruction of which it is full,
,ie surely a fitting, mode in which to praise God
for his goodness in making is the heirs of so
costly a bequest..
As to the mode of celebration, there is
no, attempt to dictate. As to its spirit,
" We rejoice," say the .Committee, "that
you will celebrate the day" (and it so hap
pens that the 24th of August is the Lord's
day,) ."in a spirit worthy of the occasion
which it recalls—not .in the heat of eon
troversy, still less, as some have antici
pated, in resentment of the wrongs of the
past, but with intelligent and fervent grat
itude to the Great Head of the Church for
having qualified men in the darkest and
most troublous times to bear up the ark of
his testimony, and with unfeigned and
earnest, prayers, that the teachings of the,
event ; commemorated, may have their le
gitimate influence upon religious charac
ter and conduct in, this age. * .* We
pray that,the services of the 24th of Au
gust, conducted under a deep sense of, re
.sponsibility,„both in vindication : of the ex
mlusive
..prerogative of - Glid to rule over
conscience, and in the .duty of suceeeding
generations to cherish a sacred trust with
grateful,.veneration,; may. under God, be
eminently condicive to, the purity, the
charity, and the self-denying zeal of, the
Churches of Christ of all denominations in
• our highly-favored land." •
There is doubt whatever that this
Bicentenary year. tends-powerfully to the
consolidation of .the Nonconformity of the
United ,Kingdom, and that its fruits will
be large and far-extending. Its bearing
on the Established Church is very serious,
for although—the fesults will not assume
any marked form just now ; yet it widens
the gulf, between Dissent and Church of
England,' especially as some of the Evan
gelical Church clergy have acted so -unwise
-4.3r as the opponents and revilers of the Bi
centenary movement, and In their melan
choly approximation for secular purposes,
to those high - Church doctrinal teachings
they had'so long and so sternly denounced
and anathamatized,
Danger ...to., Nonconformity, serious and
great, th,ere is, from a ,tendency to decline
from the " old ways " trodden by the Pil
gr.
im Fathers, end, the Puritans of 1662
and subsequent years. Scottish Morriso
nianisna, which virtually makesthe Wor4
itself have a quickening, converting„power,
and s does not openly ! acknow,ledge the Holy
Ghost as the Lord and Giver of Life
through the truth—which also is Ultra-
Arminian, and publishes that ""Faith'is
not the Gift of 'God," but man's own act,
or, man's man's own. power—this system—has
lately sent.up one or two of its champions
from the North, and these, without ques
tion, have bedome Congregational pastors
-in London. When in gcotland recently; I
heard some eminent Independent ministers
deprecate, this kind of, thing; the men who
are of the Haldam School of -theology ut
terly disown them. In Scotland itself, I
met one young minister whose sympathies,
I ain. sorry to sa,y, were very much with the
," Negative" School of Theology.. But
• : • 4,0 o
WHOLE NO. 520.
the greatest peril is in the fact that Mr.
Godwin, one of the Professors of New
College (Congregational) London, has pub
lished a work—" Christian Faith : its Na
ture„ Objects, Causes and Effects "—in
which, while there are many things admi
rible and excellent, the. Judicial Character
of God, the proper Suretyship, Substitu
tion and Sacrifice of Christ, the reality of
Forgiveness of. Sins, (in the sense of the
pardon of. the guilty,) are subtlely under
mined. I have given to the book one pe
rusal, but too rapid to enable me to analyze
it. It has been so unsparingly handled in
a series of papers in the British Standard,
(edited by. the Rev. Dr. Campbell, but the
critiques from another hand,) that one
almost recoils in sympathy with an author
who seems not to be fairly treated, and
whose words are made, as I think in several
cases, to bear a Meaning which was not in
tended by him. The Reviewer also quar
rels with Mr. Godwin's definition of faith
as "Trust in Christ," and makes it to be a
receiving of a testimony. Both are true ;
but no man is to be condemned who says
with Paul, " I know whom I have believed
; (Gr., trusted,);" or who says to believers,
' "In whom" (Christ) "ye-also trusted,
after that ye had heard the Word of faith,
the Gospel of your salvation." The
logomachy which has prevailed among
Divines on these points' is discreditable.
