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same congregations just as quietly had those congregations remained orthodox.

dollars. It elects its own members; and a majority of them having proved to be Unitarian, the society has passed wholly In philosophy the Unitarians of Newinto the hands of that sect. It expends England were at first, and for some years, the income of its fund in supporting two followers of Locke; holding that all our or three preachers among the remnants of ideas, or, at least, the elements of which Indian tribes in New-England. One or they are formed, are received through the two other unimportant societies, not ori- senses. Very naturally, therefore, they ginally formed by them, have in like man- built their belief of Christianity wholly on ner passed under their control. They have evidence addressed to the senses. They no organization for foreign missions. To believed that miracles had been wrought, the Bible Society they contribute some- because it appeared so extremely improbthing, but the amount is not known. able that the apostles were deceived conThe "American Unitarian Association," cerning them, or attempted to deceive othformed in 1825, is their principal organ-ers; or that the canonical writings ascriization for united action. Its object is de-bed to them are spurious; or that the acclared to be "to diffuse the knowledge counts of miracles which they contain are and promote the interests of pure Chris-interpolations. Those miracles they held tianity throughout our country." Its six- to be the testimony of God, addressed to teenth annual report gives the names of the senses of men, proving the truth of 117 clergymen who have been made life Christianity. Yet they did not admit the members by the payment of thirty dollars each, of whom eight are dead. The whole number of life members are stated at 374. It expended during the year ending in May, 1841, the sum of 4962 dollars, which was 81 dollars 89 cents more than its receipts. The expenses of administration were, the salary of the general agent, 1800; his travelling expenses, 100; office rent, 200; total, 2100 dollars; being very nearly three sevenths of the whole.

Their

infallibility of the apostolic writings as we have them. Many of them held that the authors of the several parts of the New Testament had no inspiration which secured them against mistakes and false reasoning; and they very generally held, that strong texts in favour of the doctrine of the Trinity, the divinity of Christ, or the personality of the Holy Spirit, must be interpolations or corruptions. religious guide, therefore, was so much of This association has published 179 dif- the Bible as they judged to be true; and ferent tracts, the prices of which vary their religion was, in its theory, the confrom one cent to six cents. During the formity of their hearts and lives to certain year ending in May, 1841, it aided sixteen external rules, which, in all probability, destitute congregations, of which ten were were originally given by God, and which in New-England, three in the State of New-have been transmitted to us in a record York, and three in the Western States. which is not free from error. To this, inThe lowest appropriation for this purpose dividuals among them appended more or was thirty dollars, and the highest 300. less of sentiment and imagination, accordIt also expended 570 dollars for mission-ing to the prompting of their own genius. ary services, of which 530 were expended to the west of New-England.

A system like this can never long continue to satisfy any community. It fails to meet The smallness of the amount expended certain feelings of spiritual want, which by Unitarians in the way of associated ac- are sure to spring up in many minds. tion is not to be ascribed to parsimony, Hence there has been among the more sebut to religious indifference. A large part rious, ever since the separation, a gradual of the wealth of Boston, and of the east- going over to orthodoxy, which has retardern part of Massachusetts, is in their hands; ed the growth of Unitarianism. Now the and their capitalists have made many splen-orthodox Congregational churches in Bosdid donations to literary, scientific, and humane institutions.

Their churches probably contain some truly regenerate persons, who became members of them before they were avowedly Unitarian, and who remain there from reverence for ancient usages, attachment to the places where their ancestors worshipped, and other similar causes. Others of them are men of stern and almost Puritanic morality, who have had from infancy great reverence for religion in the gross, but have never seriously studied its application to themselves in the detail of its doctrines and duties, and who would have remained steadfast members of the

ten are about as numerous as the Unitarian, and the worshippers much more numerous; and the result is similar in the surrounding country.

