,,on ,,calvinism4  ,,by ,,the  ,,rev4   
,,william ,,hull1  ,,perpetual ,,curate 
,,of ,,st4 ,,gregory',s1 ,,norwich4     
,touton gar hapase psyche physikon nomon
 boethon aute kai symmachon epi ton     
prakteon ho ton holon demiourgos        
hupestato4 ,dia men tou nomou ten       
eutheian aute paradeixas hodon3 dia de  
tes aute dedoremenes autexousiou        
eleutherias ten ton kreittonon airesin  
epainou kai apodoches axian apophenas   
geron te kai meizonon                   
epathlon4--,eusebius4  ,,london3        
,,printed ,,for ,j4 ,g4 ,f4  ,j4        
,,rivington1  ,,st4 ,,paul',s ,,church  
,,yard1  ,,and ,,waterloo ,,place1      
,,pall ,,mall4  #ahda4  ,,london3       
,,gilbert  ,,rivington1 ,,printers1     
,,st4 ,,john',s ,,square4  ,,to  ,,the  
,,honourable ,,and ,,very ,,reverend    
,,dr4 ,,pellew1  ,,dean ,,of ,,norwich4 
,sir1  ,when ,i venture to inscribe to  
you the following pages1 ,i am fearless 
of having applied to me ,johnson's      
definition of a dedicator1 one who      

inscribes his work to a patron with     
compliment and servility4 ,adulation1   
,sir1 from any quarter1 you would resent
 as an indignity1 and the tenor of my   
own life and writings will secure me    
from the imputation of servile deference
 to others1 with whatever reverence ,i  
may contemplate their rank1 their       
talents1 or their virtues4  ,when1 ,sir1
 under unusual circumstances1 ,i engaged
 in the ministry of the ,church1 the    
presentation which ,i received from the 
,chapter was1 on my part1 unsolicited   
and unexpected1 and1 on yours1 a favour 
done on public principle to one who was 
personally unknown to you4  ,in         
respectfully presenting to your         
attention this short treatise1 ,i do not
 prejudge your opinion of its contents1 
whether favourable or adverse4 ,the     
responsibility rests exclusively with   
the writer4  ,but ,i cherish the        
persuasion that it contains no          
sentiments1 and expresses no feelings1  
which can be justly displeasing to a    

dignified clergyman1 who has firmly     
professed his attachment to the great   
principles of the ,church in times more 
dangerous to her interests1 and more    
difficult for her ministers1 than any   
which have heretofore occurred since the
 great ,rebellion4  ,i have the honour  
to be1 ,sir1  your obliged and faithful 
servant1  ,,william ,,hull4  ,eaton next
 ,norwich1  ,sept4 #ahda4  ,,preface4   
,that strenuous attempts are now in     
progress to propagate ,calvinism in its 
most objectionable forms1 by impressing 
into its service that spirit of earnest1
 but often misinformed piety which has  
been awakened within the bosom of the   
,church1 is too notorious to require    
proof or to admit of refutation4  ,the  
following sheets have been written1 and 
are now published1 under the solemn     
conviction1 that the danger to be       
apprehended from the extensive diffusion
 of this creed1 both to religion and the
 ,church1 renders it impossible that it 
should be allowed to pursue its         

unmolested course1 without correspondent
 efforts1 on the part of sound          
,churchmen1 to counteract its baleful   
influence4  ,superstition1 which lays   
undue stress on outward forms1 and      
fanaticism1 which gives credit to       
preternatural impulses1 and professes a 
particular kind of inspiration differing
 not at all from infallibility1 are the 
,scylla and ,charybdis1 through which1  
over stormy waters or serene1 we have to
 make our steady way4 ,both are equally 
intolerant1 and both are condemned by   
the genius of ,protestantism1 the       
constitution of the ,church1 and the    
spirit of the ,bible4  ,it is devoutly  
to be desired1 that none who are more   
regardful of truth than of party1 that  
none who are alive to the real state of 
the times1 and to the character of the  
respective interests which may hereafter
 be brought into unhappy collision1 may 
hesitate1 through fear or favour1 to act
 in this crisis with moral courage      
tempered with holy charity4 ,let them   

discountenance all extreme innovations1 
from whatsoever quarter they may        
proceed1 or by whatsoever distinguished 
names they may be sanctioned4 ,let them 
rise with manly integrity above the mean
 suggestions of temporizing policy1 and 
look only to the substantial and        
permanent interests of the ,church1     
which are those of truth and charity1 of
 freedom in alliance with order1 of     
,christianity in its most ennobling     
form1 and of the public welfare of the  
,british ,empire4  ,if the spirit of    
rigid ,calvinism1 under any plausible   
disguise1 should be widely diffused     
through the ,anglican ,church1 we need  
no prophetic mind to announce1 that it  
will lead to consequences fatal to her  
peace and liberty1 introducing a        
spiritual despotism whose power will be 
felt throughout the length and breadth  
of the land1 overawing1 as in the days  
of ,john ,knox1 the majesty of princes1 
and spreading its morbid gloom to the   
sequestered cottage of the peasant1 in  

the remotest regions and most           
unfrequented provinces4  ,history       
proves1 that the men who are deeply     
imbued with this spirit1 merge all other
 interests in their devoted zeal to its 
propagation4  ,those of that party who1 
like ,mr4 ,noel1 think our venerable    
,church means no more than our venerable
 selves1 will be ready to betray her    
into the hands of her adversaries1      
whensoever they may be deemed strong    
enough to carry her outworks1 and to    
supplant the orthodox clergyman by the  
,calvinistic minister2--while those who 
reverence the ,apostolical succession1  
or the general order of the ,church1    
will form within our pale an intolerant 
party1 intriguing for dominion1 restless
 and oppressive1 never to be satisfied  
until they have crushed or excluded all 
who have dared to profess their         
rejection of the ,calvinistic theology4 
,in the spirit already exemplified by   
the ,pastoral ,aid ,society1 for the    
detection of whose sectarian principles 

we are indebted to the ,christian       
courage of ,dr4 ,molesworth1 they will  
throw obstacles in the way of candidates
 for ordination or parochial cures1 if  
they come not up to the doctrinal       
standard of their triers3 the episcopal 
functions will be usurped or controlled 
by the ruthless zeal of an              
ecclesiastical faction2 the ,church     
societies for the extension of          
,christian knowledge and piety will lose
 their catholic character1 dwindling    
into ignoble channels for spreading     
abroad the bigotry of an exclusive      
school2 and gone for ever will be those 
beautiful charities1 and that liberal   
regard to the just exercise of          
,christian and clerical freedom1 which  
have been recently elicited1 and        
expressed with deliberate solemnity1 in 
the correspondence of the ,archbishop of
 ,canterbury and the ,bishop of ,london1
 with the reverend ,canon ,wodehouse1 on
 the subject of subscription4  ,the     
author of this tract has aimed at       

conciseness1 so far as the nature of the
 argument would allow1 not employing    
those arts by which a big book is made4 
,but if the smallness of the work does  
not seem to accord with the magnitude of
 the subject1 it is not to be inferred  
that the sentiments have been hastily   
formed or rashly vindicated4 ,for many  
years they have been taking deep root in
 the mind of the writer2 nor would he   
have engaged in the ministry of the     
,church1 but on the conviction1 after   
serious inquiry1 that her faith was     
primitive and not ,calvinistic4  ,he has
 spared no plainness of speech1 in his  
exposure of dangerous error1 but from   
principle and feeling he has abstained  
from the malice of personal             
vituperation4 ,his warfare is with      
pernicious opinions1 not with those who 
hold them1 many of whom are impressed   
with the religious persuasion1 that what
 they have believed they have received  
from divine teaching1 and that in       
upholding their creed they glorify ,god4

  ,such divine teaching as the          
,calvinist claims1 and which1 if it     
means any thing1 amounts to plenary     
inspiration1 the writer does not suppose
 to have superintended his own thoughts 
while engaged in the composition of     
these pages4 ,he would deem it          
unwarrantable presumption to look for   
such miraculous effusion of the ,spirit 
in the ordinary condition of the        
,church4 ,but he confidently believes1  
that1 to those who seek it in humble    
faith1 such grace is given as may purify
 the dispositions of the heart1 and thus
 guard it from all predilection for     
error and all prejudice against the     
truth4 ,entertaining these views of the 
office of the ,holy ,spirit under the   
evangelical dispensation1 the writer    
humbly commits this work1 not executed  
without dependence on his preventing    
grace1 to ,him who is the eternal source
 and the faithful patron of truth2      
uniting in the prayer of this beautiful 
collect1 with all those1 who1 whatsoever

 their doctrinal views of religion1 seek
 for truth as the richest of treasures4 
,o ,lord1 from whom all good things do  
come2 grant to us thy humble servants1  
that by thy holy inspiration1 we may    
think those things that be good1 and by 
thy merciful guiding may perform the    
same1 through our ,lord ,jesus ,christ4 
,amen4  ,,contents4    ,general remarks 
,particular objections  ,i4 ,calvinism  
impugns the moral character of the      
,deity  ,,ii4 ,calvinism is not to be   
reconciled with the moral responsibility
 of man  ,,iii4 ,calvinism is opposed to
 the constitution and the purposes of a 
visible ,church  ,,iv4 ,calvinism is    
productive of positively injurious      
effects1 on individual character and on 
social happiness  ,v4 ,calvinism is not 
the doctrine of ,scripture1 nor of the  
,anglican ,church  ,,vi4 ,calvinism has 
led to the corruption of ,christian     
doctrine1 that the ,scriptures may be   
accommodated to extreme views of the    
divine decrees  ,appendix  ,,on         

,,calvinism4    ,,part ,i4  ,,general   
,,remarks4  ,to ,st4 ,augustine1 ,bishop
 of ,hippo in ,africa1 belongs the      
equivocal distinction of having         
originated in the ,christian ,church a  
controversy respecting the ,divine      
decrees1 a controversy which dates its  
origin from the fifth century1 and      
which1 after the lapse of thirteen      
hundred years1 exhibits no symptoms of  
approaching to its end4 ,in the ,roman  
,communion1 it was the source of those  
bitter animosities1 which reciprocally  
exasperated the ,jesuits and            
,jansenists4 ,the ,protestant ,churches1
 in the early days of the ,reformation1 
were disturbed by the agitation of this 
perplexed and perilous subject4 ,and    
when ,calvin appeared as the vindicator 
of the ,divine sovereignty in           
predetermining the fates of men1 he only
 introduced to the ,churches of the     
,reformation a doctrine which had been  
transmitted from earlier times1 but     
which1 perhaps1 he defined with more    

precision1 expounded with more fearless 
consistency1 and invested with the      
authority of his own great and          
illustrious name4 ,in the present       
discussion the word ,calvinism is used1 
not to signify those doctrines of the   
,church which ,calvin held in common    
with the fathers of the ,reformation1   
but those only which relate to his      
extreme views of the ,divine decrees1 to
 his predestinarian theology1 and to his
 modification of other scripture truths 
to render them harmonious with his      
principal tenets4  ,whatever therefore  
may be the merits or the final result of
 this grave and earnest controversy1 it 
leaves untouched the corruption of human
 nature1 the deity and atonement of     
,christ1 justification by faith1 the    
necessity of ,divine influence to renew 
and purify the heart1 and the scriptural
 doctrine of predestination1 according  
to the fore-knowledge of ,god4 ,this    
distinction is important2 since1 if it  
be overlooked1 the rejectors of         

,calvinism may be supposed to have also 
rejected the capital doctrines of the   
,reformed faith4 ,fuller has            
unwarrantably1 perhaps undesignedly1    
given his sanction to this imputation in
 his ,calvinistic and ,socinian ,systems
 compared#a4 ,but the rejectors of      
,calvinistic predestination may be not  
less remote from ,socinianism1 and much 
nearer to genuine ,christianity1 than   
the most rigid disciple of that eminent 
,reformer1 who1 in the protestant city  
of ,geneva1 committed ,servetus to the  
flames4 ,the ,socinian controversy      
relates to doctrines1 which are the     
common faith of the ,catholic ,church2  
with the peculiarities of ,calvinism it 
has no concern4 ,and it is worthy of    
remark1 that if one class of            
doctrinalists more than another         
symbolizes in any instance with         
,socinians1 the followers of ,calvin    
form that class2 since it is not easy to
 discover where lies the essential      
difference between the doctrine of      

philosophical necessity1 as held by the 
greater number of ,socinians1 and that  
of predestination1 as maintained by     
,calvinists4  ,both parties rest their  
dogmas on the same metaphysical grounds4
 ,at the same time1 as moral reasoners1 
the palm of superiority must be awarded 
to ,socinians1 who reject most          
consistently the doctrine of human      
corruption1 and the atonement of        
,christ1 together with the correspondent
 doctrines of the ,gospel1 as altogether
 out of place in a scheme which denies  
the freedom of human actions and reduces
 all independent agency to that of the  
,deity alone2 while the ,calvinist      
subjects the human race to an inevitable
 necessity of sinning1 denies to them   
individually1 even the semblance of a   
probationary course--makes them         
accountable1 yet withholds the powers   
necessary to a moral agent1 and then    
most unrighteously dooms to perdition   
all but the elect6 ,in rejecting such a 
theory of religion1 we reject not the   

fundamental doctrines of ,christianity2 
we only vindicate them from objections1 
which1 if unanswerable1 are fatal2 and  
we hold to the ,gospel with a firmer    
conviction and a livelier faith1 when we
 behold its accordance with the         
righteousness of the ,divine            
administration and with the moral       
constitution of man4  ,on a subject1    
which has been so long and so           
laboriously investigated1 and to the    
illustration of which the most vigorous 
and profound of human intellects have   
directed their energies1 it would be    
vain to expect any novelty of argument4 
,on either side1 it may be presumed1 the
 question has been exhausted1 or1 that  
the human mind has done all that its    
powers can accomplish1 however          
unsatisfactory or inconclusive1 in some 
respects1 the result4  ,it appears to   
the writer of these pages1 on a calm and
 summary review of the arguments by     
which the doctrines of freedom and      
necessity have been respectively        

supported1 that those reasonings which  
are purely philosophical or metaphysical
 decidedly preponderate on the side of  
,necessity4 ,the prescience of the      
,deity cannot1 on any known principle1  
be reconciled with the contingency which
 attaches to the actions or             
determinations of man1 on the hypothesis
 of freedom#b4 ,and1 moreover1 if every 
event requires a cause1 and every       
volition is guided by motives1 what are 
called the spontaneous acts of the mind 
must be the necessary result of motives 
which direct and command its elections4 
,to say that in our choice we reject the
 stronger motive1 and that we choose a  
thing merely because we choose it1 is   
sheer nonsense and absurdity4 ,and      
whoever1 with a sound understanding1    
will fix his mind upon the state of the 
question1 will perceive its             
impossibility4  ,but1 all correct moral 
reasoning ranges on the side of freedom4
 ,in opposition to the subtle or        
forcible reasonings of the              

