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the great good which God confers through Jesus Christ . * He hath given tfs not the spirit of fear , but of power , and of love , and of ( a sound jnincD * . The glory of Christianity is , the pure and lofty action w ^ ch it coinniunic a ^ es ; to the human mind . It does not breathe a timid ,, abject ; spirit , if it did , it would deserve no praise . It gives power , energy , courage , ^ bnsxancy to the
will ; love , disinterestedness , enlarged affection to the heart ; soundness , clearness , and vigour to the understanding " . It rescues him who -tfec ' eives it from sin , from the sway of thepassi 6 ns ; gives him the full and free use of his best powers ; brings out and brightens the divine image in which he was created ; and in this way not only bestows the promise , but the beginning of heaven . This is the excellence of Christianity . "—Pp . 3 , 4 .
Various passages are then cited from the New Testament confirmatory of this view of the great aim and end of Christ's mission , and shewing that , according to its plain and uniform language , he " lived , taught , died , and rose again , to exert a purifying and ennobling influence on the human character ; " a design , the glory of which is thus beautifully illustrated : " Let me now ask , Can a nobler end be ascribed to Jesus ? I affirm , that there is , and can be no greater work on earth than to purify the soul from evil , and to kindle in it new light , life , energy , and love . I maintain that the
true measure of the glory of a religion is to be found in the spirit and power which it communicates to its disciples . This is one of the plain teachings of reason . The chief blessing to an intelligent being " , that which makes all other blessings poor , is the improvement of his own mind . Man is glorious and happy , not by what he has , but by what he is . He can receive nothing better or nobler than the unfolding of his own spiritual nature . The highest existence in the universe is Mind ; for God is mind ; and the developement of that principle which assimilates us to God must be our supreme good . The
omnipotent Creator , we have reason to think , can bestow nothing greater than intelligence , love , rectitude , energy of will and of benevolent action ; for these are the splendours of his own nature . We adore him for these . In imparting these , he imparts , as it were , himself . We are too apt to look abroad for good . But the only true good is within . In this outward universe , magnificent as it is , in the bright day and the starry night , in the earth and the skies , we can discover nothing so vast as thought , so strong as the unconquerable purpose of duty , so sublime as the spirit of disinterestedness
and self-sacrifice . A mind which withstands all the powers of the outward universe , all the pains which fire , and sword , and storm can inflict , rather than swerve from uprightness , is nobler than the universe . Why will we not learn the glory of the soul ? We are seeking a foreign good . But we aU possess within us what is of more worth than the external creation . For this outward system is the product of Mind . All its harmony , beauty , and beneficent influences , are the fruits and manifestations of thought and love ; and is it not nobler and happier to be enriched with these energies , from which the universe springs , and to which it owes its magnificence , than to possess
the universe itself ? It is not what we have , but what we are , which constitutes pur glory and felicity . The only true and durable riches belong to the mind . A soul , narrow and debased , may extend its possessions to the end of the eartl ^ but is pppr and wretched still . It is through inward health tfiat we enjoy all outward things . Philosophers teach us that . the mind creates the beauty which i |; admires in nature ; and we all know that ,, when abandoned to evil passions , it can blot out tnis beauty and spread overl the fairest scenes , the gloom of a dungeon . We alt know , that by vice it can turn the cup of social happiness into'poison ;* and the ttMst prosperous coridititih of 'life M 6 * a curse . From these views we lehrm that the true » Metod and satyioiUr 1 is ii 6 t li < 5 \\/ tob
acts for us abroad , but whotftctsiwithin , who sets « Jheiswil freey touched the springs of thau ^ htii ^ a ^ ctiQn , Winds- ufc tonGodytfnd te ^ tfisfciinilatjiiigiiifiMtt the Creator ^ bnnp us jnfo ^ an ^ onywjtjiflie , c ^ e ^<* o »/ M yTliwa thc ^ ndiwfeflch
Untitled Article
660 Channinsr ' s Design of Christianity .
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Oct. 2, 1828, page 660, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2565/page/4/
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