A few years since, German Transcendentalism made its appearance among the Unitarian clergy, and has spread rapidly. Its adherents, generally, are not very profound thinkers, nor very well acquainted with the philosophy which they have embraced, or with the evidence on which it rests. It promises to relieve its disciples from the necessity of building their religious faith and hopes on probabilities, however strong, and to give them an intuitive and infallible knowledge of all that is es

sential in religion; and it affords an unlimited range for the play of the imagination. It has charms, therefore, for the contemplative and for the enthusiastic.

then or afterward, till public attention was called to the subject by three evangelical clergymen who attended the ordination as hearers, and took notes of the discourse. The controversy on this subject became These three witnesses, some weeks after public in 1836. It was brought out by an the ordination, published extracts from the article in the Christian Examiner, main- sermon in several religious newspapers, taining that our faith in Christianity does and called on the members of the ordaining not rest on the evidence of miracles; that Council to say whether they recognised a record of miracles, however attested, can the preacher as a Christian minister. Pub. prove nothing in favour of a religion not lic attention was roused. Several intellipreviously seen to be true; and that, there- gent Unitarian laymen united in the defore, we need to see and admit the reason- mand. Continued silence became impracableness and truth of the doctrines of Chris- ticable. A number of articles appeared in tianity, before we can believe that miracles newspapers and magazines, in which indiwere wrought to commend it to mankind.vidual Unitarian ministers denounced the The "Old School" Unitarians, as they sermon, and pronounced its doctrines deiscalled themselves, pronounced this theory tical; but they carefully avoided the quesinfidelity, for it struck at the foundation tion, whether its author was recognised by of the only reasoning by which they proved the truth of Christianity. The controversy was protracted, and somewhat bitter; but no attempt was made by the "Old School" to separate themselves from those whom they denounced as infidels.

Why was not this defection arrested in its progress by ecclesiastical authority? The answer is easy.

them as a Christian minister. Öthers of them preached and wrote in his defence. His ecclesiastical relations still remain undisturbed. Some of his Unitarian neighbours have recognised his ministerial character by exchanging pulpits with him on The charge of Pantheism is brought the Sabbath; and he has, in his turn, against the Transcendentalists generally, preached the weekly lecture maintained by their Unitarian opponents; and, in fact, by the Unitarian clergy of the Boston Assome of their publications are evidently sociation. It is understood, therefore, that Pantheistic, while others are ambiguous the public avowal of doctrines like his, in that respect. Some of them have bor-forms no obstacle to a regular standing in rowed largely from Benjamin Constant, the Unitarian ministry. and maintain that all religions, from Fetichism to the most perfect form of Christianity, are essentially of the same nature, being only developments, more or less perfect, of the religious sentiment which is common to all men. According to them, all men who have any religious thoughts or feelings are so far inspired; Moses, Minos, and Numa, and a few others, had an unusual degree of inspiration; and Jesus of Nazareth most of all. They do not believe, however, that even Jesus was so inspired as to be in all cases an infallible teacher; and they declare themselves by no means sure that we shall not yet see his superior. They reject Christ as a mediator in every sense of the term, and declare that, in order to be true Christians, we must hold intercourse with God as Christ himself did, without a mediator.

In Connecticut, where one or two ministers became Unitarian while the community remained orthodox, it was done. Those Unitarian ministers were removed from their places, and the progress of error was arrested. In Massachusetts, the defection was carried on by a different process. Men did not fall, one at a time, from orthodoxy into open Unitarianism, but almost the whole community in the eastern part of the state sunk down gradually and together. For a long time there was no proof by which any one could be convicted of heresy; and when proof was obtained, the heretics were found to be the majority in the ecclesiastical bodies to which they belonged, and of course, if any process had been commenced, would have decided all questions in their own favour.

These impious doctrines have been promulgated in periodicals and otherwise, from time to time, with increasing boldness. The friends and abettors of the CongreIn the spring of the year 1841, they were gational independence of individual churchput forth without disguise and without re- es maintain that it has been the means serve in a sermon at an ordination at South of saving New-England from universal Boston. Several of the leading Unitarian apostacy. Had the Synod in 1662, they -clergy of the "Old School" were present, say, instead of being merely advisory, and took part in the services. It is said possessed jurisdiction over the churches, that some of them, in performing their parts, it would have imposed the half-way_coveuttered sentiments at variance with those nant upon them all. As it was only adof the preacher, from which attentive hear-visory, a considerable number of churches ers might infer that the sermon did not meet their approbation; but there was no explicit condemnation of the sermon either

rejected its advice, and adhered to the ancient practice of the Pilgrims.*_So, half