metaphysician1 every individual can     
plead his inward consciousness of       
voluntary agency4 ,he feels1 he knows1  
that he is free4 ,the exercise of the   
moral sense1 the judgment which the mind
 pronounces on its own good or evil     
movements1 the conviction of having done
 or neglected a duty1 the calm          
satisfaction of the virtuous mind1 and  
the fierce or sullen remorse of the     
criminal1 are associated with the       
insuppressible persuasion of liberty4   
,destroy this persuasion1 and virtue is 
despoiled of its loveliness1 vice of its
 deformity4 ,but it cannot be destroyed4
 ,it is the voice of nature4 ,the       
,creator has so formed us1 that we      
cannot throw off from ourselves the     
sense of responsibility1 nor regard our 
fellow creatures as unfit for praise or 
blame1 for love or hatred4 ,men treat   
each other as free agents in all the    
transactions of human life1 and ,god    
administers the government of the world1
 on the principle that mankind are      

capable of self-control1 regulating     
their conduct by the hope of reward or  
fear of punishment4 ,if the             
consciousness of freedom be a delusion1 
it follows that moral obligation1 duty1 
reward1 guilt1 punishment1 are          
delusions1 and that religion1 however   
salutary in its effects1 is nothing     
better than a magnificent imposture4    
,calvinism is an attempt to found the   
religion of ,christ on the doctrine of  
necessity1 and to accommodate its       
truths1 which suppose and require free  
agency in man1 to a dark and appalling  
fatalism4 ,but in a case like the       
present1 in which metaphysical          
reasonings1 however profound or         
conclusive1 so far as they go1 are at   
variance with practical truth1 with     
consciousness1 with the actual state of 
things1 and with the unquestionable     
procedures of the ,divine government1 as
 confirmed by the scriptures1 wisdom    
would seem to dictate our adhesion to   
that side of the question1 which is     

supported by moral arguments4  ,in      
taking this part1 it does not follow    
that we are to repudiate1 as totally    
without foundation1 the philosophy and  
the metaphysics of the                  
necessarian--aequo pretio aestimentur4  
,we may admit1 that the force of his    
argument1 in the present imperfect state
 of human knowledge1 renders the        
question perplexed and difficult2 that  
it accounts for the divided opinions of 
the erudite and the devout1 and that it 
precludes the hope of a speedy          
termination of the controversy4 ,but in 
assigning to moral reasoning the        
superior authority1 we are governed by a
 just regard to the nature of the       
question at issue1 which1 being related 
to the destinies of moral agents1 and   
the principles on which the ,deity      
conducts his moral government1 must be  
determined1 not by metaphysical1 but by 
moral arguments4 ,when brought to this  
test1 ,calvinism appears utterly        
indefensible1 as being a system at      

variance with the attributes of the     
,deity1 and irreconcileable with the    
moral constitution of human beings1 and 
with the obligations laid upon them by  
their ,creator4 ,it is falsified by     
facts4  ,that the predestinarian        
theology1 which denies the freedom of   
the will1 is supported by names of great
 consideration1 is cheerfully granted4  
,no man1 for example1 was ever endowed  
with a genius more commanding1 with     
logical powers more acute1 with a       
faculty more surprising of writing on   
recondite subjects with force1          
perspicuity1 and nervous eloquence1 than
 ,president ,edwards4 ,nevertheless1 the
 correctness of his views is not        
implicitly to be inferred from his      
transcendant intellect and fervent      
piety4  ,all the great errors1 which    
have been propagated in the ,christian  
,church1 have found advocates in men of 
the first character for intellectual    
power and moral dignity1 or they would  
have passed away with their authors into

 immediate oblivion4  ,in estimating the
 authority of ,edwards as a theologian1 
it is requisite that we should know the 
temperament and habits of that very     
remarkable person4 ,it is not1 perhaps1 
generally considered1 that great as were
 the energy and acuteness of his        
reasoning powers1 he was less under the 
dominion of these than of his           
imagination and feelings4 ,in early life
 this is not unfrequently the case with 
persons of imaginative character2 but1  
commonly1 the ardent enthusiasm of youth
 gives way afterwards to the ascendancy 
of the higher faculties4 ,edwards was1  
constitutionally1 too much the creature 
of dreams and impulses ever to escape   
from their control4 ,his gigantic mind  
was held in perpetual bondage4 ,his     
natural temperament was fostered        
throughout the whole period which moulds
 and fixes the character1 by his holding
 little converse with human beings      
beyond the sphere of a particular       
religious community in an obscure       

,american town1 and by an almost        
uninterrupted contemplation of nature in
 her gloomy and awful forms1 amid the   
silence of uncultivated plains1 and the 
solitude of interminable forests4 ,the  
profound feeling1 the intense           
excitement1 which accompanied his early 
devotional exercises1 were such as to   
insure a permanent attachment to every  
principle and every impression of that  
susceptible age4 ,the visions of a warm1
 and often morbid1 imagination continued
 to be cherished with religious         
confidence and love for ever afterwards4
 ,every doubt1 of what he once had      
received for truth1 was anxiously       
suppressed in the manhood of his mind as
 an infernal suggestion2 and the        
acuteness of his reasoning powers1 by   
supplying him at all times with an      
argument1 for what he conceived it his  
duty to believe1 served1 not to         
emancipate him from false apprehensions 
of truth1 but to rivet upon him more    
firmly the chains of ignorance or error4

 ,when argument was doubtful1 a dogged  
fanaticism supplied its place4 ,this may
 be illustrated by a particular         
instance1 and bearing directly on the   
subject of our present discussion4  ,it 
cannot be doubted1 by any person        
qualified to appreciate his writings1   
that his views of the ,divine           
sovereignty are resolvable into a system
 of absolute fatalism1 so far as the    
actions and destinies of men are        
concerned4 ,reason and conscience revolt
 from the consequences involved in such 
a system2 all our moral instincts       
condemn it4 ,but it was instilled into  
his mind by ,calvinistic instructors in 
the days of his boyhood2 his imagination
 was perpetually haunted by it2 and     
having identified it with the truth of  
divine revelation1 which he held in     
religious veneration and awe1 he finally
 vanquished every doubt respecting it1  
not by the deliberate exercise of his   
judgment1 on a calm investigation of    
evidence1 but by the force of his       

religious feelings1 and of his ascendant
 imagination4 ,let him tell his own     
story4  ,from my childhood up1 he says1 
my mind had been full of objections     
against the doctrine of ,god's          
sovereignty1 in choosing whom ,he would 
to eternal life1 and rejecting whom ,he 
pleased2 leaving them eternally to      
perish1 and to be everlastingly         
tormented in hell4 ,it used to appear   
like a horrible doctrine to me4 ,but ,i 
remember the time very well1 when ,i    
seemed to be convinced and fully        
satisfied as to this sovereignty of     
,god1 and his justice in thus eternally 
disposing of men1 according to his      
sovereign pleasure4 ,but never could    
give any account1 how1 or by what means 
,i was thus convinced1 not in the least 
imagining at the time1 nor a long time  
after1 that there was any extraordinary 
influence of ,god's ,spirit in it2 but  
only that now ,i saw further1 and my    
reason apprehended the justice and      
reasonableness of it4 ,in this          

extraordinary passage1 the most         
instructive he ever penned1 he          
confesses1 undesignedly but clearly1    
that his faith in the ,calvinistic      
theology did not rest on those arguments
 by which he has confirmed so many      
others in that tremendous creed1 but was
 the result of supposed supernatural    
illumination4 ,the true solution would  
be1 ,sit pro ratione voluntas6  ,much as
 we find to admire and revere in this   
eminent man1 the history of his mind    
forbids us to rely on him with implicit 
confidence as an expositor of divine    
truth4 ,his religion was exalted1 his   
genius wonderful1 but the subordination 
of his judgment to his imagination was  
an immense evil1 producing an almost    
superstitious dread of the operations of
 his own mighty mind1 suppressing its   
energies1 its growth1 and its expansion4
 ,he presents an example1 not less of   
the weakness than of the majesty of     
human nature4 ,we cease to wonder1 when 
he describes the happiness of the       

spirits of the redeemed in heaven1 as   
being derived1 in part1 from their      
listening to the groans and lamentations
 of lost souls in hell4 ,nor can we     
doubt1 that if he had been born and     
educated a member of the ,church of     
,rome1 he would have lived and died1    
like ,fenelon or ,pascal1 a splendid    
ornament of that impure communion1 a    
conscientious advocate of that servile  
faith4  ,calvinism has never had another
 advocate equally qualified with        
,edwards to vindicate its awful dogmata2
 and if1 by his own confession1 his most
 potent arguments would have failed to  
produce conviction in his own mind1     
without ,god's special influence1 we see
 reason to suspect the validity of these
 arguments1 until we have proof that he 
did indeed receive from heaven          
miraculous illumination4 ,such special  
influence we may with propriety         
question1 since a claim to inspiration  
can be supported only by the exercise of
 miraculous powers4 ,deny1 therefore1   

the inspiration of this profound writer1
 of which there is no proof1 and we have
 his own authority against the          
conclusiveness of his own arguments2    
since he confesses that by their cogency
 alone they are insufficient to produce 
conviction in opposition to our just and
 natural conceptions of the righteous   
character of ,god4  ,let us not1        
therefore1 crouch with timid servility  
to great names4 ,the opinions of men of 
erudition1 and genius1 and holy zeal for
 religion1 are to be examined with      
modest deference1 but not to be received
 with implicit credulity4 ,in the most  
enlightened and holy men1 who1 since the
 decease of the apostles1 have served   
,god and his ,christ2 in the fathers of 
the ancient ,church2 in those who headed
 the ,protestant ,reformation1 and lived
 as saints1 or died as martyrs2 in      
,luther1 ,calvin1 ,cranmer1 ,knox1 we   
discover humiliating proofs of          
imperfection and fallibility4 ,and1     
while the fundamental truths of         

,christianity have been preserved in the
 ,catholic ,church1 those truths have   
been mingled or associated with errors  
so injurious and degrading1 that no     
blind faith is to be rested on any human
 authority4 ,let us uphold the majesty  
of divine revelation1 and vindicate our 
right and our duty to interpret the     
sacred page--not by the traditions of   
fallible men1 not by the metaphysics of 
the schools1 not by the special         
influences which an enthusiastic mind   
may construe into divine teaching1 and  
which may be pleaded1 with equal truth  
or falsehood1 for every form of error2  
but by a sober reference to those moral 
perfections of the ,deity1 and to those 
essential attributes of human nature1   
the knowledge of which lies at the      
foundation of all sound religious       
belief4 ,these are to be learned from   
the ,scriptures1 and are the key to     
their right interpretation4  ,edwards1  
incomparably the most able advocate of  
,calvinism1 since the days of the       

reformer himself1 is not a solitary     
example of the way in which a zealous   
pleader may1 unwarily1 betray and weaken
 his own cause4  ,mr4 ,scott1 in his    
force of truth1 gives an account of his 
own conversion to ,calvinism not very   
dissimilar to that of ,edwards1 and not 
in any degree more honourable to the    
cause he proposes to defend4 ,the       
argument of that work may be summed up  
in few words4 ,mr4 ,scott entertained a 
great dislike of ,calvinistic doctrines4
 ,he rejected the evidence by which they
 were supported1 as being insufficient  
to establish a creed which appeared to  
him most objectionable4 ,yet1 strong as 
were his prejudices against it1 they    
ultimately gave way1 and1 therefore1    
,calvinism must be the truth4 ,but1 in  
both instances1 the impression designed 
to be made on the mind of the reader is 
the same1 that is1 that the ,spirit of  
,god accomplished what the force of     
argument had failed to do4 ,mr4 ,scott1 
therefore1 adds his testimony to that of

 ,president ,edwards1 confessing that   
,calvinism is not supported by proofs   
sufficient in themselves to carry       
conviction to the human mind1 without   
special illumination from above2 an     
illumination1 which1 assuredly1 the     
religious opposers may as righteously   
claim1 as the religious defenders of    
,calvinism4 ,for what ,christian man    
does not pray for the guidance of ,god's
 good ,spirit8 ,the dispassionate reader
 of ,the ,force of ,truth1 will         
naturally say1 that the arguments for   
the ,calvinistic creed were either sound
 or unsound4 ,if the former1 then ,mr4  
,scott was either very obtuse or very   
obstinate to resist so long their power4
 ,if the latter1 he acted with great    
weakness in yielding at length to       
insufficient evidence1 on the score of  
an undefinable impulse4 ,in either case1
 his name is divested of commanding     
authority in the view of reasonable men4
 ,yet it can hardly be doubted1 that    
this claim to special teaching from the 

fountain of wisdom and of truth1 has    
done more1 incalculably more1 to awe the
 minds of men into submission1 and thus 
to obtain currency for their opinions1  
than the joint confession of these      
popular writers1 to the insufficiency of
 their own arguments1 has availed to    
render suspected the force of their     
reasoning4 ,the impression made on the  
generality of minds would be1 that men  
so good1 and so candid in confessing    
their own obstinacy1 could not be       
mistaken1 in believing themselves1 at a 
subsequent period1 to be inspired and   
infallible#c4  ,the advocates of        
,calvinism differ remarkably from each  
other in the tone and spirit of their   
writings1 as their habits of thought and
 feeling are modified by circumstances4 
,the ,american divines of the school of 
,edwards have carried out his principles
 with unflinching consistency1 not      
hesitating to impute to the ,deity1 in  
unqualified terms1 the eternal decrees  
which fix the weal or woe of the human  

race for ever4 ,the cold and heartless  
manner in which these men treat the     
subject1 and the stoical apathy with    
which they contemplate the result of    
their hard metaphysics1 are extremely   
remote from our usual conceptions of    
piety and humanity4 ,well might that    
superlative woman1 ,mrs4 ,susanna       
,wesley1 say1 ,the doctrine of          
predestination1 as maintained by rigid  
,calvinists1 is very shocking1 and ought
 utterly to be abhorred4 ,the dark      
spirit of inflexible wrath which the    
,american ,calvinists have imputed to   
the ,deity1 together with their coarse  
caricatures of the ,gospel1 may account 
for1 but cannot justify1 the terms in   
which ,dr4 ,chancing has thought fit to 
assail the orthodox faith1 confounding  
on all occasions scriptural             
,christianity1 as held by the ,catholic 
,church1 with the dogmas of an          
extravagant creed4 ,to understand his   
eloquent and indignant declamations1 we 
must read the transatlantic expounders  

of the ,calvinistic theology4  ,in      
general1 the ,english writers of any    
name1 are more guarded and less         
unfeeling4 ,they do not at once and     
directly charge ,god with being the     
author of sin4 ,the late ,dr4 ,williams 
of ,rotherham composed a voluminous work
 on the subject1 entitled equity and    
sovereignty1 in which he gives1 what he 
considers1 a new theory of the origin of
 moral evil4 ,to redeem the divine      
character from the imputation of        
harshness in the decree of reprobation1 
he supposes mankind under a necessary   
tendency to moral defection1 as         
dependent and created beings2 and that  
it was in mere equity1 that the wicked  
were left1 not decreed1 to perdition4   
,the hypothesis of ,dr4 ,williams is    
already exploded4 ,it was examined and  
refuted by the ,rev4 ,william ,parry1 of
 ,wymondly1 in a piece entitled         
,strictures on the ,origin of ,moral    
,evil4 ,for reasoning1 acute1 profound1 
and perspicuous1 both metaphysical and  

moral1 this work has seldom been        
surpassed4 ,and the devout and courteous
 spirit in which it is written1 presents
 an example1 beautiful and instructive1 
of dispassionate controversy4  ,upon a  
review of the argument1 ,mr4 ,parry     
writes1 there appear to be strong       
reasons for considering the whole of    
,dr4 ,williams' hypothesis1 to account  
for the origin of evil1 as highly       
objectionable1 and worthy of rejection2 
because it is founded on a false        
principle1 which identifies physical and
 moral tendency2 is incompatible with   
the nature and phenomena of mind2       
involves the existence of an antecedent 
fate or absolute necessity1 which       
controlled the divine operations2 is    
inconsistent with the natural and moral 
perfections of ,god1 and the scriptural 
account of the state in which man was   
created2 is expressed in obscure and    
inapplicable language2 and is so far    
from agreeing with equity1 that1 when   
taken together1 it represents the       

