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    clearly connected . There are , moreover , many other phenomena of the inner life which language can only imperfectly describe , but of whose existence we are entirely convinced . In such cases we can only say , in the noble language of Emerson , " After all , the rapt sa int is the only logician ; " or remind the objector of the not less idealistic language of Paul , « ' That faith is the substance of things hoped for , the evidence of things not seen . " Mr . Newman sufficiently proves that this faith exists in an early stage of the spiritual consciousness , and he thinks that the «« instinct which seeks after God and the Infinite is the most powerful in man . "

    Whilst he admits the necessity of moral restraint to regulate the exercise of the spiritual faculties , he still protests against the vague charge of mysticism being brought against those who find a higher law within them than is realized by any positive creed . It is not by power of intellect that we grasp the realities of religion , but by looking inwards on the

    soul , where the image of God is reflected with a clearness proportioned to the brightness of the mirror . " Let us not deal more slightingly , " adds Mr . Newman , " with the testimony of the soul than with that of touch or taste . " It is clear , therefore , that he considers the inward witness of the spirit as real and as trustworthy as that which belongs to the outward

    senses . Upon this grand basis , then , Mr . Newman believes that all real religion must be founded . God has revealed to the soul of man " all things that pertain to life and godliness . " Against the prevailing Bibliolatry he strongly protests , as leading us away from the proper business of our souls ; " for why , " he

    asks"Why should any one study to develop from within a knowledge of right and wrong , when , if his results clash with those of a book , he will have to trim and prune himself into shape ? It is easier and safer to crush inward sentiment in order to receive the truth by testimony from without ! This is the carnal and dense covert under which every

    superstition has found shelter , and which , if it be not torn down , will , in e ' very age , foster as much uncleanness and cruelty in the Church as the moral light abroad in the world will allow . " In his second chapter Mr . Newman proceeds to analyze , with a skilful hand , the origin of a " sense of sin" in the soul , exposing the various perversions which the doctrine hag suffered at the hands of fanaticism and superstition , —far too large a subject for us to enter upon within our scanty limits . And in his

    third chapter he discusses the " sense of personal relation to God ; " defending the doctrine from that hypercritical philosophy which would regard the intercourse of the Finite with the Infinite as metaphysically impossible . In this matter he forcibly argues that the spiritual facts asserted by religious men of all ages are stronger than the conclusions of speculative reasoning . He next traces the

    development of the religious nature in connection with the affections , and declares that the soul must become not only " as a little child , " but even as a woman , in its trustful tenderness and faithful love of the " Father " and the ' * Bridegroom . " Such a condition of the soul reconciles it to all the apparent hardships of its condition , and even chastisement becomes an argument of the divine love . To show the connection

    between religion and the affections , he quotes the spiritual language of all ages , in which God is addressed as " Father , Brother , Friend , King , Master , Shepherd , Guide , " &c , but gives the preference to the metaphor of marriage as best explaining the relation of God and man . " And why , " he asks , need the soul scruple to say that she is * partaker of the Divine nature ' if God loves her and dwells in her bosom ?"

    The two opposite perversions of the doctrine of " new birth , "—the one the Calvinistic notion , referring it to irresistible agency , without any effort of the soul herself , and drawing a dark line between the regenerate and unregenerate , the godly and ungodly ; and the other the gross superstition of supposing that a child is born again by the magical sprinkling of water—are strongly denounced : the first as " immoral bigotry , " and the last •« dead mechanism . "

    The fourth chapter ( " On Spiritual Progress ) treats of the struggles of the soul , touched and awakened by divine love , for the attainment of ideal excellence . Our author boldly criticises those rigid and pharisaical ethics that would repress , as necessarily hostile to religion , those expressions of joy and gladness that axe natural to the human heart ,

    —the love of the beautiful in nature and art , and the free exercise of the social affections . In such matters the law must be looked for within us , for " a book revelation on such subjects is impossible . " Nay , more , he denies that the example of Christ himself can be held up as a perfect for the guidance of his followers . Our own inherent spiritual instinct must be here a better guide than either dogmatic ethics or personal example : the spiritual , here as elsewhere , transcends

    the moral life . Our immorality consists in outraging , by our vices and sensuality , those divine instincts of the soul which , when kept pure and active , can alone bring us into direct personal intercourse with God . It is impossible to judge of the value of a rule except by its effects on our religious character : the opera may be innocent , and the chapel a snare to us . " The upright and faithful soul knows and feels what things do , and what do not , impair communion of the heart with God . "

    There is a remarkable passage in this chapter ( page 178 ) which deserves especial notice , as vindicating from the fanaticism of modern creeds the true scriptural doctrine of spiritual influences . We are reminded that this doctrine was taught in its simplicity by prophets and apostles long before we heard of two spirits of God—the one * ' ordinary , " and the other " extraordinary "; the one " dictating propositions , " and the other " inclining the hearers" to receive them . Every living member of Christ ' s body was then supposed to be animated " with the selfsame spirit . "

    No written law was or could be appealed to—but one written " on the fleshy tables of the heart . Men were admonished not to quench this spirit ; but now it is declared by Mr . Newman that , " by idolizing the letter , men do quench it , and then are unable to understand that very letter which they blazon forth in purple and gold" ! Nobly does Mr . Newman everywhere vindicate the spirituality of Paul * s religion ( so sadly perverted to the uses of fanaticism ) , by showing how entirely he rejected all other teaching but that of the " inward witness . "

    In reference to the observance of the Sabbath , and many other outward means of grace , which , founded originally on fellowship , have passed into dead formalities , Mr . Newman expresses the clearest and most rational views . He plainly declares that Sundays are not Sabbaths , and that Sabbaths are no part of Gentile Christianity . " He points to Paul ' s contemptuous rejection of the Sabbath as conclusive against the arguments of the English Puritan and Scotch Sabbatarian , and reminds us that up to the

    days of Constantine such Sabbaths were unknown to the Christian churches , and that it is * ' an ancient and Catholic doctrine "; that the observance of Sunday is an ordinance of the church , and not a command of God . Of course we have only room to glance at the subject , which is discussed with learning and research , whilst its bearings on the condition of the people , morally and spiritually , is clearly explained . A clear and comprehensive inquiry follows , into the philosophy of religious worship , its end and purpose , its uses and abuses .