Many readers, however, will be of opinion that,

a century later, had there been an ecclesiastical government to which all the churches owed obediênce, Stoddard's doctrine of admitting the unregenerate to full communion would have been enforced upon all; for numbers and influence were in its favour. And when Edwards, after the great revival of 1740, reproclaimed the ancient doctrine concerning church membership, had there been an ecclesiastical tribunal having authority over all the churches, he and his Reformation would have been put down at once, and the admission of the unregenerate to the Lord's table would have been required of all. And, finally, consider, they still farther say, the state of things in 1815, when conclusive proof was first obtained of the existence of Unitarianism among the Congregational clergy in Eastern Massachusetts. The Unitarians had the majority in the ecclesiastical bodies of which they were members. Had these bodies possessed jurisdiction over all churches within their bounds, they might have established Unitarianism in them all, and might have forbidden all efforts for the revival or preser- The Christ-ians, according to some of vation of orthodoxy. If there had been a their leading authorities, had a threefold. body representing all the churches in the origin. The first members of their sociestate, and having authority over all, the ties, or churches, in New-England, were majority would have been orthodox; but originally members of the Regular Bapthe Unitarians were numerous and power- tist connexion; in the West they had been ful enough to have thrown off its jurisdic- Presbyterians, and in the South Methotion, and to have subsisted by themselves, dists. Their churches have all along been as they now do. If the civil government constituted on the following principles : had been invested with power to enforce "The Scriptures are taken to be the only religious uniformity, it could have prevent-rule of faith and practice, each individual ed such a result; but it would not have done it; for the most important powers of the civil government were then, and, with few exceptions, have been ever since, wielded by Unitarian hands.

tians is of purely American origin. They are more generally called in the United States Christ-ians, the i in the first syllable being pronounced long, though this pronunciation, I need hardly say, is rejected by themselves.

Dating their rise from about the year. 1803, they appeared, it seems, in NewEngland, Ohio, and Kentucky, some say also in the South, nearly about the same time. They boast of having no founder― no Luther or Calvin, no Whitefield or Wesley—that can claim any special influence among them. They are the largest nocreed sect in America, and had their origin in the dissatisfaction that existed in some minds with what they called the “ bondage of creeds," and still more, with the bondage of discipline that prevails, as they insist, in all other churches. This may be easily accounted for. Many of the most active promoters of the new sect had been. excluded from other communions because of their denial of some important doctrine, or their refusal to submit to discipline and government.

In all these instances, the independence of the churches, its friends firmly believe, secured to the most orthodox the privilege of adhering to the whole truth, both in doctrine and practice, and of exerting themselves in its defence and for its diffusion. This privilege there have always been some to claim and to use. Error, therefore, has always been held in check till truth could rally its forces and regain its ascendency.

CHAPTER IV.

THE CHRIST-IAN CONNEXION.

THE body that assumes the title of Chrisbut for the isolation of ministers and congregations under the Congregational system, error must have been much sooner discovered, and checked in its beginnings. The same remark applies to the apostacy of many nominally Presbyterian ministers and congregations in England. These never were Presbyterians in fact. Error thus had leave to work its way unchecked by the oversight either of bishop or presbytery.

being at liberty to determine for himself, in relation to these matters, what they enjoin; no member is subject to the loss of church fellowship on account of his sincere and conscientious belief, so long as he manifestly lives a pious and devout life; no member is subject to discipline and church censure but for disorderly and immoral conduct; the name Christian to be adopted, to be exclusive of all sectarian names, as the most appropriate designation of the body and its members; the only condition or test of admission, as a member of a church, is a personal profession of the Christian religion, accompanied with satisfactory evidence of sincerity and piety, and a determination to live according to the divine rule or the Gospel of Christ; each church is considered an independent body, possessing exclusive authority to regulate and govern its own affairs."*

Although their founders continued to least, of the peculiarities of the various cleave more or less closely to some, at bodies in which they had been brought up, a process of assimilation to each other has been gradually going on, and has at

* See an "Account of the Christian Connexion, or Christ-ians," by the Rev. Joshua V. Himes, in the Encyclopædia of Religious Knowledge.

es, and about 30,000 members. The population supposed to be under their influence estimated at 300,000, which is manifestly too high, for many of their congregations are very small, particularly in the West.

