QUARTERLY

THEOLOGICAL REVIEW.

MARCH, 1826.

Essays upon some of the Peculiarities of the Christian Religion. By RICHARD WHATELY, D.D., Principal of St. Alban's Hall, Oxford, and Late Fellow of Oriel College. Pp. 285. 7s. London. Murray,

1825.

THERE is in this volume so much that is both pleasing and instructive; so much that without, perhaps, being really new, acquires from the manner in which it is stated both the charm and interest of novelty, that we shall do great injustice to the author and to our readers, if we spend any part of the small space which unhappily is all that we can allow to it, in preliminary remarks of our own. We shall therefore state the subjects of Dr. Whately's Essays, and make such extracts as may shew the style of the writer and the nature of his work. We cannot, however, pass by a sentiment expressed in the Preface, which we could wish to see carefully and diligently inculcated; for though the erroneous opinion which occasioned the remark has, in some degree, passed away with that "cold fit" in which, it has been said, the Church of England lay during part of the last century, when natural religion was frequently spoken of as the groundwork of that which is revealed; yet it has been succeeded among many persons by an undue respect paid to human reason—undue, because placing it in a seat of judgment where it has no right to sit, and expecting it to pronounce authoritatively upon subjects which do not properly come under its cognizance.

"The study of natural religion," says Dr. W., "ought properly to follow, or at least to accompany, not to precede that of revelation. Our own speculations ought to be controlled and regulated by a divine

NO. VI. VOL. III.

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revelation, when it is once ascertained that a revelation exists: they should not be left to range unlimited and unassisted, on a subject on which God has himself decided that man is not competent of himself to judge rightly... It is sometimes complained, that the mind is unduly biassed in its judgments by continual reference to the authority of the Scriptures; and the complaint is just, if the Scriptures are not the word of God: if they are, there is an opposite and corresponding danger to be guarded against; that of suffering the mind to be unduly biassed in the study and interpretation of the revealed will of God, by the deductions of unaided reason." Preface, P. xi.

It is highly necessary that reason should know its proper place. It is important likewise that the proper object and business of a Divine Revelation should be ascertained. Then the former will make the right use of the truths disclosed under the latter; and will bring all its natural powers, all the strength it has gained by reflection, and all the knowledge which it has acquired either from Scripture or from observation, to carry forward the work of God. Then, neither will the strength of man be overrated; nor will the divine communication be depreciated, as has sometimes happened, from an expectation of discovering in it that which does not fall within its province.

The subjects of Dr. Whately's Essays are these, "I. On a Future State. II. On the Declaration of God in his Son. III. On Love towards Christ as a Motive to Obedience. IV. On the Practical Character of Revelation. V. On the Example of Children, as proposed to Christians."

The first two of these subjects are well deserving of attention. Though we cannot exactly agree with our author in his view of the degree of knowledge respecting a future state enjoyed by the Church of Israel (a subject necessarily connected with his main inquiry;) and though we wish he had explained his notions of the belief entertained in the patriarchal age-upon which we fear we should differ still more widelyyet we gladly recommend the perusal of it to our readers. We pass by this, however, and the second subject likewise, as containing what is obvious to those whose attention is turned to sacred subjects; in order to dwell upon those parts of the volume which, we have found more attractive, and which may therefore be more interesting to others.

The object of the third Essay is to shew that the Gospel makes a continual appeal to the affections; and, by exhibiting the Messiah as God with us, awakens more effectually those feelings of pious and affectionate attachment, which it would be less easy to entertain towards God, considered as the invisible

Author and Governor of the universe-feelings which are required to manifest themselves in a duteous regard to his will. It sets before us "the best principle; and the best application of it; the purest motive, and the most perfect practice." The business of the writer consequently is to correct two opposite and very dangerous mistakes; the one, that of such persons as "profess a most fervent and zealous love for their Redeemer, yet are so far from giving proof of their love by keeping his commandments, that they seem to consider the very warmth of their feelings as affording them a kind of licence for indulging their sinful inclinations:" the other, that of those who "seem not to consider the love of Christ as the best and principal motive for obedience, but content themselves with dwelling on the rewards and punishments of the next world, and on the folly and danger of sin." Against this latter defect, the arguments of our author are principally directed, without, however, losing sight of the former. He shews that "the language of promise and threatening, and an appeal to the interests and passions of men is not the prevailing character-not the general tone, as it were, of the Discourses of Christ and his Apostles: at least, not when they are addressing believers in Christ :" that "almost all the exhortations of the sacred writers are grounded on the infinite mercies of our great Instructor and Redeemer towards us, and on the gratitude, love, and reverence which we ought to feel towards him in return." To prove and illustrate this, Dr. W. urges the language of our Lord and his Apostles, both when they would use exhortation to holiness, and when they would direct the views of Christians to the future reward;—in the former case "making religion a matter not of mere prudent calculation, but of affectionate zeal;" in the latter, placing the future happiness of the faithful "in a more perfect knowledge of our Redeemer, and closer intercourse with him;" and always having a continual personal reference to him, as our greatest Benefactor, our brightest Example, our exceeding great Reward. In this they shew their intimate acquaintance with human nature.

