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CHANNING'S SERMONS . NEW SERIES *
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132
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The warmest of Dr . Channing ' s admirers will not be disappointed in this volume , which if it do not raise , may yet perhaps extend , and is at any rate well calculated to sustain , his reputation . It bears the beautiful impress of his peculiar genius ; and if those who are familiar with his other writings do not find in it the deveiopement of new views , or traits of mental character not heretofore
displayed by the author , we may yet hope that the selection of topics and the spirit in which they are discussed , may win the attention and sympathy of some whose prejudices have prevented their being benefitted by a writer whose vocation seems to be to benefit mankind . His strong individuality of thought ; his originality of conception and illustration ; his simple , yet glowing
style ; his uncompromising truthfulness ; his fervent devotion , his pure and high-toned feeling , and his affectionate reverence for humanity , all are here , —and what can we -wish for more ? We observe with regret , that the publication is less perfeet in his own estimation than it might have been , from the absence of amplification and revision , which ill health did not allow him to bestow .
Whatever diminishes his ability for mental exertion , is scarcely a less calamity to England than to America . The subjects of the sermons are , 1 . Evidences of Christianity . 2 . Character of Christ . 3 . Christianity a rational religion . 4 . Honour due to all men . 5 and 6 . Self-denial . 7 . The imitableness of Christ ' s character . 8 . The evil of sin . 9 . Immortality . 10 and 11 . Love to Christ . The first three sermons
are connected , and present a display of the evidences of the gospel , which is admirably adapted to conciliate the feelings , as well as to impress the minds of sceptics or unbelievers . Their separate publication would probably do much good . A
misconception of the spirit of Christianity is , we apprehend ^ by far the most prevalent cause of its rejection by intelligent men . Their objection lies not so much against the evidence , as against the proposition which it is alleged to establish ; and the proof
which would be allowed to be sufficient to sustain a doctrine of simplicity , freedom , and benevolence , is disregarded and
scorned , because employed to enforce a system of mystery , slavery , and bigotry . To show Christianity worthy of their love , is the best way of removing many of their doubts and difficulties as to
the conclusiveness of its evidence . Dr . Channing does not begin , nor end either , with a denunciation of guilt and endless punishment against an involuntary mental operation . He distinguishes between the various causes , both of belief and unbelief , under the different circumstances of age and country . He shows how both derive any thing of moral character which may properly be * Discourses , by William EUery Charming . London : Keanett , 1833 , 8 vo . pp . 274 ,
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1833, page 132, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2608/page/64/
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