,divine ,being as having at first1      
created intelligent and accountable     
creatures with such powers as would     
enable them to sin1 but with none which 
would enable them to avoid it4  ,the    
theory of ,dr4 ,williams found favour   
with many ,calvinists1 because it       
assumed somewhat of a philosophical     
aspect1 and was put forth as a clear    
demonstration4 ,but some of its ablest  
defenders have since abandoned it to    
that oblivion1 from which no efforts can
 save an elaborate speculation1         
ungrounded in reason or revelation1 and 
repugnant to common sense4  ,in ,england
 the public mind has been so powerfully 
and happily influenced by the           
anti-calvinistic genius of the liturgy1 
offices1 and discipline of the ,anglican
 ,church1 that the grossness and        
extravagancy of the ,american divines   
have been tolerated chiefly by those who
 have not fallen under her instructions1
 or who have not had the advantage of a 
liberal education and extensive reading4

 ,in general1 whether within or without 
the pale of the ,church1 its more       
intelligent advocates have1 until       
lately1 exhibited it in a modified form1
 and thrown over it a veil of mystery   
which has hidden its most appalling     
deformities from the sight1 while by the
 less skilful or sagacious only1 it has 
been adapted more to the fears or       
affections of women1 than to the        
understandings of men4 ,unhappily1 the  
grosser representations of this doctrine
 are now coming into repute in quarters 
where1 formerly1 they would not have    
been endured1 and thus afford another   
warning example of the facilis descensus
 ,averni4  ,but under all possible      
modifications1 it is essentially        
erroneous2 and this small treatise has  
originated in no love of discord1 or    
taste for polemic excitement1 but in a  
solemn sense of duty1--the duty of      
aiding1 in some humble measure1 the more
 learned and important labours of others
 who are set for the defence of the     

truth4 ,the writer aims only at a common
 sense view of the subject1 showing that
 ,calvinism is a dangerous speculation1 
useless for every holy and salutary     
purpose1 inapplicable to the hopes and  
the duties of a religious life1 at      
variance with our knowledge of ,god1 our
 obligations as ,christians1 and all our
 finer sentiments and more generous     
sympathies as men4 ,so far as its       
influence is exerted1 it contracts the  
understanding and hardens the heart4    
,bishop ,tomline's ,refutation of       
,calvinism1 is too well known and justly
 appreciated to need recommendation from
 the writer of these papers4 ,faber on  
the ,primitive ,doctrine of ,election1  
is an important work1 composed with     
logical precision1 and founded on a     
laborious analysis of the ,scriptures4  
,the intelligent reader will be         
instructed and deeply interested by ,an 
,inquiry into the ,doctrines of         
,necessity and ,predestination1 by ,dr4 
,copleston1 the ,bishop of ,llandaff4   

,from the latter work is extracted the  
following summary of the peculiar and   
distinctive doctrines of the            
,calvinistic creed1 in which it is      
exhibited1 not in a moderated and       
qualified form1 as it sometimes appears 
in the writings of individuals1 but in  
its true and undisguised character1 as  
maintained by a grave assembly of       
predestinarian divines4  ,,conclusions  
,,of ,,the ,,synod ,,of ,,dost1 ,,as    
,,exhibited ,,by ,,tilenus4  ,,art4 #a4 
,,of ,,divine ,,predestination4  ,that  
,god1 by an absolute decree1 hath       
elected to salvation a very small number
 of men1 without any regard to their    
faith or obedience whatsoever2 and      
secluded from saving grace all the rest 
of mankind1 and appointed them by the   
same decree to eternal damnation1       
without any regard to their infidelity  
or impenitency4  ,,art4 #b4 ,,of ,,the  
,,merit ,,and ,,effect ,,of ,,christ',s 
,,death4  ,that ,jesus ,christ hath not 
suffered death for any other1 but for   

those elect only2 having neither had any
 intent nor commandment of his ,father  
to make satisfaction for the sins of the
 whole world4  ,,art4 #c4 ,,of ,,man',s 
,,will ,,in ,,the ,,state ,,of ,,nature4
  ,that by ,adam's fall1 his posterity  
lost their free-will1 being put to an   
unavoidable necessity to do or not to   
do1 whatsoever they do or do not1       
whether it be good or evil1 being       
thereunto predestinated by the eternal  
and effectual secret decree of ,god4    
,,art4 #d4 ,,of ,,the ,,manner ,,of     
,,conversion4  ,that ,god1 to save his  
elect from the corrupt mass1 doth beget 
faith in them1 by a power equal to that 
whereby ,he created the world and raised
 up the dead2 insomuch1 that such unto  
whom ,he gives that grace1 cannot reject
 it1 and the rest1 being reprobate1     
cannot accept it4  ,,art4 #e4 ,,of ,,the
 ,,certainty ,,of ,,perseverance4  ,that
 such as have once received that grace  
by faith1 can never fall from it finally
 or totally1 notwithstanding the most   

enormous sins they can commit4  ,,part  
,,ii4  ,,particular ,,objections4       
,i4--,,calvinism ,,impugns ,,the ,,moral
 ,,character ,,of ,,the ,,deity4  ,the  
existence of moral evil is a fact1 not  
to be denied by any man who reverences  
his own understanding2 and that it      
seemed fit to the ,divine ,wisdom to    
permit its introduction into the world1 
is equally beyond contradiction1 unless 
we limit the divine power1 and suppose  
that1 by a necessity antecedent to the  
divine will1 and controlling the divine 
conduct1 the ,deity himself acts1 not   
spontaneously but from coercion4 ,that  
sin1 with its awful consequences1 should
 even exist by permission1 under the    
administration of infinite benevolence1 
has been regarded by theologians as one 
of the most perplexing mysteries of the 
deep things of ,god4  ,but ,calvinism   
leads to the direct and inevitable      
conclusion1 not only that ,god has      
permitted the fall of angels and of men1
 but that ,he is himself the original   

author of their defection1 and of the   
guilt and suffering which have been     
incurred by disobedience4 ,no subtlety  
of argument1 no special refinements or  
metaphysical distinctions1 no ingenious 
evasions can rescue from this fatal     
conclusion the ,calvinistic exposition  
of the divine decrees4 ,if the ,creator 
in the construction of the human mind   
rendered it naturally1 morally1         
absolutely impossible1 that man should  
maintain his obedience to the divine law
 under the circumstances in which he was
 placed--the act of transgression1 be it
 what it may1 must be traced to the will
 and intention of the ,deity--the       
effect1 sin1 guilt1 condemnation1       
undefinable misery1 diffused over the   
face of the creation1 and coextensive   
with the numberless generations of the  
family of man--the cause1 ,god2 that    
,being who is perfect reason1 perfect   
goodness1 light without darkness1 love  
without malevolence2 who cannot be      
tempted with evil1 neither tempteth ,he 

any man2 with whom is no variableness   
neither shadow of turning6 ,contrasted  
with this monstrous compound of impiety 
and absurdity1 which makes infinite     
goodness the eternal source of infinite 
misery1 there is wisdom in the          
,manichaean doctrine of two conflicting 
principles1 holding a divided dominion  
over the universe1 and contending1 one  
for the production of the universal     
degradation and wretchedness1 the other1
 for the purity and bliss of all        
intellectual and moral beings6  ,the    
advocates of scriptural truth have not  
failed to expose1 with holy indignation 
and eloquent remonstrance1 the          
inconsistency of these views of the     
divine government with the entire scope 
and spirit of the evangelic economy of  
grace4 ,while the love of ,god to a     
fallen world is the great theme of the  
apostolic ministry1 and1 in language too
 explicit to be misunderstood1 the      
propitiation of ,christ is said to be   
for the sins of the whole world1--while1

 in exact agreement with the consolatory
 declaration that ,god delighteth not in
 the death of a sinner1 the apostles of 
,christ are commissioned to preach the  
gospel to every creature1--we are taught
 by ,calvinism1 that the ,god of truth  
is only mocking the great mass of his   
miserable creatures with a semblance of 
mercy1 from whose tenderness they are   
excluded1 and with promises and         
invitations which ,he never designed    
should be accepted by them4 ,a dark and 
unrelenting fate has already sealed     
their destiny1 and their perdition is   
rendered inevitable before they have    
committed those offences for which1 as  
if in derision1 they are commanded to   
repent1 in order that they may escape   
the wrath of the ,almighty4 ,thus1 in   
total disregard of all that is holy and 
majestic in the character of the ,deity1
 ,he is described as a ,being invested  
with the most detestable of ,satanic    
attributes1 assuming the gentle         
affections of a father1 only to exercise

 more effectually the wanton power of a 
tyrant1 and treacherously inviting our  
confidence and our love1 when1 with such
 falsehood and cruelty1 as the most     
debased of his creatures would not be   
able to perpetrate1 ,he is only         
preparing victims for his inexorable    
malice4  ,let it not be said1 in        
opposition to this1 that we are         
imperfect judges1 in any particular     
case1 of the rectitude of the divine    
procedures2 that our ignorance renders  
our decision in such a case daring and  
presumptuous4 ,we are not ignorant of   
what is meant either by justice or      
mercy4 ,these moral qualities are       
essentially the same in nature1 whether 
in created beings or in their ,creator4 
,the only difference is in degree4 ,in  
the ,deity they are infinite2 and1 if   
infinite justice and mercy are          
compatible with conduct which1 on a     
smaller scale1 would expose a human     
being to eternal infamy1 then are we    
disqualified for all just conceptions of

 the character of ,god4 ,if wanton      
cruelty be consistent with ,divine      
compassion1 then may deception be       
reconciled with inviolable faith1 and   
they1 who deem themselves to be happy in
 the electing love of ,god1 may awake at
 last to the fearful discovery1 that1   
having indulged in the dream of special 
grace1 they are only reserved for a     
destiny still more terrible than others1
 whom they had abandoned as reprobate to
 the sovereign wrath of ,god6 ,by what  
infatuation are men induced to rely on  
any supposed distinctions in favour of  
themselves1 when they have removed the  
only grounds of confidence in the       
righteous administration of the ,deity8 
,it is an impressive feature in the     
works of rigid predestinarians1 that    
their own minds seem to partake of the  
fearful gloom with which they depict the
 divine attributes4 ,they appear awed   
and terror -stricken with the stern     
aspect of the great ,being whose moral  
character they have distorted1 until    

they tremble at the creations of their  
own imagination4 ,they write as men     
whose minds are rendered morbid with    
mysterious fears1 rather than brightened
 into holy gladness1 by a filial love of
 ,god4 ,they seem to be vindicating with
 servile dread a character1 whose wrath 
they would deprecate1 and whose doubtful
 favour they would propitiate on their  
own behalf4 ,even when they express     
their persuasion of their own interest  
in special grace1 it is more in the     
spirit of men who are conscious of being
 the favoured objects of capricious     
tyranny1 than of that serene and hopeful
 and cheering confidence which inspires 
the devout heart1 when it contemplates  
through a happier medium the beneficent 
and universal ,father4 ,nor is this     
unnatural4 ,the moral character of the  
,deity1 as misrepresented by ,calvinism1
 both unsettles all our ideas of        
rectitude1 and renders insecure our hold
 upon ,infinite ,goodness4  ,that the   
mental disease of ,cowper was intensely 

aggravated by depressing views of the   
divine character1 which he received from
 ,newton and others1 and that the       
consolations which might have soothed   
his mind1 from a scriptural view of the 
grace of the gospel1 were neutralised or
 destroyed by his supposing himself the 
victim of an irreversible decree1 is    
clear to every impartial reader of his  
most interesting and most melancholy    
life4 ,yet of his piety we have this    
touching proof1 that1 amidst the wildest
 aberrations of his intellect1 and while
 oppressed with the conviction that he  
was numbered with the reprobate1 his    
persuasion of the rectitude of the      
divine government never wavered2 he     
acquiesced in the doom which he believed
 to await him2 and declared that if it  
were the will of ,god that he should    
perish1 he would not lift a finger to   
reverse his fate6 ,who would not lament1
 that a mind thus tempered to pious     
confidence1 should be taught by a       
pernicious creed to distrust its own    

interest in the love of ,god--a delusion
 which passed away only in death6       
,,ii4--,,calvinism ,,is ,,not ,,to ,,be 
,,reconciled ,,with ,,the ,,moral       
,,responsibility ,,of ,,man4  ,whatever 
extent we assign to the corruption of   
human nature1 by which its moral powers 
have been impaired1 or the soul         
disqualified for the due and proper use 
of those powers1 it is plain that men   
are still capable of acting1 and of     
being treated as the subjects of moral  
government4 ,calvinistic writers do     
themselves admit the turpitude of sin   
and the loveliness of virtue--that vice 
entails suffering1 and that happiness is
 the consequence of a religious         
conformity to the will of ,god4 ,that   
is1 setting aside all special           
refinements by which they attempt to    
disprove that the present state of man  
is probationary1 they confess that      
practically mankind are treated as      
accountable beings whose guilt is       
punished and their goodness rewarded4   