They well knew that a cold address to the understanding-a mere chain of arguments-serves rather to teach men what they ought to do, than to excite men actually to do it; it may lead them to think rightly about religion, but not to feel and act rightly: it is like the moon-light, clear indeed and beautiful, but powerless and cold; their preaching, on the contrary, was like the light of the sun, which warms while it illuminates, and not only adorns, but fertilizes the earth. For it must never be forgotten... that it is in vain the affections are excited,

if the practice is not improved; it is in vain that the artificer heats and melts his metal, if he neglects to mould it into the proper form. Indeed, those who do not live a Christian life, may, from that very circumstance, be assured, that they have not true, genuine, and steady Christian feelings." P. 177.

"Let no one then lose sight of, nor undervalue, these admirable, these divine peculiarities of our religion, which furnish the only effectual means of counteracting the weakness of man's nature. Let no one, under pretence of laying a firm foundation of natural religion, render the superstructure of Christianity insignificant, by attributing to natural religion what revelation alone can furnish: and above all, let us not, carelessly blind to those splendid characteristics which distinguish it-confound this religion with the various systems of philosophical speculation, or of popular superstition, which have successively occupied mankind; but keep our eyes stedfastly fixed, as it were, on the star which stands over the holy infant at Bethlehem, and which has no fellow in the firmament*.” P. 181.

Dr. Whately proceeds in the next Essay to point out the practical character of the Gospel, arguing thus:—

"If there be good ground for maintaining, first, that a false religion may be expected to contain in its pretended revelations superfluous matters, which concern only speculative curiosity; secondly, that all religions, except our own, do actually abound in such matters; thirdly, that a true revelation may be expected to abstain from every thing of the kind, and to contain only such things as are practically important, or, at least, nothing to gratify men's curiosity; and, lastly, that our Scriptures actually do conform to this rule; it will be difficult to avoid the conclusion, that they, and they only, do really come from God." P. 213.

In proof of these assertions Dr. W. urges, that it is "to be expected, that both the devices of an impostor, and the visions of an enthusiast should abound in food for curiosity;" that, in fact, the fables of the Greek and Roman mythology were remarkable for "their general want of reference to human con

It is impossible for us to notice the many references made by our Author to the books of the New Testament in illustration of his positions; but we must quote the following passage, which struck us forcibly when we read it: "St. Paul, in exhorting the Churches, alludes occasionally only to the rewards and punishments of a future state, and the folly of not preparing for it; but 'he insists continually on the mercies which God has already shewn us, and the gratitude we ought to feel for them, and strives to fill us with an earnest desire of pleasing him, and an abhorrence of sin, as odious in his sight. For example, when he tells the Colossians to forgive one another, if any man have a quarrel against any,' it is on this ground, even as Christ forgave you.'... And again, "Be ye followers of God as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us.'" P. 167.

duct," that in the pretended revelations of the Hindoos and other modern Pagans, "one leading object is to gratify men's curiosity about the nature and the operations of superior agents:" that the Koran, though not wanting in moral precept and exhortation," abounds with the most elaborate descriptions of heaven and its inhabitants, and of other (pretended) works of God, all calculated to gratify the prying-one might even say, the impertinent curiosity of man respecting divine mysteries:" to which pretended revelations he adds the fables of the Jewish Talmud, the idle legends of the Romish Church, and the more recent visions of Swedenborg, "furnishing abundant matter of faith, and food for curiosity, but having little or no intelligible reference to practice." The character of the Scriptures is the very reverse of this. In those parts which, though historical, necessarily imply a supernatural communication made to the writer, "nothing is more striking than their uncircumstantial brevity;" forming a remarkable contrast to the pretended revelation of Mohammed, who "goes out of his way, to assert gratuitously many points of astronomical theory." The same contrast is equally striking in the general and brief description of the future state contained in the Scripture, compared with the copious and high-wrought descriptions of paradise and hell, with which the Koran abounds. St. Paul speaks with the utmost possible brevity of being "caught up into paradise," and "hearing unspeakable words." Let this be compared with "Mahomet's long and circumstantial visit to heaven, filled with a multitude of needless particulars; and he must be a bad judge of the characters of truth and falsehood who does not see that the one bears the marks of reality as plainly as the other does of fiction." The Gospel, indeed, reveals some points of doctrine which may appear to be merely speculative, but whoever peruses the Scripture will immediately perceive that all those have a practical tendency, and an application to practice, and that the sacred writers dwell upon such topics with the utmost copiousness, distinctness, and earnestness; as to the mere increase of speculative knowledge, they are scanty, indistinct, and apparently indifferent. When St. Peter has occasion to advert to the deluge, and also to the final destruction of the earth, in which his readers would have been much interested by a circumstantial description, and a false pretender to inspiration would have been sure to gratify their curiosity, the subject is despatched in five or six verses; and he proceeds at once to a practical conclusion.

"St. Paul also, in speaking of the same subject, having told the Corinthians, that at the last day we shall all be changed; and that