    The fifth chapter discusses a question ( " Hopes concerning a Future Life ") at once so vast , so solemn , and so interesting , that we feel embarrassed in approaching it from the fear that we may misrepresent the views of the writer in our necessarily brief and imperfect notice . Of course , we can only give the merest outline of the arguments produced . From the « ' Phaedo " of Plato to the most modern treatise on the subject , it is assumed that the mind cannot perish by the dissolution of the body . This Mr . Newman declares to be unscientific—in fact , he calls it "

    unmeaning jargon . " The purely Christian argument , that the idea of another world is necessary to redress the inequalities and injustice of the present , is equally rejected , as impeaching the Divine government , and imputing injustice to the Infinite . The idea of immortality , it is argued , is not necessary to stimulate our virtuous exertion , and that , if we rely on prudential motives of rewards and punishments , we ignore the power of conscience and the love of virtue for

    its own sake . This Mr . Newman thinks is " deeply corrupting . " His argument is in this respect similar to that of Strauss in his " Soliloquies . " There is , then , no logical proof of the existence of the soul after death , and our utmost assurance is derived from that " longing after immortality , "—that spiritual yearning for a perpetual union with God , which belongs exclusively to the religious consciousness . Both the Old and New Testaments are critically examined in this matter , and Mr . Newman does not

    hesitate in his conclusion . Some things in this chapter may at first sight be painful to some religious minds , but we believe that much misapprehension has existed , and slill exists , as to the meaning of the author . But let us quote his own words : — " But do I then deny a future life , or seek to undermine a belief in it ? Most assuredly not ; but I would put the belief ( whether it is to be weaker or firmer ) on a spiritual basis , and on none other . Our hopes , then , of a future life are not supported by the certainty of external revelation , but depend exclusively on our spiritual instincts .

    The last chapter of the book treats of the " Prospects of Christianity . " Our author emphatically declares that the present church machinery—based on " Christian evidences , " " mechanical inspiration , " and " doctrine "—is utterly adverse to the spirit of Christianity , and unsuited to the genius of the age . To assume the infallibility of any written law , or the infallible inspiration of any religious teacher , is virtually to stifle the spirit of God . The only parties to the religious compact are God and the human soul ;

    and our vast and complicated system of doctrines , our inspired books , and inspired teachers , are utterly valueless except in so far as they present this simple relation clearly and forcibly to the minds of men . Abundant proof is given of the fallibility of the Bible records , and of the infirmities and errors of their writers ; and yet we continue to regard these writings as the literal utterances of the spirit of God ! Our God is no longer a " living God "—ever present with usfanning the feeble flame of our heavenward

    desiresministering hourly to our spiritual wants , and feeding the hunger of our souls ; but rather a far-off and mystical abstraction , enveloped in the clouds of priestly incense , and lost in the dreams of religious metaphysics . Man no longer talks with God face to face , and consults him as his daily monitor and familiar friend , but is content to approach Him through , the medium of an accredited ambassador , with

    solemn formalities and distant prostration . Like the early Israelites , we still believe that " no man can look upon God and live ; " and our Father and our Friend is regarded in the light of a severe and even cruel magistrate . It is to this prevailing coldness and pedantry in the present system of religious teaching , which enters so little into the true life of humanity , that we must attribute the Pantheistic tendencies of

    the educated and the infidelity of the ignorant . A thousand difficulties of history and philology , requiring the most accurate learning and the most patient research , are now to be encountered to establish the simple and catholic doctrines of Christ , which were first taught with such wondrous effect to the poor fishermen of Galilee . Surely Christianity may be taught now , as it was then , as a purely spiritual creed—a revelation to the soul of man requiring no other expositor than the Lord of the

    conscience . Is it just to anathematize the unlearned for historical doubts which they cannot solve , and for the rejection of doctrines they cannot comprehend , except by the doubtful teaching o £ wrangling controversialists ? The Gospel must again be taught by the " demonstration of the Spirit and of power , " and not by " the enticing words of man ' s wisdom . " The complicated theology of the Church is , to the true Christian pastor , what the " beggarly

    elements " of Judaism were to Paul . He has to eschew the same tyrannous traditions , the same lifeless forms , the same priestly pretension and vicarious sacrifices—all of which tend to make the living word of God of no effect . Whilst we are wielding these old and clumsy weapons , instead of the " sword of the Spirit , " a black infidelity is growing up around us , to combat which Mr , Newman tells us that " action of a totally different kind must

    be set up . An appeal must be made to the soul , and not merely to the intellect of man . An appeal to mere intellect will result in proving that historical religion is " as essential a contradiction as historical astronomy or mathematical religion . " All this criticism of the popular creed ( of which we can give but an imperfect idea in our brief notice ) is deeply

    significant of the wants and condition of the age . It is because there is no reality , no life , no real faith in the modern churches , that the minds of many , who care for these things , are turned so dreamily on the past . Hence our somewhat sickly sentiment for 11 Catholic antiquity , " ecclesiastical architecture , and priestly costume , —our Camden , our Parker , and Reformation societies , which have almost brought us

    Untitled Article

    April 6 , 1850 . ] ® & £ fttAfrtt * 3 S

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 6, 1850, page 39, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1839/page/15/