,this broad and unquestionable fact     
defies controversy4 ,although we may not
 be able to give a definition of freedom
 which may satisfy the philosopher1 and 
although we may concede to the opposers 
of the freedom of the will1 that virtue 
and vice--moral good and moral evil--are
 to be predicated1 not of the cause1    
whether it be freedom or fate1 from     
whence our volitions spring1 but of the 
good or evil nature of the volitions    
themselves --in whatever way these      
questions are decided1 or1 if we leave  
them undecided1 as being beyond the     
present grasp of the human intellect1   
men are unquestionably subjected by the 
,deity to the laws of a moral economy4  
,they are1 sooner or later1 rendered    
happy in exact proportion to their      
conformity to the commands of ,god1 and 
miserable if they remain rebellious4    
,and all we contend for is1 that such a 
state of things can never be explained  
on the supposition of absolute          
predestination or inevitable necessity1 

founded on the irreversible decrees of  
,heaven4 ,the reason appears on a       
moment's consideration4 ,the good or    
evil nature of the volition belongs1 on 
this hypothesis1 not to the created     
being1 who is a passive instrument1     
without actual power --but to the       
,creator1 who is the only real agent1 as
 well as the efficient cause4 ,the      
instrument by which ,he accomplishes his
 purposes may be good or evil1 the      
volitions of that instrument may be     
characterised by whatever qualities you 
please1 still1 a mere instrument is not 
an object of moral approbation or blame2
 no responsibility attaches to it1 and  
the condition on which it acts is       
perfectly incongruous with all the ideas
 we have of reward or punishment4 ,these
 are inapplicable to a state of         
fatalism4 ,the volitions1 and the       
actions they produce1 are in reality    
those of the ,deity4 ,to ,him they      
belong1 and to ,him alone4 ,on this     
critical and decisive point all the     

great ,calvinistic writers break down4  
,while they award to human beings the   
treatment due to moral agents1 they deny
 to them the attributes without which   
they cannot be responsible for their    
actions4  ,to beings under moral        
government1 personal agency is          
essential2 but ,calvinistic fatalism    
reduces all agency to that of the ,deity
 alone4 ,the human soul is moved        
mechanically by impulse from without1   
and passively yields to an irresistible 
power4  ,it supposes the exercise of    
faculties by which we are made sensible 
of our relation to the ,deity1 and our  
obligation to obey his laws4 ,hence     
results the consciousness of rectitude  
or guilt1 and all the noble motives by  
which we are led to self-government and 
self -renunciation--from a sense of     
duty1 and with a view to future         
happiness in the enjoyment of the divine
 approbation4 ,but ,calvinistic         
necessity destroys the majesty of the   
human mind1 as an arbiter enthroned in  

its own dominion1 endowed with an       
initiating power1 and forming its       
determinations for good or for evil by  
an inherent and indefeasible            
prerogative4 ,it tells us that we have  
neither power to act nor freedom to     
fall--that our sense of liberty is      
delusive1 that we are predestined to sin
 or to holiness by a decree of the      
infinite mind1 and that our fate has    
been sealed from eternity6 ,if we really
 believe it and act upon it1 our moral  
energies are for ever suppressed1 and   
the consciousness of virtue and of guilt
 must give way to the humiliating       
persuasion that we can do nothing1 and  
that we have nothing to do1 but to yield
 to our lot and await our doom1 whether 
to be lost or saved6  ,the absurdity of 
such a theory of religion is a light    
consideration compared with the perilous
 consequences it must produce1 if it    
were possible that the mass of ignorant 
and unreflecting creatures1 of which    
society is composed1 should really      

believe it true and act in accordance   
with their belief4 ,instructed to regard
 their present conduct and future       
allotment1 as being already determined1 
the notion of a state of trial1 in which
 they were accountable to ,god1 would be
 cast off1 with all its salutary        
restraints upon the passions1 and all   
its noble incentives to a virtuous life4
 ,nor would it be possible to enforce   
the laws of morality by mere temporal   
sanctions1 the fear of exile1 the       
dungeon1 or the gibbet1 when conscience 
no longer enforced the dictates of      
religious faith4 ,the great auxiliary   
and support of all human authority is to
 be found in that most noble attribute  
of human nature--the sense of duty1     
which ceases to operate the moment we   
lose the consciousness of freedom1      
believing that our thoughts1 our        
actions1 ourselves1 are but necessary   
links in an eternal chain of causes and 
effects4  ,such a theory of religion    
renders it absurd to admonish mankind of

 their duty1 whether to obey the law of 
,god1 or to believe the ,gospel of      
,christ4  ,to this reasoning the        
,calvinist replies3 ,i acknowledge that 
men are morally1 spiritually dead4 ,but 
at the command of ,god ,i would preach  
to the dead3 at his word the dead shall 
hear and live4 ,but this reply is       
irrelevant to the great points of the   
argument4 ,it remains to be proved1 that
 ,god would be just in punishing as a   
crime that spiritual death1 of which1 on
 the ,calvinistic theory1 ,he is the    
author2--that it is possible for        
infinite goodness to subject created    
beings to an inevitable necessity of    
breaking his laws1 and then hand them   
over to perdition4 ,this is the point   
which cannot be evaded2 and it is fatal 
to the predestinarian theology4         
,doubtless ,god can raise the dead1     
literally or spiritually2 but that does 
not touch the question4                 
,,iii4--,,calvinism ,,is ,,opposed ,,to 
,,the ,,constitution ,,and ,,the        

,,purposes ,,of ,a ,,visible ,,church4  
,by the visible ,church is meant the    
great body of persons who are baptized  
into the faith of ,christ1 and openly   
profess his religion2 and the term is   
used in contradistinction to the        
invisible ,church1 which consists of    
real1 sincere1 and spiritual disciples  
of our ,lord4 ,these may be said to be  
invisible1 since to search the heart and
 penetrate its secrets1 is the          
prerogative of ,god alone4 ,the truly   
faithful1 as distinguished from the mere
 professors of ,christianity1 will not  
be seen in their distinct character     
until the hour when the final judgment  
shall separate the righteous from the   
wicked4 ,then shall the righteous shine 
forth as the sun in the kingdom of their
 ,father4  ,the visible ,church1 with   
her apostolic ministry1 her worship1 her
 sacraments1 and her various provisions 
for the edification of the body of      
,christ1 is instituted and constructed  
on the manifest principle that the      

present is a probationary state1 and    
that those who by her ministrations are 
brought under the obligations of the    
,christian covenant1 are not thereby    
absolutely but conditionally sealed to  
eternal life1 which is suspended on     
their faithful adhesion to ,christ1 and 
final perseverance in his holy ways4    
,in exact accordance with this          
statement1 our ,lord describes the      
kingdom of heaven1 or the ,christian    
,church1 as a field in which the wheat  
and the tares grow up together until the
 harvest2 and as a net cast into the sea
 and gathering of all kinds of fishes1  
bad and good1 which are afterwards to be
 separated4  ,not a syllable occurs in  
the ,new ,testament1 not a single fact  
transpires in the history of the        
apostolical ,churches1 to justify the   
persuasion1 that such only as were      
decreed to eventual salvation1 were     
received as members of the ,christian   
community4 ,such an order of fellowship1
 had it really existed1 would have      

amounted to a pre-judgment of           
characters1 anticipating and superseding
 the judicial sentence of the last day4 
,in that case1 to obtain an entrance    
into the communion of the ,church was   
virtually to be proclaimed a member1 not
 only of the visible1 but also of the   
invisible society of the redeemed1      
rendering needless all exhortations to  
perseverance1 and impossible all danger 
of apostasy4 ,but such an exclusive and 
select and judicial order of fellowship 
never did and never can exist under the 
present dispensation1 which is          
essentially a mixed state1 and one of   
probation1 supplying the means of       
working out our own salvation1 and of   
making our calling and election sure1   
but not requiring evidence of our       
effectual calling and of our certain    
election to life previous to our        
introduction to the worship and         
sacraments of the ,church4  ,from the   
earliest records we have of the         
administration of ecclesiastical        

affairs1 as well as from all later      
history1 we may learn that the ,catholic
 ,church never aimed at the senseless   
project of a pure communion1 which1 by  
excluding all but the finally elect1    
should rival in sanctity the fellowship 
of the saints above4  ,the worship of   
the ,christian ,church has always been  
open1 unrestricted1 unconfined by       
classical distinctions1 such as those of
 the elect and the reprobate4 ,the gates
 of the temple are closed against none  
who would join in the celebration of its
 holy rites4 ,god is the ,father of all2
 ,christ the ,saviour of all2 the       
manifestation of the ,spirit was given  
for the profit of all2 the ,gospel is to
 be preached to all4 ,and the ,spirit   
and the ,bride say1 ,come1 and let him  
that heareth say1 ,come1 and let him    
that is athirst come4 ,and whosoever    
will1 let him take the water of life    
freely4  ,the same free and charitable  
principle has directed the              
administration of the sacraments1 a     

circumstance the more remarkable1 since1
 in the judgment of the most eminent    
,fathers of the ,church1 these are the  
channels by which spiritual grace is    
actually communicated to all who are    
rightfully baptized1 and religiously    
partake of the ,lord's supper4 ,the     
formularies of our own branch of        
,christ's ,catholic ,church are so clear
 and definite on this point1 that every 
effort of ingenious casuistry to give   
them another meaning1 or to reconcile   
their use with the ,calvinistic         
theology1 has ended in discomfiture4    
,the sacraments are outward and visible 
signs of an inward and spiritual grace1 
given unto us1 ordained by ,christ      
himself1 as a means whereby we receive  
the same1 and a pledge to assure us     
thereof4 ,this grace is imparted1 not as
 to the elect and to them exclusively1  
but as to beings who are free and       
responsible1 who have to account for    
their use of this sacred and inestimable
 gift1 and who may forfeit its blessings

 by subsequent guilt and final          
impenitence4 ,the present state of our  
knowledge1 or rather ignorance of the   
philosophy of the human mind1 may not   
supply us with a satisfactory answer for
 those1 who1 in a cavilling or sceptical
 spirit1 ask1 ,how can these things be8 
,but it is the doctrine of the          
,scriptures and of the ,church1 and it  
is perplexed with fewer difficulties    
than will be found to press upon every  
other hypothesis4  ,supposing the       
,calvinistic doctrine of predestination 
to be founded in truth1 the very        
existence of the visible ,church in its 
present form is a mystery which requires
 to be solved4 ,no part of its          
constitution or order harmonises with a 
scheme based on fatalism1 and limiting  
the grace of ,heaven to a narrow section
 of the human family4  ,the ,sabbath    
bell1 joyously or solemnly1 invites all 
who hear to come to the house of ,god2  
and in the name of the great            
congregation the minister of ,christ    

addresses the ,deity1 saying1 ,our      
,father which art in heaven6  ,but      
,calvinism pronounces that ,god is not  
the lovely ,father of all mankind2 and1 
that while ,he has instituted the rites 
of religious worship1 and invites all to
 mingle in its sacred duties1 ,he       
regards the greater number as cursed    
children1 marked out for perdition1     
before the morning stars sang together1 
or ever the sons of ,god shouted for    
joy4  ,the ministers of the ,church     
administer to all adult converts from   
paganism1 ,judaism1 or ,mahometanism1   
who make a credible profession1 and to  
all infants1 whose sureties engage for  
their ,christian education1 the rite of 
baptism1 signifying the remission of    
past sin1 original or actual1 and       
pledging the communication of whatever  
grace is needful to remedy or assist the
 weakness of nature in the moral warfare
 with temptation4  ,but ,calvinism not  
only abjures this indiscriminate        
bestowment of grace2 but denies that    

even the elect are regenerated in       
baptism1 leaving it to the arbitrary    
determination of ,god's decree1 at what 
given period1 and under what            
circumstances1 they shall be1           
instantaneously1 and without regard to  
any foregoing state of mind or habits of
 life1 transformed into the beloved1 and
 loving1 and lovely children of ,god#d6 
,in a word1 ,calvinism supposes and     
requires an order of administration     
totally distinct from that which        
actually exists in the visible ,church  
of ,god4 ,and1 accordingly1 various     
,calvinistic communions1 which have     
separated from the ,church since the    
,reformation1 have attempted a literal  
fellowship of saints1 presuming to      
discriminate from the mass of nominal   
,christians those who have experienced  
the conclusive and saving change of     
,calvinistic conversion1 and admitting  
such only to the full enjoyment of      
,church privileges and to the ,lord's   
table4 ,it seems not a little           

surprising1 that not only sagacious     
individuals but extensive communities   
should persevere in an attempt which1 in
 the nature of things1 can lead only to 
disappointment2 for1 the sincerity of   
that species of conversion which is     
supposed to be final1 of that grace     
which is said to be irrevocable1 can    
never be decided until the ,judge of all
 has pronounced his verdict4 ,in the    
meantime1 the terms of communion must   
agree in some measure with the actual   
state of man2 and when the matter is    
quietly examined1 it appears that even  
in ,calvinistic communions the terms of 
membership are reduced to a profession  
of the received faith and order1 and an 
assurance1 on the part of the initiated1
 that he believes himself to be a       
converted person by ,god's special      
grace4 ,this is all that is required    
besides evidence of good moral          
character2 more than this is            
impracticable4 ,the spirit of ,calvinism
 can never be fully embodied in a system

 of ,ecclesiastical polity corresponding
 exactly with its own nature1 and marked
 by its own exclusiveness2 for who shall
 discern the elect8  ,this discovery    
appears to have been made by an eminent 
,calvinistic clergyman of the present   
day1 who1 instead of coming to the      
legitimate conclusion that ,calvinism is
 therefore untenable1 as being an       
impracticable system1 has recourse to a 
delusive theory of ecclesiastical       
fellowship1 which confounds the visible 
with the invisible ,church1 or reduces  
the former to a mere nullity4 ,according
 to his view of the subject1 the ,church
 of ,christ consists1 not of the        
collective body of persons who may      
happen to be in fellowship with any     
particular ,christian communities1 nor  
of the aggregate of persons who         
throughout the world make an outward    
profession of our holy faith1 but of    
those1 and those only1 who maintain the 
doctrines of grace1 and uphold the      
authority of ,christ in the world1 with 

whatever denomination of ,christians    
they are in external fellowship4 ,these1
 being the truly regenerate1 are to     
tolerate each other's differences on    
minor questions1 to love each other as  
being one in ,christ1 and to co-operate 
in every way for the diffusion of their 
common principles throughout the world4 
,mr4 ,noel's theory confirms the        
statement made in this section1 that    
,calvinism1 which it is presumed he     
means by the doctrines of grace1 denies 
the claim of any mixed body of          
professing ,christians1 such as the     
,anglican1 or the ,lutheran1 or the     
,scottish1 or any other church1 in its  
aggregate character1 to be a church1 or 
a distinct branch of the ,catholic      
,church4 ,that is1 ,calvinism is opposed
 to the constitution and the purposes of
 a visible church4 ,mr4 ,noel's theory  
is fatal to its existence4 ,for1 when it
 is said of those exclusively1 who1 in  
whatever denomination1 maintain the     
doctrines of grace1--and this one body  

is the church1--it is clearly proveable1
 that these persons have no intelligible
 grounds on which to rest that high and 
exclusive pretension2 they are not the  
visible church4  ,these persons may1 or 
may not1 be members of the spiritual or 
invisible ,church2 that is known only to
 the ,searcher of the heart4 ,they may  
or may not be the most holy and sincere 
individuals in the several churches or  
denominations with which they hold      
external communion2 that also remains to
 be confirmed or refuted by the final   
sentence and unalterable doom4 ,but they
 do not constitute what is commonly     
understood by the visible ,church of    
,god4 ,they have no ministry1 no        
worship1 no administration of the       
sacraments1 visibly distinct from the   
mass of persons who are of the same     
external fellowship with themselves2 and
 the error of assigning to them the     
distinction of being alone the true     
,church arises from the ambiguity of the
 word ,church1 on which changes are     

rung1 producing a confusion of ideas--a 
double confusion of ideas1 confusion    
worse confounded4 ,what is the mental   
process by which ,mr4 ,noel arrives at  
this point8 ,first1 the invisible       
,church is tacitly put and mistaken for 
the visible1 the truly spiritual for the
 nominal1 it being assumed that we can  
know the hearts of others4 ,then1       
secondly1 this invisible ,church is     
supposed to become visible1 and to be   
alone visible1 in the persons of those  
who maintain the doctrines of grace2    
while the really external ,church1      
consisting of the entire body of        
professing ,christians throughout the   
world1 vanishes out of sight1 and is    
declared to have no ecclesiastical      
existence6 ,the truth is1 that          
,calvinism and a visible ,church are    
incongruous ideas1 and that no man1 of  
whatever talent he may be possessed1 can
 make them harmonize4 ,the ,calvinist   
believes1 and is consistent in his      
belief1 that the elect only are the     