Generally speaking, their ministers are men of little education, but a laudable desire for improvement in this respect has been showing itself. The State of Indiana granted them a charter some years ago for a college at New Albany, but whether it has taken effect I know not. They have no theological seminaries. For some years past they have had a religious journal called "The Christian Palladium," published in the State of New-York, and two other journals, one published in New-Hampshire, the other in Illinois. They have a Book Association also. Upon the whole, much inferior as the Christians are to the Unitarians in point of wealth, the size of their churches, the learning and eloquence of their ministers, and the rank and respectability of their members, yet being far more numerous, and having doctrines of quite as elevated a character, their influence upon the masses, whlie kindred in nature, is perhaps greater in extent.

length brought them to a considerable de- | 1841 there were in the United States and gree of uniformity on most points of doc- Canada forty-one conferences, embracing, trine. Trinitarians for the most part at the it was estimated, 593 ministers, 591 churchoutset, they have now almost unanimously rejected the doctrine of the Trinity as unscriptural; and although they refuse to be tied down to a creed, the following may be considered as a fair outline of the doctrines that prevail among them: "There is one living and true God, the Father Almighty, who is unoriginated, independent, and eternal, the Creator and Supporter of all worlds; and that this God is one spiritual intelligence, one infinite mind, ever the same, never varying: that this God is the moral Governor of the world, the absolute source of all the blessings of nature, providence, and grace, in whose infinite wisdom, goodness, mercy, benevolence, and love, have originated all his moral dispensations to man: that all men sin and come short of the glory of God, and, consequently, fall under the curse of the law that Christ is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, and Saviour of the world, the Mediator between God and man, by whom God has revealed his will to mankind; by whose sufferings, death, and resurrection, a way has been provided by which sinners may obtain salvation-may lay hold on eternal life; that he is appointed of God to raise the dead, and judge the world at the last day that the Holy Spirit is the power and energy of God-that holy influence of God by whose agency, in the use of means, the wicked are regenerated, converted, and recovered to a virtuous and holy life, sanctified and made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light; and that, by the same In our chapter on the Unitarians we ex-Spirit, the saints, in the use of means, are pressed our views of the moral influence comforted, strengthened, and led in the path of the doctrines of the Universalists. The of duty: the free forgiveness of sins, flow-latter were little known as a sect in Amering from the rich mercy of God, through ica until about the middle of the last centhe labours, sufferings, and blood of our tury, when a few persons of reputation. Lord Jesus Christ: the necessity of re- partially or wholly embraced their docpentance towards God, and faith towards trines. These were afterward preached our Lord Jesus Christ: the absolute ne- by the Rev. John Murray, who came from cessity of holiness of heart and rectitude England in 1770, and were embraced by of life to enjoy the favour and approbation the Rev. Elhanan Winchester, a Baptist of God: the doctrine of a future state of minister of considerable talent. Both Murimmortality: the doctrine of a righteous ray and Winchester held the doctrine of retribution, in which God will render to restoration, that is, that after the resurrecevery man according to the deeds done in tion and the judgment, the wicked, after the body: the baptism of believers by im- suffering in hell for a time, and in a measmersion and the open communion at the ure proportioned to their guilt, will eventLord's table of Christians of every denom-ually be recovered through the influences ination having a good standing in their respective churches."*

CHAPTER V.

THE UNIVERSALISTS.

of the Spirit, and saved by the atonement of Christ. About the year 1790, the Rev. Although each church is wholly inde- Hosea Ballou appeared as a Universalist pendent of all others in the management preacher, and taught that all punishment of its affairs, yet, for the promotion of their is in this life, and, consequently, that the mutual prosperity, they have associations souls of the righteous and the wicked alike called "State Conferences," composed of pass immediately at death into a state of delegates from the clergy and the church-happiness-a doctrine which, being much es, but with only advisory powers. In more acceptable to the unrenewed heart, * See 46 Account of the Christian Connexion, or became much more popular than that of Christ-ians," by the Rev. Joshua V. Himes, as above. restoration as above described. The res

