162 
Ant. XXVIII. Practical Discourses. By the Rev. Ricuann Warner, Curate Of 
St. James’s Parish, Bath. 
OF the design and character of these 
discourses, a more correct or fairer view 
cannot be exhibited, than in the preach- 
er's own words: 
«¢ The term practical discourses, (applied 
to all the following ones, except those on the 
evidences of our holy religion) is intended to 
designate a series of sermons, founded on the 
precepts, rather than the pretended coctrines, 
of the New Testament; whose object it is 
to develope and enforce the obligations of 
moral righteousness, and not to discuss 
points of useless speculation, nor controvert- 
ed articles of faith, They were written, 
preached, and, I hope, are calculated, for 
every description of christians ; for all those 
who believe the divine mission of Jesus 
Christ ; who consider his religion more as a 
rule of conduct, than as a bone of conten- 
tion; and hold practical piety and holiness 
of life to be of greater importance to them- 
selves, and of higher value in the sight of 
God, than the most bigotted attachment to 
any forms of mere human invention ; or the 
most zealous devotion to any creeds fabricat- 
ed by the ingenuity of uninspired men. 
«© Whatever wild enthusiasis on the one 
hand, or worldly divines on the other, may 
conceit, assert, or write to the contrary, this 
1 must continue to think, as long as my fa- 
culty of ratiocination remains unclouded— 
that christianity, according to the spirit and 
letter of the gospel, is a system neither veiled 
by mystery, nor involved in difficulty, as the 
former would lead mankind to imagine; nor 
is it essentially and exclusively associated with 
any particular form of liturgy, system of es- 
tablishment, or modification of government, 
as the latter would suggest.” 
The spirit which dictated this passage 
is conspicuous in every part of the vo- 
lume, so far as believers in the gospel 
are concerned; but towards those who 
admit not the divine origin of chris- 
tianity, the author indulges in language. 
by no means consistent with his avowed 
candour. Almost the whole of the first 
discourse is occupied in declamation 
against unbelievers,-and is more like the 
production of an angry petulant contro- 
versialist, than of agrave and sober-mind- 
ed divine. ‘We agree with Mr. Warner, 
that the unbelievers are generally “unfair 
and uncandid in their conduct, with re- 
spect to their attacks upon revelation ;” 
but we cannot assent to these unquali- 
fied assertions, that they are “ under the 
influence of principles and prejudices vi- 
cious and perverse, base, wicked, and 
contemptible ;”’ that they uniformly 
THEOLOGY AND ECCLESIASTICAL AFFAIRS. 
8vo. pp. 245. 
“ scorn to attend to the evidence which 
proves the authenticity of the christian” 
revelation ;” and that their infammated 
conduct can be accounted for upon no | 
other principle, than that it springs from) 
a secret dislike to those restrictions whieli 
christianity commands, and those virtues | 
which it enjoins. “ The features of christi= 
anity, so beautiful and so new, so worth 4 
of infinite wisdom to suggest, and of ins | 
finite purity and goodness to command, mi 
we gladly acknowledge, “ form a proo a 
in favour of the divinity of christianity ;”? 
but we will not, we dare not say, as Mr, i 
Warner dees, “ such a proof, as nothing” 
less than judicial blindness, can be inate 
tentive to; a proof that no man cat 
deny or reject, whose taste for moral 
beauty is not entirely extinguishedy 
whose understanding is not wretchedly 
weakened by the malignant influence of” 
sin, whose judgement is not marvel 
lously infatuated by the witcheries of) 
vice, and whose power of discriminating® 
between truth and falsehood is not alto. 
ther obliterated.” . To such sentiments,’ 
and to such expressions as these, we! 
strongly object; they are not agreeable) 
to the spirit which christianity recoms 
mends and enjoins, nor to that which 
the founder of christianity so carefully 
exhibited ; they are not becoming in the 
christian preacher, nor adapted to abate 
the prejudices of those who receive not 
the gospel. 
In other parts of this volume, we o¢ 
casionally meet with declamation of 
more innocent nature, but which lead 
us to question, not the author’s charityy 
but his taste. . i} 
4 
«« Let, therefore, the elegant apologist,” 
says the preacher, ‘‘ for the glittering profits) 
gacy of classical worship pour forth all h 
cloying eloquence in the praise of the mild 
ness of Polytheism; Jet him exercise all hi 
sarcastic subtlety in endeavouring to lesse 
the sufferings of the christians, and to ex! 
nuate the cruelty of their geutile persect 
tors.” f ‘ 
So in page 184, we read “ of dange | 
that were lately distant, approaching oi 
shores by speedy approximation; and @m 
page 192, of “the coldness and inate 
tention of the worshippers of the awful 
eternal essence.’? 3 y | 
Mr. Warner is also chargeable wit 
the usé¢ of words for which no authorit 