,church1 but since it is impossible to  
discriminate them from others1 it is    
impossible to unite them in an exclusive
 visible fellowship4 ,and1 if it were   
possible1 they would form such a ,church
 as never before existed4 ,calvinism is 
irreconcileable with the order which has
 descended from the apostolic age1 by   
the consent of the ,catholic ,church1   
and with any visible constitution4  ,if 
,mr4 ,noel has succeeded in making      
converts to his theory of a visible     
,church1 from the difficulty they find  
in detecting its fallacies1 it only     
proves1 that      ,sheer no-meaning     
puzzles more than wit4  ,the dissenter  
who1 on objecting to a ,church rate1    
said1 that ,if all ,churchmen were like 
,mr4 ,noel1 neither he nor his brethren 
would object to join them1 does not seem
 to have been aware that they were      
already members of ,mr4 ,noel's ,church4
 ,or1 what is more probable1 it was     
designed significantly to hint to that  
reverend gentleman1 that he was no more 

attached than themselves to the ,church 
of which he is a pastor1 and whose      
ordination vows are upon him1--and that 
with ,churchmen who are prepared so to  
betray or deny their ,church1 under an  
erroneous sense of duty1 dissenters may 
without difficulty form an alliance#e4  
,,iv4--,,calvinism ,,is ,,productive    
,,of ,,positively ,,injurious ,,effects 
,,on ,,individual ,,character1 ,,and    
,,on ,,social ,,happiness4  ,when ,lord 
,chatham taunted the ,church with having
 a ,calvinistic creed1 a popish liturgy1
 and an ,arminian clergy1 that          
illustrious person was the author of a  
libel on this holy and apostolical      
institution4 ,her creed is not          
,calvinistic1 for it says nothing about 
absolute predestination2 her liturgy it 
not popish1 for there is no worship of  
saints or of the ,virgin2 her clergy are
 not ,arminian1 for their moderation has
 preserved them1 as a body1 from all    
extremes in doctrine1 and that1 as well 
as their unrivalled erudition and       

intellectual power1 has been the        
admiration of the most eminent          
protestant divines and men of letters in
 ,europe4 ,and to her truly scriptural  
character1 especially her rejection of  
the ,calvinistic theology1 with its     
gloomy1 turbulent1 and intolerant       
spirit1 may be traced the high tone of  
moral feeling and practical reverence of
 religion which have honourably         
distinguished the people of ,england4   
,happily1 ,calvinism in its palmy days  
was confined to the ,puritanical party1 
which made comparatively small progress 
within the pale of the ,church2 while   
the most influential of her clergy1 and 
the great majority of her well educated 
laity1 embraced the doctrines of a more 
generous and scriptural theology4       
,without falling into ,pelagianism1 a   
charge made by ,calvinists on all who   
reject the system improperly called the 
doctrines of grace1 they held the great 
evangelic truth that ,christ died for   
all1 and its correspondent views of the 

benevolence of ,god1 and the moral      
dignity of human nature1 impaired1 but  
not destroyed1 by the fall4  ,the       
principles of the remonstrants1 without 
being servilely embraced1 influenced and
 modified the religious opinions of the 
people of ,england1 who were never      
generally favourable1 either to the     
dogmas or the discipline of the ,genevan
 reformer1 and to this circumstance are 
we largely indebted for the manly and   
the moral character of our country4     
,this statement1 founded on the history 
of the ,reformation and the times which 
followed1 is not intended as an         
indiscriminate attack on the moral      
character of ,calvinists4 ,many of them 
are to be classed with the holiest of   
men2 not because they are ,calvinists1  
but because their erroneous notions are 
rendered innoxious1 by the prevalence of
 a sincere piety1 and by a secret and   
practical disbelief of the principles   
which1 in speculation or imagination1   
they seem to hold4  ,it would be both   

unjust and uncharitable to judge any    
class of persons simply by the creed    
they subscribe1 or to impute to them the
 consequences which might be supposed to
 follow from a rigid adherence to its   
doctrines4 ,there are antagonist        
principles at work2 there is the law    
written on the heart2 there is grace to 
counteract the tendency of false        
impressions2 there is the love of ,god  
and of man to render those who are truly
 good men superior to any bad principles
 they have unhappily imbibed4 ,their    
,christianity is dominant1 and their    
,calvinism is made harmless4  ,but evil 
speculation has a tendency in all minds 
to lessen or destroy the power of those 
dictates of conscience which are        
honourable to us as moral agents2 and it
 will counteract1 so far as it goes1 the
 salutary influence of those scriptural 
truths which still retain their hold    
upon the judgment or the feelings4 ,in  
but few instances1 comparatively1 can   
,calvinism be altogether harmless2 in   

the ordinary course of things1 it is    
productive of results positively        
injurious4  ,in persons of serious      
religion1 it will produce opposite      
effects1 as they may be gentle and      
timid1 or bold and presumptuous4 ,in the
 former1 anxiety1 fearful apprehension1 
deep distress1 approaching to           
despondency1 lest the tremendous decree 
of reprobation should have been recorded
 against them in the indelible page4 ,in
 the latter1 who can bring a sanguine   
temperament of mind to the contemplation
 of the subject1 the effect may be1 and 
often is1 unbounded confidence1 leading 
to self-complacency and spiritual pride2
 the very natural result of believing   
that they are special objects of the    
love of ,god1 and that their persuasion 
is a divine impulse1 ,god speaking to   
the heart4 ,spiritual pride may assume  
the aspect of profound humility1 and    
thus impose on its victim by the notion 
that he is only magnifying the sovereign
 grace of ,heaven in his election to    

eternal life4 ,but such is the weakness 
of human nature1 that the consciousness 
of this high distinction needs to be    
chastened by very lofty views of the    
moral virtue required by ,christianity1 
and by very humbling conceptions of our 
own1 to prevent a false and dangerous   
elation of the heart4  ,and1 in how many
 instances this consciousness is mere   
delusion1 it would seem almost needless 
to suggest4 ,it is often professed under
 suspicious circumstances by doubtful   
characters4 ,nothing can be more        
groundless than the persuasion so       
commonly entertained by persons of this 
creed1 that to be fully convinced of the
 truth of the doctrine is a sufficient  
ground of confidence that they are      
therefore of the number of the chosen   
people4 ,the strongest conviction may be
 deceptive4 ,the firmest assurance may  
be the result of ignorant or fanatical  
presumption4 ,and whatever may be the   
readiness of this class of persons to   
say1 ,my mountain standeth firm--,i     

shall never be moved1 it cannot but be  
feared respecting many of them1 that    
they have yet to learn the very first   
principles of the oracles of ,god4 ,the 
remarkable absence of humility and      
charity in these children of special    
grace is alone enough to render their   
,christianity questionable1 exposes the 
dangerous nature of their delusion1 and 
proves the practical inutility of their 
scheme2 since1 after all1 without the   
evidence of a truly evangelical temper  
and life1 no inward assurance would     
satisfy a reflecting mind2 and in the   
possession of such evidence1 no other   
assurance is needed4  ,the              
self-righteousness of the ,pharisee is  
scarcely more to be dreaded than the    
spiritual pride of the ,calvinist1 when 
it has passed from under the control of 
holy wisdom4 ,it assumes the character  
of selfishness1 bigotry1 and the lust of
 intolerant dominion4  ,the same spirit 
of exclusiveness and domination1 which  
pervades in general their ecclesiastical

 polity1 affects their allegiance to the
 state4 ,under cover of abolishing      
episcopacy1 the doctrinal ,puritans were
 the principal authors of that          
revolution which introduced the         
,commonwealth after the fall of the     
monarchy2 and their aim was the         
exclusive dominion of the saints1 that  
by political power they might establish 
their own forms of ,church government4  
,religion was really their object1 and  
they were not hypocritical in professing
 it2 but to accomplish their spiritual  
projects1 they considered themselves    
entitled to secular dominion2 and their 
tyranny in ,church and ,state was so    
overbearing1 that the nation1 after the 
death of ,cromwell1 eagerly threw itself
 into the arms of the ,stuarts1 almost  
without a compact1 rather than endure   
the sanctimonious intolerance of        
,calvinistic patriots and republican    
saints#f4  ,the same leaven is still at 
work4 ,the doctrinal ,puritans of the   
present day have the same lordly        

consciousness of a right to dominion4   
,they have declared their resolution to 
stagger senates1 and smash cabinets     
until their points are carried4 ,they   
have given to the nation a significant  
announcement of their claims to power1  
by their politico-religious synod of    
,manchester4 ,the imperial parliament of
 these realms is1 in future1 it seems1  
to make its fiscal arrangements1 and    
legislate on points of purely political 
economy1 under the dictation of the     
,calvinistic divines of the nineteenth  
century#g4 ,doubtless1 our future       
,chancellors of the ,exchequer will be  
selected from this body of sacred       
financiers4  ,while it produces effects 
so remote from those of true            
,christianity in the religious          
professors of ,calvinism1 on the mass of
 ignorant1 sordid1 unreflecting1 and    
worldly-minded persons1 who are taught  
these doctrines1 its worst influences   
are seen to operate2 and1 as the country
 was notoriously demoralized at the     

close of the ,cromwellian dictatorship1 
when ,calvinistic divines had enjoyed a 
long and signal triumph1 so is the      
present age marked by a degeneracy in   
the public morals1 which has kept pace  
with the progress of opinions of similar
 character and tendency4 ,the rude      
multitude is taught that there is no    
grace but special grace1 and this       
produces recklessness and indifference1 
since no efforts will avail if they are 
not to be partakers of these1 to them1  
forbidden streams of the river of the   
water of life4 ,or1 perhaps1 this gloomy
 doctrine produces a sullen suspicion1  
vague and undefined1 of the rectitude of
 ,god1 and thus alienates still more    
those hearts which are already adverse  
to the ,divine government4  ,of all the 
mischievous extravagances of opinion1   
none has produced more fatal            
consequences1 than the notion1 that ,god
 takes particular delight in selecting  
the vilest of men for the object of his 
electing love2 and that the gross sinner

 is better prepared for the grace of    
,christ1 than they who have walked in   
the paths of virtue4  ,it is a          
melancholy but instructive fact1 that in
 ,calvinistic families1 the puritanical 
order and discipline which are often    
highly commendable1 have proved         
insufficient to counteract the malignant
 effects of the doctrines inculcated on 
the minds of the young4 ,instead of     
being taught that grace is given to all1
 and that all are responsible for its   
use1 they are instructed that this      
blessing may perhaps be withholden4 ,and
 no families have sent forth into the   
world more affecting examples of        
worthless and unprincipled young men1   
who have brought down the grey hairs of 
their excellent but mistaken parents    
with sorrow to the grave6  ,if the      
unguarded preaching of the doctrines of 
grace1 and the scanty instruction given 
on the great duties of practical        
religion1 have contributed to the       
demoralized state of the people1 let it 

not be supposed that other causes have  
been wanting to swell the tide of       
corruption4 ,from the ,revolution1      
toleration has been gradually enlarged1 
until all salutary restraints have been 
swept away1 and the glorious liberties  
of our country have degenerated1 by a   
fatal abuse1 into unbridled             
licentiousness4 ,the press is daily     
infusing poison into the public mind4   
,what once would have been punished as  
profaneness and blasphemy1 is no longer 
noticed by the gentle guardians of the  
law1 and treason has almost ceased to be
 a crime4 ,liberalism has trampled over 
law1 and the reigning evils have been   
unhappily aggravated by those whose     
position in the state ought to have     
dictated other conduct than that of     
making anarchical principles the road to
 dominion4    ,v4--,,calvinism ,,is     
,,not ,,the ,,doctrine ,,of ,,scripture 
,,or ,,of ,,the ,,anglican ,,church4    
,the general tenor of the ,holy         
,scriptures is so clearly against it1   

that it is impossible to account for the
 facts or the doctrines of the ,bible on
 supposition of the truth of the        
,calvinistic theology3 ,nor would it be 
needful to discuss the subject1 however 
briefly1 on scriptural grounds1 but for 
a few particular texts which are cited  
against the current testimony of the    
word of ,god4 ,it is said that one text1
 if plain and direct1 is evidence enough
 for the establishment of any doctrine4 
,this may be a sound canon of           
interpretation1 where the one text      
admits but one meaning1 and that meaning
 is not opposed by conflicting evidence1
 but not otherwise4 ,in the present     
instance1 there exists1 in addition to  
the opposing stream of ,scripture       
testimony1 the following strong         
presumption against the ,calvinistic    
view of particular texts4 ,supposing the
 doctrine of ,calvinistic fatalism to be
 correct1 no explanation can be given of
 the general tenor of ,divine           
revelation1 none which can be made to   