The poor sinner, receiving, resting on,
trusting in Christ as freely offered in the
Gospel, be is saved, and wily is saved, by
such reception, resting, trust. It puts a
personal Christ at a distance from an anx
ious soul, to talk about the belief of a tes
timony to such an one; nay more, in this
country many are being misled, by teaching
to the effect, " Believe-that Christ died for
you—and you are saved!" Hence spu
rious joy, false peace, followed,by recoil
and apostasy. • •
Mr. Godwin's errors are serious, even as
LO " trust in Christ; for it is the fruit- of
repentance ' or " choosing right "—and till
a man has done this, he cannot trust Christ.
Neither is it a trust in his Atoning Sacri
fice. The Rev. John Howard Hinton,
M.A., an aged and very able Baptist min
ister in London, has analyzed the new work
with, great power, and comes to the conclu
sion that there is fatal heresy. The ten
dency of his whole line of argument is to
prove that a man's repentance—in other
words his ceasing from sin and his "learn
ing to do well," is the nasal' for God re
garding him as a righteous person. We
thereby become different characters" to
what we were before, and are not justly
chargeable with " past offences," which we
should no longer; "choose " to commit.
The Scripture says that.:;` God justifies the
ungodly;" it speaks of " sins" be.ing " cov
ered ;" but says Godwin, it is " erroneous"
to rely on " the sufficiency of any work."
-Even Christ SAID LITTLE to sinners of
their past lives, or to AWAKEN ANXIETY
respecting the way in which that evil might
be remedied.
The Patriot, the organ of the Semi-
Calvinistic Independents reviews the book
favorably as to many things, but confesses
that it keeps back the great Central. Truth
of - the Bible.
MAYNOOTH COLLEGE, for which, as a
nursery for the Romish priesthood—not
for the United Kingdom only, but also for
America, and our Colonies—Parliament
has settled to give so large a sum annually
without -a vote, has come afresh into light,
in connexion with a Return made (extorted,
let me 'rather say,) in response to a motion
by Mr. Whalley, M.P. This gentleman
has succeeded Mr. Spooner as the opponent
of, the Maynooth Endowment. The Return
contains the names, ages, and number of
students attending te College of Maynooth
since the 31st day of August, 1844, and the
names and number who left College during
that period who have not completed their
education, with the date of leaving.
It appears from the Return, that the
number in the College at the end of the
Academic year in 1844, was 409. The
next year the number that 'entered-.was
only 24 ; but in 1846 there were.l4l, and
in 1847 the number was 94. That was
about the average during subsequent years.
The total number that entered during the
eighteen years, was 1,559. Of the stu
dents attending the College in 1844
that is, 409—a considerable proportion,
163, left without completing their educa
tion; of those who . entered since that time,
654 left without completing their educa
tion, leaving only 905, out of 1,559, who
had continued during the prescribed course.
This gives, an average of fifty priests a
year coming out of Maynooth, with their
education completed according to the sys
tem of the institution. The Return does
not state what proportion of- the students
_whose education was incomplete, entered
the priesthood; or how many abandoned
the profession, and engaged in secular
pursuits. '
•
INCOME AND PROPERTY TAX is a sub
ject which now (alas !) will be coming
home to your own bosoms and homes in the
United btates. The following as to ,the
amounts collectedlast financial year from
searing Britons, (who have not yet '" got
quite used to it," as the Irish woman said
of the eels which 'she skinned alive,) will
be perhaps interesting to your readers.
The net amount of=property and, income'
tax for, the, year ending, April sth, 1860,
was £9,647,817; of which Scotland paid
£819,697, and Ireland £777,572.' ' Forl
1861, thutotal was 410,764,604. Of I this
amount• Scotland paid £926,626, and Ire
land £862,627.:
CHURCH MISSIONARY' STATISTICS are
as follows :. It commenced without, patron
age, and had., no ordained missionaries.
