Billeder på siden
PDF
ePub

putting it out of their power to defend them any longer. These are they, and O! how infinite is their number, of whom Christ says: They love darkness rather than light, John, iii. 16.; and who say to the Prophets: Prophesy not unto us right things: speak unto us smooth things, Isai. xxx. 10. They form to themselves a false conscience, as the Jews did when they murdered their Messiah, Acts, iii. 17.; and as he himself foretold that many others would do, in murdering his disciples, John, xvi. 2. And here permit me to observe, that I myself have experienced something of this spirit in my religious discussions, with persons who have been loudest in professing their candour and charity. Hence, I make no doubt, if the elucidation which you call for at my hands, for your numerous Society, should happen, by any means to become public, that I shall have to eat the bread of affliction, and drink the water of tribulation, 1 Kings, xxii. 27., for this discharge of my duty, perhaps during the remainder of my life. But, as the Apostle writes, none of these things move me; neither count I my life dear to me, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus. Acts, xx. 24.

It remains, Sir, to settle the conditions of our correspondence. What I propose is, that, in the first place, we should mutually, and indeed all of us who are concerned in this friendly controversy, be at perfect liberty without offence to any one, to speak of doctrines, practices, and persons, in the manner we may judge the most suitable for the discovery of truth: secondly, that we should be disposed, in common, as far as poor human nature will permit, to investigate truth with impartiality;

to acknowledge it, when discovered, with candour; and, of course, to renounce every error and unfounded prejudice that may be detected, on any side, whatever may be the sacrifice or the cost. I, for my part, dear Sir, here solemnly promise, that I will publicly renounce the Religion, of which I am a Minister, and will induce as many of my flock, as I may be able to influence, to do the same, should it prove to be that mass of absurdity, bigotry, superstition, idolatry, and immorality,' which you, Sir, and most Protestants conceive it to be; nay, even if I should not succeed in clearing it of these respective charges. To religious controversy, when originating in its proper motives, a desire of serving God and securing our salvation, I cannot declare myself an enemy, without virtually condemning the conduct of Christ himself, who, on every occasion, arraigned and refuted the errors of the Pharisees: but I cannot conceive any hypocrisy so detestable as that of mounting the pulpit or employing the pen on sacred subjects, to serve our temporal interests, our resentment or our pride, under pretext of promoting or defending religious truth. To inquirers in the former predicament, I hold myself a debtor, as I have already said; but the circumstances must be extraordinary, to induce me to hold a communication with persons in the latter. Lastly, as you appear, Sir, to approve of the plan I spoke of in my first letter to Dr. Sturges, I mean to pursue it on the present occasion. This, however, will necessarily throw back the examination of your charges to a considerable distance; as several other important inquiries must precede it.

I am, &c.

J. M.

LETTER III.

From JAMES BROWN, Esq. to the Rev. J. M., D. D.

PRELIMINARIES.

REVEREND SIR,

New Cottages October 30, 1801,

No

I HAVE been favoured, în due course, with yours of the 20th instant, which I have communicated to those persons of our Society whom I have had an opportunity of seeing. circumstance could strike us with greater sorrow, than that you should suffer any inconvenience from your edifying promptness to comply with our well meant request, and we confidently trust that nothing of the kind will take place through any fault committed by us. We agree with you, as to the necessity of perfect freedom of speech, where the discovery of important truths is the real object of inquiry. Hence, while we are at liberty to censure many of your Popes and other clergy, Mr. Topham will not be offended with any thing that you can prove against Calvin, nor will Mr. Rankin quarrel with you for exposing the faults of George Fox and James Naylor, nor shall I complain of you for any thing that you may make out against our venerable Latimer or Cranmer; I say the same of doctrines and practices as of persons. If you are guilty of idolatry, or we of heresy, we are respectively unfortunate, and the greatest act of charity we can perform is to point out to each other the danger of our respective situations to their full extent. Not to renounce error and embrace truth of every kind, when we clearly see it, would be

folly; and to neglect doing this, when the question is concerning religious truth, would be folly and wickedness combined together. Finally, we cheerfully leave you to follow what course you please, and to whatever extent you please, provided only that you give us such satisfaction as you are capable →of affording on the subjects which I mentioned in my former letter.

I am, Rev. Sir, &c.

JAMES BROWN.

LETTER IV.

To JAMES BROWN, Esq. &c.

DISPOSITIONS FOR RELIGIOUS INQUIRY.

DEAR SIR,

THE dispositions which you profess, on the part of your friends as well as yourself, I own, please me, and animate me to undertake the task you impose upon me. Nevertheless, availing myself of the liberty of speech which you and your friends allow me, I am compelled to observe, that there is nothing in which men are more apt to labour under a delusion, than by imagining themselves to be free from religious prejudices, sincere in seeking after, and resolved to embrace the truth of religion, in opposition to their preconceived opinions and worldly interests. How many imitate Pilate, who, when he had asked our Saviour the question; What is truth? presently went out of his

company, before he could receive an answer to it! John, xviii. 38. How many others resemble the rich young man, who, having interrogated Christ; What good things shall I do that I may have eternal life? when this Divine Master answered him: If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell what thou hast and give to the poor;-went away sorrowful! Matt. xix. 22. Finally, how many more act like certain presumptuous disciples of our Lord, who, when he had propounded to them a mystery beyond their conception, that of the Real presence, in these words: My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed;-said, this is a hard saying; who can hear it?-and went back and walked no more with him! John, vi. 56. O! if all Christians, of the different sects and opinions, were but possessed of the sincerity, disinterestedness, and earnestness to serve their God and save their souls, which a Francis Walsingham, kinsman to the great statesman of that name, a Hugh Paulin Cressey, Dean of Leighlin and Prebendary of Windsor, and an Antony Ulric, Duke of Brunswick and Lunenburgh, prove themselves to have been possessed of, the first in his Search into Matters of Religion, the second in his Exomologesis, or Motives of Conversion, &c. and the last in his Fifty Reasons; how soon would all and every one of our controversies cease, and all of us be united in one faith, hope, and charity! I will here transcribe, from the Preface to the Fifty Reasons, what the illustrious relative of his Majesty says, concerning the dispositions with which he set about inquiring into the grounds and differences of the several systems of Christianity, when he began to entertain doubts concerning the truth of that in

« ForrigeFortsæt »