harmonize with that doctrine4 ,the      
entire history of providence and        
redemption1 as given in the ,bible1     
proceeds on the principle1 not of fate1 
but of freedom2 and if we are not free1 
we are reduced to the suspicious and    
unworthy conclusion1 that the secret and
 the revealed will of ,god are at       
variance with each other2 that we are   
deceived by a scheme of things          
designedly arranged to convey false     
impressions of truth1 and that while    
,god treats us now as though we were    
accountable beings1 ,he fixes our final 
destinies without any regard whatsoever 
to our imaginary freedom and pretended  
responsibility4  ,on the other hand1    
taking the general tenor of the sacred  
volume to be the true representation of 
the moral economy under which we are    
placed by the infinite wisdom of ,god1  
all the passages which are cited by     
,calvinists1 as being favourable to     
their cause1 may be so explained1 and   
that without violence1 as to accord with

 the current testimony of the           
,scriptures to the freedom and moral    
agency of man4 ,a stronger presumptive  
argument cannot be conceived against the
 claim of ,calvinism to scriptural      
authority4  ,let it be also distinctly  
observed1 that the cause of ,calvinism  
is not served by those passages of      
,scripture which relate to the election 
of individuals1 or of nations1 to       
certain privileges which do not extend  
to the absolute enjoyment of eternal    
life4 ,of this description is the ninth 
of the ,romans4 ,the subject of that    
celebrated chapter is not the election  
of individuals to final salvation1 but  
the election of the ,jews to the honor  
of being the visible ,church1 and their 
subsequent rejection through open       
unbelief4 ,nor does the allusion        
contained in it to the destruction of   
,pharaoh and his host in the ,red sea1  
yield an argument in favour of          
,calvinistic reprobation4 ,the fact that
 the infatuated monarch was hardened in 

heart by the leniency which spared him  
under so many provocations and insults  
offered by him to the ,almighty ,god1   
does not prove1 nor was it designed to  
prove1 that he was the fated victim of  
an eternal decree1 whether in regard to 
his secular or spiritual condition4     
,nor can ,calvinism plead for itself    
those texts which are supposed to refer 
to the election of individuals to final 
salvation1 but which at the same time   
leave unsettled the important question  
at issue2 whether that election was     
absolute and irrespective of character1 
or whether it was founded on the        
foreknowledge of their faith and        
obedience4 ,such for example is the     
language of ,st4 ,paul1 #b ,thess4 ii4  
#ac1 #ad4 ,all such passages leave the  
controversy undetermined1 proving only  
that the doctrine of election is        
scriptural1 but not fixing the sense in 
which it is to be taken1 whether        
absolute or conditional4  ,the terms    
election and predestination1 with their 

correlates1 are of frequent occurrence  
in the ,new ,testament1 and with various
 significations1 which are to be        
explained by the particular subjects to 
which they refer4 ,but the only texts   
which really bear on the ,calvinistic   
controversy1 are those which may seem to
 represent election as sovereign1       
arbitrary1 and totally irrespective of  
the faith and obedience of the elect2   
such are few indeed4 ,let us review that
 which is deemed by the advocates of    
,calvinism among their most conclusive  
evidences4 ,that election1 says         
,edwards1 is not from a foresight of    
works1 as depending on the condition of 
man's will1 is evident by #b ,tim4 i4   
#i4 ',who hath saved us1 and called us  
with an holy calling1 not according to  
our works1 but according to his own     
purpose and grace1 which was given us in
 ,christ ,jesus before the world began4'
 ,edwards was not more remarkable for   
acuteness and subtlety as a reasoner1   
than for his lax and indiscriminate     

citations of ,scripture4 ,he appeals to 
this text with such confidence1 that he 
deems no analysis to be necessary4 ,the 
bare citation is enough4  ,but a brief  
examination of the passage will make it 
clear that it yields no support to      
,calvinism4 ,the ,calvinist affirms that
 ,god1 by an absolute decree1 hath      
elected to salvation a very small number
 of men without any regard to their     
faith and obedience whatsoever4 ,that   
is1 the decree which insures the safety 
of the elect is not founded on ,god's   
foreknowledge of their holiness and of  
their perseverance in the faith4 ,to    
show that this doctrine is supported by 
the passage under our consideration1 it 
must be proved1 that when the ,apostle  
says1 not according to our works1 he    
means our ,christian good works1 our    
faith1 our repentance1 our charity1 our 
evangelic obedience to ,christ2 of this1
 there is not the shadow of evidence4   
,on the contrary1 the works alluded to  
are those1 whether good or bad1 which   

were done in a state of heathen or      
,jewish depravity1 at any rate done     
before believers exercised faith and    
repentance1 and were called to the      
privileges of the ,christian ,church4   
,no other interpretation will hold4     
,st4 ,paul states that ,god hath saved  
us1 and called us with an holy calling4 
,he then proceeds to trace this happy   
condition to its sources4 ,he begins    
with a negation4 ,the antecedent cause  
of our salvation and calling was not our
 works2 we were not treated according to
 our works2 not after the measure1 the  
proportion1 the merit or demerit of our 
works3 these might have brought         
punishment1 but could never have        
procured for us blessings so great and  
undeserved4 ,the real cause was the     
purpose of ,god and his grace given in  
,christ before the world began4  ,here1 
our works are put in distinct opposition
 to the purpose and grace of ,god4      
,they could not1 therefore1 be our      
,christian works1 done in a state of    

salvation and subsequent to our obeying 
the holy calling4 ,these are the        
practical results1 the moral effects1 of
 our holy calling according to the      
gracious purpose of ,god4 ,these could  
never have been done but for that holy  
calling4 ,they could not therefore in   
any sense be the antecedent cause of    
that holy calling4 ,in the order both of
 nature and of time1 both the gracious  
purpose and the holy calling must have  
preceded these works4 ,to tell any man  
of common sense1 that they were not the 
procuring cause of the grace from whence
 they were themselves derived1 was      
needless4  ,to one so intelligent as    
,timothy1 such instruction was worse    
than superfluous4 ,works could not hold 
the twofold relation of cause and effect
 to ,god's grace4 ,nor can it be        
supposed that ,st4 ,paul was the author 
of a solecism so obvious1 as that of    
formally setting in opposition to the   
purpose and the grace of ,god those     
evangelic works1 which were the moral   

effects of the influence of that grace  
and of the execution of that purpose4   
,the works alluded to were those which  
might be done before men were partakers 
of the ,christian salvation1 or         
independently of the dispensation of    
grace1 and according to such works no   
man could be entitled to the blessings  
of eternal redemption4  ,this important 
text lends no support to the ,calvinist4
 ,it cannot be cited in proof1 that the 
election of ,god is arbitrary and       
uninfluenced by his foreknowledge of the
 faith and obedience of his chosen      
people1 for the works here intended are 
not ,christian good works done in faith4
 ,edwards did wisely in not analyzing   
this text4  ,the same principle of      
interpretation is applicable to ,titus  
iii4 #e4 ,not by works of righteousness 
which we have done1 but according to his
 mercy he saved us by the washing of    
regeneration1 and renewing of the ,holy 
,ghost4 ,these works are not those of   
the truly regenerate1 which being the   

effects of the grace of ,christ1 cannot 
be mistaken for the meritorious cause of
 the communication of that grace4 ,it is
 rather to be taken as a broad          
assertion1 that the blessings of the    
,christian covenant1 are not the result 
or the reward of human deserts2 that    
apart from the redemption of ,christ1   
there are no works of righteousness by  
which we can be saved2 and that while   
,christians are made really holy and    
good1 their sanctification is to be     
traced to the grace of ,god in ,christ  
,jesus4 ,in neither passage is there any
 statement on which to rest an argument 
for the arbitrary and unconditional     
decree of the ,calvinist1 nor for       
depreciating the intrinsic value of     
those really good works which the       
,christian performs in faith4 ,calvinism
 has no foundation in the word of ,god4 
,it is in direct collision with that    
sacred authority4 ,st4 ,paul rests the  
divine election on the foreknowledge of 
the ,deity1 and let his decision be     

final4 ,whom he did foreknow1 he also   
did predestinate1 to be conformed to the
 image of his ,son4  ,the seventeenth   
,article of the ,church accords with the
 ,scriptures1 and its doctrinal         
statements are made almost entirely in  
the language of the sacred writers1 and 
of those eminent divines of the         
,reformation who abjured ,calvinism and 
adhered to the ,bible4 ,it is drawn up  
with great moderation1 says nothing of  
absolute decrees and unconditional      
election1 and it treats the subject     
practically4 ,the concluding paragraph  
relating to curious and carnal persons  
shows that the venerable compilers of   
the ,article rejected extreme views of  
this doctrine1 since these only could   
lead to a most dangerous downfall4 ,but 
if the article itself be at all         
equivocal1 it must be interpreted by the
 formularies of the ,church and by the  
,scriptures1 since no dogma is to be    
imputed to this holy branch of ,christ's
 ,catholic ,church1 that is at variance 

with the attributes of ,god1 the moral  
constitution of man1 the testimony of   
the ,bible1 and the obligations of      
practical religion4  ,if ,calvinism be  
the doctrine of our ,church1 then are   
the ,catechism1 and the ,order for the  
,ministration of ,baptism1 the most     
absurd and delusive compositions by     
which the minds of men were ever led    
astray4    ,,vi4--,,calvinism ,,has     
,,led ,,to ,,the ,,corruption ,,of      
,,christian ,,doctrine1 ,,that ,,the    
,,scriptures ,,may ,,be ,,accommodated  
,,to ,,extreme ,,views ,,of ,,the       
,,divine ,,decrees4  ,it was not in the 
nature of things1 that ,calvinistic     
predestination should be received as    
truth1 without producing such a         
modification of the entire system of    
divine revelation1 as would impress on  
it a new and completely different       
character4 ,christianity1 in its        
unadulterated simplicity1 is            
distinguished by the consolatory views  
it imparts of the benignity and grace of

 ,god1 and by the direct and cogent     
motives it suggests for holiness and    
righteousness of life4 ,but the first   
article of the ,calvinistic creed throws
 a veil of awful and suspicious mystery 
over the divine goodness1 and represents
 it as the sun shorn of his beams4      
,having determined that ,god is not the 
universal ,father1 nor the ,saviour of  
all men1 but the projector of a scheme  
which predetermines the ruin of the     
great mass of his creatures1 ,calvinism 
models to its own purpose all those     
doctrines of ,christianity which are in 
beautiful accordance with the truth that
 ,god is love4 ,it denies that the      
atonement of ,christ was intended to    
make satisfaction for the sins of the   
whole world4 ,it announces that the     
non-elect are laid under an irresistible
 necessity of sinning to destruction1   
and that no spiritual grace is imparted 
to rescue them from the dominion of     
native1 incurable1 uncontrolled         
depravity4  ,the gracious invitations   

and promises of the ,gospel are reduced 
to unmeaning terms1 so far as the many  
are concerned4 ,and while ,calvinism is 
denominated by its admirers the         
doctrines of grace1 it obliterates from 
the ,scriptures every trace of sincere  
mercy1 and robs the diadem of heaven of 
its purest and brightest gem4 ,calvinism
 and grace are heterogeneous terms1     
representing discordant ideas4  ,the    
motives to a holy life1 governed by     
piety and adorned with virtue1 must be  
impaired by the views here given of the 
,deity4 ,no human mind can be habituated
 to the contemplation of the divine     
conduct1 as it is seen distorted by the 
predestinarian theology1 and retain its 
just sentiments of what is right1 what  
is just1 what is honourable1 what is    
lovely in goodness4 ,the man who        
imitates the ,god of the ,calvinist1    
that phantasm of a morbid or dreaming   
imagination1 cannot fail to have his    
moral sentiments corrupted1 and to      
become deceptive1 shuffling1            

treacherous1 and eventually insensible  
to the misery of others4  ,the          
,calvinistic doctrines of regeneration  
and perseverance are not calculated to  
rectify these evils4 ,these are made to 
harmonize with the fatalism which bears 
all men along with irresistible energy1 
the reprobate to perdition1 the redeemed
 to blessedness4 ,the new birth is      
described as a sudden transformation of 
our spiritual nature1 effected by       
sovereign grace1 unconnected with the   
preceding states of the mind1 whether   
good or evil1 and attended with the     
communication of spiritual life which   
can never afterwards be forfeited or    
lost4 ,no sins1 however enormous1 can   
endanger the elect1 although they may   
for a time cloud their evidences4 ,the  
effects produced by this doctrine on the
 mind of that individual who believes   
himself to be thus specially            
distinguished1 must be of a very        
dangerous kind1 unless counteracted as  
it frequently is by other principles1 or

 restrained by the genuine spirit of    
,christianity operating with antagonist 
energy4  ,it is this necessary          
corruption of the great truths of the   
,gospel that renders ,calvinism an      
object of distrust and alarm4 ,if it was
 a mere speculation1 which was intended1
 in the calm spirit of ,christian       
philosophy1 to solve a problem in       
theology or morals1 leaving untouched   
the essential character of revealed     
religion1 it might pass without rebuke4 
,but it weakens the moral sense1 and it 
leads to the subversion of all that is  
consolatory in our prospects of the     
final destinies of the human race1      
leaving us no security for the salvation
 even of the supposed elect2 for what   
hope can repose with confidence on the  
supreme ,arbiter of events1 when ,he is 
believed to be the author of a religion 
which represents ,him as acting without 
any intelligible moral motive1          
destroying the majority of the human    
race for offences not their own1 and    

saving the remnant without regard to    
their ,christian virtues6  ,it is       
remarkable that1 while in modern times  
many disavow their belief in those views
 of the divine decrees which form the   
basis of the ,calvinistic creed1 and    
which have occasioned this corruption of
 ,christian truth1 they still hold to   
these corruptions1 and write and preach 
on the implied principle that the grace 
of ,god is limited by decree to those   
whom they specially designate his       
children4 ,they have been driven from   
the foundation1 and still they cleave to
 the superstructure4 ,they assume the   
designation of moderate ,calvinists1 not
 perceiving that the doctrines of       
particular redemption1 and special      
grace1 and exclusive assumption of a    
filial relation to ,god1 are untenable  
when absolute predestination is         
exploded4 ,calvinism1 after all1 is     
their creed1 since the system to which  
they adhere cannot rest on any other    
foundation4  ,it is to be inferred1     

therefore1 that for persons of a certain
 temperament this doctrine has charms so
 powerful as to negative the calm       
dictates of the judgment1 and           
practically to render the mind          
insensible to the force of truth4  ,and 
what are its recommendations to those   
who embrace it8  #a4 ,calvinism is both 
exciting and sedative1 exciting to the  
imagination1 and sedative to the        
conscience4 ,thus it is accommodated to 
two of the leading principles of human  
nature1 the love of the awful1 the      
terrific1 the deeply tragic1 and the    
natural anxiety which all men feel1 to  
be rid of the consciousness of guilt and
 of personal danger4 ,nothing can exceed
 the tremendous scenes opened to the    
imagination by that system of theology1 
which dooms to perdition the great mass 
of human beings1 who are permitted by   
their ,creator to sport or suffer upon  
earth through a few rapid revolutions of
 time1 and are then swept away for ever 
into an abyss of ruin2 while1 with      