CHAPTER VI.

torationist preachers in the United States and all haters of evangelical religion. hardly exceed twelve or fifteen in number, Their preaching positively exercises no and their churches are even fewer; where- reforming influence on the wicked, and. as the Universalists, properly so called, what worse can be said of it ?* have rapidly increased here within the last forty years. In 1801 there were but twenty-two avowed Universalist preachers; they now state their numbers to be as follows: a General Convention, twelve State Conventions, fifty-nine Associations, 540 preachers, 550 meeting-houses, 875 societies, and 600,000 of the population under their influence. The last item, we suspect, is much too high. Their congregations are mostly small, and many attend from mere curiosity.

SWEDENBORGIANS AND TUNKERS.

THE New Jerusalem Church, or Swedenborgians, are not numerous in America. Their doctrines were first propagated here, I believe, by some missionaries from England. Their churches, which are small, are about thirty or forty in number, and isoThe doctrines of the American Univer-lated members of the sect are to be found salists are well expressed in three articles adopted as a " Profession of Belief" by the General Convention of Universalists, held in 1803. It is said to be "perfectly satisfactory to the denomination," and is as follows:

1. "We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, interest, and final destination of mankind.

2. "We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love; revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of grace, who will finally restore the whole world of mankind to holiness and happi

ness.

in various parts of the country. They have about thirty-five ministers, with hardly 10,000 souls under their instruction. Their churches, in point of government, are, in the main, independent, with consultative conventions of their ministers, held from time to time. Their doctrines, which, the reader must be aware, are of Swedish origin, and have for their author Baron Emanuel Swedenborg, are a strange “amalgamation," as some one has justly remarked, “of Sabellianism, the errors of the Patripassians, many of the anti-scriptural notions of the Socinians, and some of the most extravagant vagaries of mysticism. Their mode of interpreting Scripture is totally at variance with every principle of sound philology and exegesis, and necessarily tends to unsettle the mind, and leave

3. "We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected; and that believers ought to be careful to main-it a prey to the wildest whimsies that it is tain order and practise good works; for these things are good and profitable unto men."

Although their churches are all severally independent of each other, yet for consultation they have local associations, State Conventions, and a General Convention. They have begun of late years to pay some attention to education, and have now what they call a university in the State of Vermont, and three or four inferior institutions. Most of their preachers, though men of little learning, by directing all their thoughts to one point, and mustering every plausible argument in favour of their doctrines, become wonderfully skilful in wielding their sophistry, so as readily to seduce such as want to find an easier way to heaven than can be found in the Scriptures, when these are not tortured and perverted to serve some particular end. They say that they have no fewer than twenty newspapers, advocating their doctrines in different parts of the country.

The only Universalists whose preaching seems to have any moral influence, are the handful of Restorationists-the rest are heard with delight chiefly by the irreligious, the profane, Sabbath-breakers, drunkards,

possible for the human mind to create or entertain." They practise both Baptism and the Lord's Supper. They have two or three periodicals, in which their doctrines are expounded and defended.

Tunkers. The Tunkers, or Dunkers, are, on the other hand, a sect of German origin. They are Seventh-day Baptist Universalists. They are Restorationists, and teach that men may do works of supererogation: on this latter point, as well as on

On the opening of a Universalist place of worship in any of our cities and villages, it is flocked to chiefly by low, idle, and vicious persons. Curiosity sometimes attracts others of a better description for a time; but it is a remarkable fact, established by the testimony of Universalists on becoming converted to the Truth, that few can, however desirous, ever bring themselves to believe the doctrine of universal salvation. Most are like the New-England farmer who, at the close of a Universalist service, thanked the preacher for his sermon, saying that he vastly liked his doctrine, and would give him five dollars if he would only prove it to be true!

ing faster in America than anywhere else at present. †The Swedenborgians say that they are increasIf this be so, their increase throughout the world must be slow indeed. The late Judge Young, of Greensburg, in Pennsylvania, and a few other men of some influence, have been reckoned among their converts. In some instances men who have grown tired of the coldness of Unitarianism, have betaken themselves to Swedenborgianism.

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