The expenditure the first year was less than
£lOO. It has now the patronage of forty
Bishops (some. of -them very cool toward
it); it has 148 stations established through
out the, world, employs,l9.2 .European cler
gy, and 66 ordained natives. Itlas 2,171
lay helpera; it disseminates the Gospel in
twenty languages; it has gathered 36,000
scholars into its 800 mission schools ; re
cords 21,000 recognized members of the
,Christian Church, as communicants ; and
has received and employed three and a half
millions sterling for MiSSion purposes.
THE' Rosrrsn PROPAGANDA—is appears
from , the Report' for 1861, just published--
+W' rebeipts to £lBB,OOO. 10d. To
ward -this total,, the British, Isles, in the
,one year, gave £8,986; of this amountlre
laud,. gave £5,938, leaving £3,05 . 3 for
Great Britain. The Romish Dioceses of
Westminster and Southwark' (Londen,)
gave, together, £4OO. =The Dioceses of
:Beverly, Birmingham, , Clifton,.and Hex.
- ham, supply another 44 00, Tbe IliverPW
ItlFri9 #N - - g o ,1,47
TOE - PRESBYTERIAN _LBAN ILEA
Publication Office
GAZETTE BUILDINGS, 84 FITTe ST., PiTTseueee,
PH/LADELPIM, EOUTH-WitoT COR. OP 7Te AND ORPOTISII4
A Square, (8 lines or less) one insertion, 60 cents; each
subsequent insertion, 40 cents ; each line beyond eight, 6 ci s
A Square per quarter, $L00; each line additional, 38 cent'
A Banc-mos made to advertisers by the year.
13118INE88 NUMBS of TEN lines or less, $l.OO each ad
ditional line, 10 cents.
REV. DAVID MIKINNEY
PII.O.PRIBTOR ALM rtnunliEß.
Diocese sends only £221, and Salford'
(Manchester,) only £163. The Sees of
Northampton, Nottingham and Plymouth
gave, respectively, $l2, £2O, and £2B.
Eighty pounds is all that Scotland has been
induced to part with, for the conversion of
the world to the Romish faith. And, in
truth, the £3,053 indicated above, includes
£1,489 belonging to 1860; so that the real
sum is very little more than £1,500 for the
year 1861. from England and Scotland.
What is the real explanation of this?
Why, that the Romanists in both countries
are receiving rather than giving; that the
Propaganda, for years ; has been making
gigantic efforts to stick the roots of Popery
deep, once more, into our soil; that it is
thus that Cathedral like Chapels, Convents,
Monasteries and schools are rising over the
land, wherever a little nucleus of Romanists
—lrish laborers, and railway navvies
are congregated. London itself, I doubt
not, receives largely in this way.
The sums received by the Propaganda
appear to include the sale, of publications.
What this is, it is difficult to say; proba
bly the Romish newspapers— Tablet, Regis
ter, Dublin Morning News , &c.—receive
help. There are also smal books and
tracts.
Under the head of "Missions of Europe,"
we have the allocation of " Altus" (grants)
among .the different missions for 1861.
As to Scotland, three sums are mentioned,
amounting to , £2,440 ; England comes
next, receiving £8,229, £4OO of which
goes to Cardinal Wiseman. Dr Grant, of
of Southwark, takes almost £1,600, and so
forth. Hence it appears that nearly £lO,-
700 came back to England and Scotland,
in return for the £1,500 contributed.
This abundantly confirms what I have
stated above, .(written before I had noticed
this last fact,) and also entirely accords
with, and fully explains, what I myself,
during the last twelve months, have seen,
both in England and Scotland. Ireland
has to be content with less than she gives,
for, while she gives £5,993, she only re
ceives £2,240. Ireland, however, is pretty
well supplied with Romish machinery al
ready, and the people are so priest-ridden
that, they give out of their deep poverty for
every demand made upon them.
But you ask, What about America? I
answer that she gives £6,406, and receives
£42,560: so you perceive what a care for
your Protestant and heretical souls, is cher
ished by the . Propaganda De Fide, and
how anxious the Society is to bring you with
in the orbit of the True Faith.