confounding and dreadful mystery1 the   
,author of their being is represented as
 the great agent in this work of        
appalling desolation4 ,to redeem his    
character for mercy1 ,he rescues an     
elect few1 but leaves the devoted       
multitude without pity and without hope1
 to everlasting torment4 ,whether we    
contemplate this fearful character of   
the ,deity1 or endeavour to realize the 
scenes which await the departure of lost
 souls1 or attempt in imagination to    
identify ourselves with the happy       
spirits of the redeemed1 who have       
escaped1 they know not why1 the general 
destruction of all that is dear to man1 
we must be sensible that all the        
ordinary conceptions of the human mind  
are comparatively powerless for pity1 or
 terror1 or intense expectation of what 
is to come4  ,at the same time its      
tendency1 excepting in the case of a few
 sensitive and tender spirits1 is to    
deaden the consciousness of guilt1 to   
still the remonstrances of the          

self-convicted mind1 and to enable men  
of no religion and of no morals to hear 
these doctrines proclaimed from the     
pulpit without any salutary disquietude 
of heart4 ,they do not really believe   
them1 or they find in them an apology   
for their corruption4 ,it has sometimes 
been said1 by way of severe reflection1 
of a moral sermon1 that it could not be 
the ,gospel1 for that a ,socinian might 
have heard it without offence4 ,the     
objection is very absurd2 but what then 
ought to be the inference drawn by the  
same persons1 respecting the character  
of doctrines which1 although in         
speculation they are fearful and        
appalling to the utmost1 tend in reality
 to stupify the moral sense1 and can be 
listened to by the profane and the      
profligate with complacency or apathy8  
,while it explains their popularity1 it 
is a presumption against their truth4   
#b4 ,this doctrine has the              
recommendation of freeing those who hold
 it from anxiety about the practical    

part of religion1 by substituting a     
system of belief purely speculative4    
,when examined in all its bearings1 it  
may be seen to consist of faith and     
assurance3 faith in the divine decrees2 
assurance of being numbered with the    
elect4 ,get clear views of the divine   
sovereignty1 believe that ,christ died  
for you in particular1 construe the     
persuasion of your safety into an       
especial witness of the ,holy ,spirit2  
doubt nothing1 fear nothing2 look       
entirely out of yourselves2 and remember
 that there is a finished salvation for 
the elect2 and all is well6 ,this is    
,calvinism4 ,and this is speculation4   
,if repentance1 self-government1 virtue1
 and the duties of ,christian piety and 
obedience are inculcated1 these must be 
enforced on grounds not supplied by the 
predestinarian theology1 and            
irreconcileable with that scheme of     
doctrine4 ,doubtless1 the best writers  
of this school insist on holiness of    
temper1 and sanctity of life1 and       

enforce these by motives derived from   
the moral perfections of ,god1 the      
turpitude of sin1 and the necessity of a
 renewed heart as being essential to    
religion here and happiness hereafter4  
,but all these considerations are       
totally independent of the speculations 
of the fatalist1 and are rendered       
powerless as incentives to action       
exactly in proportion to the practical  
influence of these speculations on the  
mind and the heart4  ,let the professor 
of ,christianity give up his thoughts to
 eternal decrees1 and special grace1 and
 the soothing dream of irrevocable      
promises sealed to the heart by the     
clear witness of the ,spirit1 and the   
moral conflict with sin and temptation  
will languish with the salutary fear of 
danger4 ,this is suited to the depraved 
indolence of man4 ,all false systems of 
religion have in view the indulgence of 
this perilous but seductive peace4 ,any 
thing is acceptable to corrupt human    
nature that supplies a substitute for   

the duties of moral righteousness and a 
sublime virtue1 lulling the conscience  
into a state of artificial repose4 ,and 
to produce this effect1 no scheme of    
religious belief1 that ever emanated    
from the perverse ingenuity of the human
 mind1 was ever so perfectly contrived  
as the ,calvinistic notion of           
predestinating grace4  #c4 ,of the      
multitudes of truly religious persons1  
who embrace this doctrine or give their 
passive assent to it1 but few are       
competent to detect its fallacies1 or to
 trace its evil consequences4  ,they are
 to be found chiefly among the lower    
ranks of life1 or the uneducated        
portions of the middle and the higher   
classes4 ,if there are any whose minds  
have been disciplined by sound          
instruction1 and expanded by liberal    
acquirements1 they are1 for the most    
part1 the children of ,calvinistic      
families1 who1 having been taught to    
reverence these opinions in their       
childhood1 have not had energy of mind  

to rise above their early impressions4  
,that multitudes of persons piously     
disposed1 but without the requisite     
knowledge1 or intellectual culture1     
should be influenced by the arguments of
 men skilful in dialectics1 and zealous 
to make proselytes1 cannot be deemed    
matter of wonderment4 ,especially let it
 be noticed1 that these teachers and    
preachers know well how to appeal to    
ignorant timidity and to sincere but    
unguarded piety4  ,they are told1 that  
to reject these doctrines shows a heart 
secretly disaffected to the government  
of ,god1 and daring to oppose           
presumption and ignorance to the wisdom 
of the ,eternal4 ,as if it were not the 
fact1 that ,calvinism has been viewed   
with abhorrence by men of the humblest  
and the purest piety1 by men of seraphic
 minds and of the sublimest intellect4  
,they are also instructed to believe1   
that the grace of the ,redeemer is      
magnified by degrading human nature to  
the utmost1 and making the redeemed     

passive recipients of predestinated and 
exclusive grace4 ,but they do not       
perceive that ,calvinism destroys all   
ideas of grace1 by making ,god the      
author of the misery which ,he affects  
to pity1 and by tracing the divine      
conduct to mere motiveless caprice1 to  
blind and arbitrary choice or rejection4
  ,these distinctions are lost upon the 
superficial minds of the multitude4 ,and
 when they are told that ,calvinism     
honours the sovereignty of ,god1 and    
exalts the grace of ,christ1 their      
religious and holy feelings are enlisted
 in a cause which little deserves these 
high and evangelic eulogies4 ,while the 
love of ,god in ,christ1 to themselves  
in particular1 is made the prevailing   
topic1 the gloomy and suspicious parts  
of the system are kept in the back      
ground1 or positively denied4  ,if there
 be truth in the preceding remarks1 the 
degree of popularity which attaches to  
this view of religion1 far from yielding
 a presumptive argument in its favour1  

is1 at least1 a reason for regarding it 
with suspicion4 ,it has not the         
recommendation of being the faith of the
 most numerous portion of the wise1 of  
the holy1 of the virtuous4 ,it appeals  
to the weaknesses rather than to the    
nobler principles of human nature4 ,it  
can never be the sincere and cherished  
belief of an enlightened1 community4    
,the advocates of this creed appear to  
be aware of this1 and therefore supply  
their want of conclusive argument by    
fulminations intended to effect by fear1
 what more honourable means could not   
accomplish4  ,they not only contend for 
the truth of their doctrine1 they make  
the belief of it essential to salvation4
 ,none are elect who do not receive     
their views of election4 ,all others are
 reprobate4 ,shall ,i tell you1 says one
 of their most eminent men1 some of the 
ends that may be answered by preaching  
this doctrine8 ,one important end is1 to
 detect hearts which are unwilling that 
,god should reign2 to lay open those    

smooth1 selfish spirits1 which1 while   
they cry ,hosannah1 are hostile to the  
dominion of ,jehovah4 ,the more fully   
,god and the system of his government   
are brought out to view1 the more       
clearly are the secrets of all hearts   
revealed4 ,men1 who fancy themselves    
impelled by a special influence to      
receive this creed1 may consistently    
pronounce judgment on those who reject  
it4 ,the absurdity in one case1 is not  
greater than in the other4 ,but their   
attempts at intimidation will have no   
other effect with persons of            
dispassionate reflection1 than to render
 more repulsive those errors which      
foster insolent conceit in vulgar minds1
 and encourage those who appear to have 
but a superficial knowledge of          
themselves to pass sentence of          
condemnation on the hearts of others4   
,formally to disclaim a charge so gross 
and misapplied as that of hostility to  
the dominion of ,jehovah1 would be to   
treat it with more respect than it      

deserves4 ,but it may not be improper to
 remark1 that the charge proceeds with  
the worst possible grace from the       
vindicators of a creed which obliterates
 from the divine government every trace 
of wisdom1 of rectitude1 of goodness1   
and so represents the ,ruler of the     
word1 as to make ,him an object of      
detestation and terror to his creatures4
 ,other sentiments must inspire the     
heart before we can reverence the divine
 administration1 and unite in the song  
of ,moses the servant of ,god1 and the  
song of the ,lamb1 saying1 ,great and   
marvellous are thy works1 ,lord ,god    
,almighty3 just and true are thy ways1  
,thou king of saints4  ,,appendix4      
,,additional ,,remarks ,,on ,,mr4       
,,noel',s ,,tract ,,on ,,the ,,unity    
,,of ,,the ,,church4  ,the writer of    
these pages has no personal knowledge of
 the author of the tract1 of whom he has
 only heard by report1 that he is a     
zealous minister and popular preacher4  
,his writings indicate natural suavity  

of temper4 ,having therefore no feeling 
of personal disrespect1 he deems no     
apology to be necessary for the freedom 
of his strictures on a work which       
challenges attention and defies         
contradiction4  ,mr4 ,noel has openly   
and dogmatically set forth a theory of  
the visible ,church and her fellowship1 
not only hostile to the ,church of      
,england and fraught with absurdity1 but
 propounded under the alluring guise of 
,christian charity2 a charity which has 
won for him the applause of the         
professors of modern liberalism1        
because1 on a cursory glance1 it appears
 to embrace all sects and denominations 
of ,christians4 ,it is proper1          
therefore1 to set the matter in a true  
light1 by showing that this liberality  
of sentiment is more specious than real2
 that ,mr4 ,noel is throwing out false  
colours1 and that while1 in no measured 
terms1 he condemns the supposed want of 
brotherly-kindness in the members of the
 ,church of ,england1 his own apparent  

liberality is resolvable into nothing   
else than ,calvinistic exclusiveness and
 intolerance4  ,liberality is the order1
 the fashion1 the idol of the day4 ,in  
many it takes the form of infidel       
indifference1 regarding as equally true1
 or equally false1 every creed that is  
called ,christian4  ,the charity of our 
holy and ,apostolical ,church is not    
thus lax and indiscriminate4 ,it rests  
not upon scepticism1 but upon sound and 
definable principles4 ,it does not      
proceed on the assumption that all      
creeds are equally good1 but that men of
 all creeds have a political right to   
follow the dictates of conscience1      
whether enlightened or erroneous1 in    
matters purely spiritual1 and that they 
are responsible only to ,god for their  
religious faith and worship2 indulging1 
at the same time1 a charitable          
persuasion of the sincerity and         
,christian goodness of multitudes who   
are believed to be labouring under      
mistaken views of truth4 ,this is true  

,christian charity1 which tolerates     
error1 hopes well of misinformed but    
sincere piety1 breathes no malignant    
feelings1 indulges in no haughtiness of 
conscious superiority2 but1 after all1  
holds firmly to its own persuasion of   
what is true and right1 without the     
smallest approach to a compromise of    
principles even with honest and         
well-meaning error4 ,this is the charity
 of the sound ,english churchman1 and   
this charity lies at the foundation of  
the religious liberties of the ,british 
empire4  ,as churchmen we contemplate   
with reverence1 our protestant1         
episcopal1 and apostolical communion4   
,we believe that it rests on the        
foundation of ,apostles and prophets1   
,jesus ,christ himself the chief        
corner-stone4 ,and we contend for the   
right of the ,church to demand from her 
own ministers faith in her doctrines1   
and to model her own worship1 and adjust
 her own ceremonies according to her own
 holy discretion4 ,but we compel no man 

to come in4 ,we love and cherish the    
chartered and constitutional liberties  
of our country2 and while we sympathize 
not with the errors which are tolerated1
 we rejoice in the freedom1 the just and
 evangelic freedom1 which leaves every  
man1 without control or interference1 to
 settle all points of religious duty    
with his conscience and his ,god4 ,we do
 not feel bound to attempt what would be
 impracticable1 to construct a church   
which should suit the caprices of all1  
and whose flexible creed1 like the vane 
which surmounts the steeple1 should     
shift with every wind of doctrine2 but  
we allow the discontented to depart     
without molestation1 and we honour their
 conscientious scruples1 while we regret
 and condemn their errors4  ,with       
charity so large yet discriminating1    
founded on principles which approve     
themselves to the judgment and the      
heart1 we solemnly protest against every
 charge of intolerance and bigotry that 
is brought1 by friend or foe1 against   

our ,national ,church4  ,but this does  
not satisfy ,mr4 ,noel1 who proposes1   
what appears at first sight1 a charity  
still more generous and comprehensive4  
,the ,anti-paedobaptist and the         
,presbyterian1 with all their germane   
varieties1 are not only to be treated   
with forbearance and regarded with      
charity1 but are all to form one        
fellowship1 united and co -operating in 
the great cause of their common         
,christianity4 ,take the following      
passage4 ,and these ,baptism and ,church
 government1 are two of the most        
important points which separate         
,christians4 ,should they separate them8
 ,as well might the brothers of a family
 be separated by the most trifling      
difference on some question of taste or 
literature4 4 4 4 4 4 ,episcopalians and
 ,presbyterians1 ,baptists and          
,paedobaptists1 with all others1 who    
differ on obscure and undecided points1 
ought1 if they have one ,lord1 one      
faith1 one baptism1 one ,god1 and one   

hope1 under the influence of one        
,spirit1 who sanctifies them all1 to be 
one in profession1 in action1 and in    
heart4 ,this passage1 which is in the   
spirit of the entire tract1 is open to  
grave animadversion4  #a4 ,the points   
mentioned as being most trifling        
differences1 are regarded by all        
theologians of any reputation as        
questions of great moment1 although not 
equally so with those which immediately 
touch our salvation4 ,mr4 ,noel is      
altogether original in regarding either 
the construction that is to be put on   
the sacrament of baptism1 or the degree 
of importance to be attached to the     
episcopal office1 as matters most       
trifling4  #b4 ,the ,baptists and       
,presbyterians1 who look on these points
 with other feelings than those of ,mr4 
,noel1 have considered them of          
sufficient moment to justify their      
separation from the communion of our    
,church4 ,that separation is their own  
act and deed4 ,and to charge the        

,church1 on this account1 with bigotry1 
intolerance1 and want of charity1 proves
 either consummate ignorance of         
ecclesiastical history1 or deliberate   
injustice to serve a party4             
,nevertheless1 the entire argument of   
the tract1 proceeds on the assumption   
that the ,church is the guilty and      
impenitent party4  #c4 ,under these     
circumstances1 it is impossible that    
there should be but one profession1     
unless one of the differing parties can 
deny its own faith1 and profess what it 
does not believe4 ,the ,catholic ,church
 of ,england cannot1 and will not1 be   
guilty of that turpitude4 ,the members  
of ,mr4 ,noel's ,church have declared1  
by their voluntary separation1 their    
determination to profess their own      
principles4  #d4 ,that which is most    
reprehensible in this charitable project
 of hailing all sects as brethren is1   
that it is1 after all1 deceptive and    
hollow4 ,mr4 ,noel does not intend a    
promiscuous fellowship with various     

denominations4 ,his charity is extended 
to those1 and to those exclusively1 who1
 within these several communions1 hold  
the doctrines of grace4 ,all others he  
denounces as not being children of ,god4
 ,that is1 his union includes all those 
who think with himself2 ,calvinists of  
every persuasion1 and not a soul        
besides6 ,these are his one body1 and   
this one body is the church4 ,how       
beautiful1 how noble1 how godlike is the
 charity of the ,church of ,england1    
which exists in unison with the love of 
truth1 but embraces with ,christian     
affection even those who have quitted   
her fellowship1 contrasted with the     
drivelling and sectarian partialities of
 the ,calvinist who pronounces every man
 who differs from himself to be no child
 of ,god6 ,the charity of ,mr4 ,noel    
resolves itself into ,calvinistic       
exclusiveness and intolerance4  ,if in  
these remarks there is any apparent     
severity1 they are not to be applied to 
the author1 but to the principles of his

 work4 ,calvinism obscures the finest   
intellect1 and gives a false direction  
to the most humane and generous feelings
 which can impart graceful dignity to   
the ,christian character4  ,,the ,,end4 
,gilbert  ,rivington1 ,printers1 ,st4   
,john's ,square1 ,london4  ,by the same 
,author4    ,i4  ,,discourses on some   
important ,theological ,subjects1       
,doctrinal and ,practical4 #gs4  ,,ii4  
,,ecclesiastical ,,establishments not   
inconsistent with ,,christianity4 ,part 
,i4 #bs4 #f;d4 ,part ,,ii4 #bs4  ,,iii4 
,the ,,consolations of ,,christianity1  
in four ,discourses4 #cs4 #f;d4  ,,iv4  
,on ,,baptismal ,,regeneration4 #cs4    
#f;d4  ,footnotes  #a ,dr4 ,griffin in  
his ,lectures on ,important ,doctrines1 
broadly charges the rejectors of        
,calvinism with embracing another       
,gospel1 and with being on the high road
 to infidelity4 ,and when they have gone
 this length1 he says1 in frittering    
away man's dependence on grace1 they are
 just prepared to place him completely  

on his own works1 to deny justification 
by faith1 and of course1 the proper     
influence of the atonement2 short of    
this these systems never stop3 and when 
they have gone thus far1 there is but   
one step to a denial of the divinity of 
,christ and the infinite demerit of sin4
 ,the next step is universalism1 and the
 next infidelity4 ,every intelligent    
reader will know how to appreciate this 
senseless dogmatism4 ,the infidel might 
with equal propriety charge the         
professors of ,scriptural ,christianity 
with being on the high road to          
,calvinism1 and prepared1 by their faith
 in the corruption of human nature1 and 
the atonement of ,christ1 for the most  
extreme views of the ,divine decrees4   
,yet these bold and baseless assertions 
have their weight with those for whom   
they are intended1 and many weak but    
good persons are held in passive bondage
 to these teachers and their creed1     
through the holy fear of moving a step  
towards infidelity4 ,on the other hand1 

we might retort the charge4 ,calvinism  
has made more infidels than any other   
corruption of ,christianity1 excepting  
,popery4 ,but we suggest this only in   
the way of fair retaliation4  ,the      
rejectors of ,calvinism do not reject   
the doctrines of grace1 but the         
corruptions by which they have been     
dishonoured4 ,they maintain1 that on the
 absolute predestinarian scheme1 there  
is no room for grace1 such as the       
,gospel exhibits to the sinful and the  
lost2 and that their own views are not  
only more accordant with the justice1   
but with the unmerited and infinite     
mercy of ,god4 ,they ascribe all true   
holiness to the ,divine ,spirit4  #b    
,dr4 ,coplestone1 now the ,bishop of    
,llandaff1 denies that the foreknowledge
 of an event proves the event to be     
necessary4 ,we may be unable to conceive
 how a thing not necessary in its nature
 can be foreknown2 for our foreknowledge
 is in general limited by that          
circumstance1 and is more or less       

perfect in proportion to the fixed or   
necessary nature of the things we       
contemplate1 with which nature we become
 acquainted by experience1 and are thus 
able to anticipate a great variety of   
events3 but to subject the knowledge of 
,god to any such limitation is surely   
absurd and unphilosophical1 as well as  
impious2 and1 therefore1 to mix up the  
idea of ,god's foreknowledge with any   
quality in the nature of the things     
foreknown1 is even less excusable than  
to be guilty of that confusion when     
speaking of ourselves4  ,but1 with due  
deference to his lordship1 this does not
 contradict the statement in the text1  
that we are ignorant of any principle on
 which such prescience can be explained4
 ,assuming1 indeed1 that any events are 
contingent1 that human actions proceed  
from freedom1 and not from necessity1 we
 cannot deny that they come within the  
range of infinite knowledge4  ,but the  
philosophical necessarian does not grant
 this postulate4 ,he assumes the        

existence of an infinite mind1 to whose 
knowledge all events are open1 and      
thence infers the necessity of these    
events4 ,he pleads that omniscience and 
contingency are incongruous ideas1 and1 
on the ground of pure metaphysics1 it   
would be difficult to refute him4 ,but  
we demolish his theory by an appeal to  
facts4 ,we oppose the moral constitution
 and history of man1 to the plausible   
speculations of philosophy4 ,in other   
words1 the mere metaphysician is a      
fatalist2 and his position1 in the      
present state of our intellectual       
philosophy1 can be successfully attacked
 only by an appeal to facts and         
consciousness1 and by moral argument4   
,that sound metaphysics and just moral  
reasoning cannot really be at variance  
is certain1 since there cannot exist    
contradictory truths4 ,our metaphysics  
therefore are wrong1 or there must be an
 unknown third principle1 by which they 
are to be reconciled with our moral     
reasonings4 ,but until we can detect the

 fallacies of the metaphysician1 or     
supply the connecting link which is now 
wanting1 we must rest in the            
unsatisfactory conclusion that abstract 
philosophy is with the necessarian1 and 
that liberty and its ennobling          
consequences1 moral agency1 and moral   
responsibility1 rest on the solitary    
basis of moral argument4  #c ,on the    
special teaching claimed1 in connexion  
with special grace1 by the most popular 
writers of the ,calvinistic school1 the 
reader may find some just and forcible  
remarks in ,essays by ,w4 and ,t4       
,ludlam4 ,their fearless exposure of the
 erroneous statements given by ,milner1 
,robinson1 ,newton1 ,harvey1 and others1
 more particularly on the subject of    
divine influence1 awakened the          
indignation of a party whose            
pretensions1 when tested by reason and  
revelation1 were proved to be           
groundless4 ,without attempting an      
indiscriminate defence of their opinions
 or their arguments1 we may recommend   

these essays as being eminently worthy  
of attention in the present day1 when   
two distinct but zealous parties are    
aiming to establish exclusive doctrines1
 by discountenancing the legitimate use 
of human reason in religious            
inquiries--one resting on tradition1 the
 other on individual inspiration2       
neither of them seeming to remember1    
that tradition may be pleaded for and   
against the same dogmata1 and that the  
private persuasions of one good man may 
be opposite to those of another1 who    
has1 with equal earnestness and         
humility1 prayed to be directed into the
 knowledge of saving truth4 ,the man of 
independent mind will find in these     
essays1 much to admire in their         
elucidation of truth and detection of   
error1 but more in their dauntless      
defiance of those who represent the     
,bible as a sealed book to all who are  
not visited with a special faculty for  
discerning its mystic characters and    
hidden sense4 ,in that case1 the        

,scriptures are a revelation only to the
 elect1 who1 to satisfy themselves and  
the world1 that their interpretation is 
the only sound one1 ought to produce    
miracles as proof of their own          
inspiration1 not less unequivocal than  
those which vindicated the authority and
 infallibility of the ,apostles4 ,such  
opinions1 although held by religious    
men1 are dishonourable to the           
,scriptures1 and needlessly degrading to
 the human mind4  #d ,there can be no   
approaches towards regeneration in the  
antecedent temper of the heart4 ,the    
moment before the change1 the sinner is 
as far from sanctification1 as darkness 
is from light1 as death is from life1 as
 sin is from holiness4  ,regeneration is
 an instantaneous change1 from exclusive
 attachment to the creature1 from       
supreme selfishness1 from enmity against
 ,god1 to universal love1 which fixes   
the heart supremely on ,him2 and there  
is no previous abatement of the enmity1 
or approximation towards a right temper2

 the heart being at one moment in full  
possession of its native selfishness and
 opposition1 at the next moment in      
possession of a principle of supreme    
love to ,god2 acquiring thus1 in an     
instant1 a temper which it never        
possessed before4--,lectures on         
,important ,doctrines by ,dr4 ,griffin4 
,how extravagant in theory1 how false in
 fact6 ,the doctrine of the ,anglican   
,church on this2 and all similar points1
 never appears so wise1 and sound1 and  
scriptural1 as when contrasted with the 
speculative systems of men1 who1 to give
 harmony and consistency to their       
notions1 close their eyes to the real   
world of man1 and create for themselves 
an ideal universe1 peopled by another   
order of beings1 and governed by a power
 unknown but to the dreamers themselves4
  #e ,the ,presbyterian ,church of      
,scotland is both ,calvinistic and      
,national4 ,but this fact does not      
militate against the argument of this   
section2 that ,calvinism is opposed to  

the constitution and purposes of a      
visible ,church4 ,her creed and her     
discipline are at variance4 ,her        
ministers are required to believe in the
 ,westminster ,confession4 ,and the     
great body of her people are said to be 
attached to that system of doctrine4    
,but her more educated classes reject   
it1 and the ,scottish ,church is a      
divided house4  #f ,the prominent part  
taken by the doctrinal ,puritans1 in the
 revolutionary movements which brought  
,charles ,i4 to the block1 is proved by 
the concurrent testimony of the writers 
of those times4 ,it is amply illustrated
 and confirmed by ,mr4 ,nichols in his  
,calvinism and ,arminianism ,compared4  
,the ,memoirs of ,colonel ,hutchinson1  
by his widow ,lucy1 is not only a work  
of great general interest1 beautifully  
composed1 and combining with the life of
 an eminent person vivid sketches of the
 times2 but it illustrates the subject  
discussed in the text4 ,colonel         
,hutchinson was a doctrinal ,puritan1   

and one of the regicides4 ,in himself we
 behold all the elements of a great and 
noble character1 devout1 humane1        
scrupulously conscientious1 and of      
heroic courage2 every quality that might
 adorn the gentleman1 the patriot1 the  
,christian4 ,but his extreme principles 
induced a mistaken sense of duty1 which 
embittered his own days1 and added to   
the calamities of his country2 after    
having been spared at the restoration1  
his gloomy reserve and supposed         
readiness to act again the part of a    
rebel1 if opportunity should occur1 led 
to his imprisonment in ,sandown ,castle1
 where he died more ignobly than if he  
had been brought to the block4 ,it would
 have been more to the honour of the    
king1 if he had at first doomed him to a
 public execution1 the proper death of a
 regicide1 or had left him afterwards   
unmolested2 but the second ,charles was 
not less mean and malignant than his    
sire was unfortunate4 ,of the character 
of the humbler class of the doctrinal   

,puritans1 the following hints are      
incidentally given in this work4  ,the  
name of ,roundhead was very ill applied 
to ,mr1 ,hutchinson1 who1 having        
naturally a very fine thick sett head of
 hair1 kept it clean and handsome1 so   
that it was a greate ornament to him1   
although the godly of those dayes1 when 
he embrac'd their party1 would not allow
 him to be religious1 because his hayre 
was not in their cutte1 nor his words in
 their phraze1 nor such little          
formalities altogether fitted to their  
humour2 who were1 many of them1 so weake
 as to esteeme rather for such          
insignificant circumstances1 then for   
solid wisdom1 piety1 and courage1 which 
brought reall ayd and honor to their    
party2 but as ,mr4 ,hutchinson chose1   
not them1 but the ,god they serv'd1 and 
the truth and righteousness they        
defended1 so did not their weaknesses1  
censures1 ingratitude1 and discouraging 
behaviour1 with which he was abundantly 
exercised all his life1 make him forsake

 them in any thing wherein they adher'd 
to just and honourable principles and   
practizes2 but when they apostatized    
from these1 none cast them off with     
greater indignation1 how shining soever 
the profession were that gilt1 not a    
temple of living grace1 but a tomb which
 only held the carkase of religion4 ,in 
other words1 like other partisans1 whose
 principles have degenerated into the   
spirit of faction1 he overlooked the    
baseness of ingratitude1 and worse      
immoralities1 in his associates1 so long
 as they maintained the just and        
honourable character of traitors and    
rebels4  #g ,the ,manchester ,synod1 at 
which were present #fbj ministers of    
various denominations1 was held in the  
year #ahda1 for the purpose of          
discussing the corn laws1 with a view to
 their abolition4 ,the professed object 
was the relief of the poor by procuring 
cheap bread2 the real object was the    
depression of the landed aristocracy1   
and1 through them1 of the ,clergy of the

 ,national ,church1 whose tithes are    
regulated by the average value of corn4 
,had those gentlemen been sincere in    
their lamentations for the manufacturing
 poor1 they would have long ago agitated
 the country for the abolition of the   
,factory ,system1 and the rescue of its 
miserable victims from oppression and   
famine4 ,that system must be            
strengthened by the abolition of the    
corn laws1 which would only aggrandize  
the great manufacturers1 and plunge the 
working people into deeper misery1 by   
throwing the agricultural poor out of   
employment1 and driving them to the     
towns and cities for occupation1 thus   
glutting the market with superfluous    
labour4 ,looking at some of those       
individuals who took a leading part in  
the ,synod1 men of reputed truth and    
probity in their customary habits1 their
 disingenuousness on this occasion      
supplies a striking proof of the power  
of faction to impair the moral sense1   
especially when originating in hatred of

 the ,church4 ,the great body of this   
,synod were ministers of ,calvinistic   
,churches4 ,the dissenting interest has 
degraded itself by assuming the         
character of a political faction4