A FRIEND of mine at the Crystal Palace,
this week, heard an American gentleman
speak in terms of the warmest admiration
—giving to it the preference over the In
ternational Exhibition. The latter will be
closed at the end of October, and there will
be a concluding ceremonial of unusual
splendor.
It is not at all likely that the great struc
ture at Kensington will be taken down.
The picture galleries at least, are evidently
-built for permanence, and it is more than
probable, with the very rapid progress of
Arts and Sciences, that the building will
`be repurchased from the contractors, and
become a . grand depot for pictures, statu
ary, and possibly for a large portion or
whole of the Natural History collected in
the over-crowded. British Museums.
'LIE ESSAYISTS, Dr. Williams and Mr.
Wilson, will have their cases tried after
the "amended" charges against them,
(abridged in number and character in con
sequence of Dr. Lushington's meant judg
mento before the Committee of the Privy
Council. Tested by the Thirty-Nine Arti
cles of the Church, it is difficalyo see how
these arch-heretics can escape:`
A CLERGYMAN who has lately seceded
from the National Church, not on Evangel
ical grounds, I fear, writes thus to his for
mer Diocesan :
"The present Prayer-Rook," says Mr. Nevile,
"represents the exact state of religious knowl
edge in an age so barbarous and ignorant that
poor helpless girls were roasted to death by
Archbishops, old women were hung as witches
by judges on the bench, and 8,000 clergymen
were' too illiterate to be allowed to preach. The
confused and contradictory mass of theology
contained in our Book of Common Prayer has
been permitted to supersede the Word of God in
our National Church, and it becomes the duty of
every man to consider whether or not he is justi
fied in remaining in it. For my own part, I
have no choice. * * * I gave my assent to
the present Prayer-Book on the faith of expla
nations to' be found in the works of Parley,
Wheatley, and Tomline, which were put into my
hands by the Church herself. I signed my con
tract on the express understanding that actual
assent to the Thirty-nine Articles was never ex
.pected of me ; that in a well known form of ab
solution-the. word ' sin' meant 'censures,' and
*therefore*in our Church meant 'nothing;' that
the Athanasian Creed• was altogether a for
gery, the damnatory clauses. very much to be
lamented, and that there was no difference what
everin the condition of baptized and unbaptized
.infants who die in infancy. The 'revival of
Church. principles ' has set aside these latitudi
narian
explanations, my contract has been fa
tally changed, and I contend that a court of
equity ought to declare it void."
Itds :bad logic.to argue, that because the
Bligiish Reformers Were; persecutors to a
certain extent; aterVore' their doctrines
were &lie. But there is truth in the
charge of " confused and contradictory"
teaching in the..Prayer-Book, and in the
elbarge that standard Chureb-bnoks explain
away these Articles gird Services, at least
as tar as thr';' Prayer-Book, arid the Bap
tismal Servuie. and. the Absolution Ser
vice for the 'sick ; are- concerned. Very few
will imitate the Rev. 31.r..Nevile's es.ample.
3 . . W.
I strongly recommend you to follow the
analogy; of the body in seeking the refresh
ment of the mind. Everybody knows that
both man and horie are very much relieved
and rested if, instead of lying down and
fallingusleep, or endeavoring to fall asleep,
he changes the muscles, he puts in opera
tion; if, instead of level ground, he goes
up, and down 'hill, it, is a rest both to the
man, walking, and the horse which he rides
—a different set of muscles is called into
operation. So 4 say, call into action a
different class of faculties, apply your
minds to other objects of wholesome food
to yourselves as well as of good' to' others,
and, depend upon it, that is the true mode
of getting repose in old age. Do not over
work yourselves; do every thing in mod
eration.-.7.Lord Brougham,.
He that will often put eternity and the
'world before him, and who will dare to
look steaclfabtly.at!both of them, will find
!that:the more oftert , he contemplates them,
the former will grewgreater and the latter
SEEM
ADVERTISEMENTS.
TERMS IN ADVANCE.
Row to Get Repose in Old Age.
EMU