EVILS OF SECTARIANISM. 



145 



world by its effects. And when, instead of love, 

 union and harmony among its professors, we be 

 hold bitter envyings, schisms, contentions and 

 animosities, there appears nothing to allure vi 

 cious and unthinking minds to examine its evi 

 dences, and to give it an impartial hearing. 

 li First agree among yourselves,&quot; infidels reply, 

 &quot; and then we will consider the truth and impor 

 tance of your opinions.&quot; Such a mode of rea 

 soning and conduct is indeed both absurd and 

 unfair, when the genuine doclrines and requisi 

 tions of Christianity are clearly .slated in its ori 

 ginal records, and which they ought to examine 

 for themselves ; but it is a circumstance much to 

 be deplored, that Christians, by their sectarian 

 animosities, should throw a stumbling-block in 

 the way of rational investigation into the truths 

 an;! foundations of religion, and cause thousands 

 to stumble and fall to their destruction. But, what 

 is perhaps worst of all, it has greatly retarded, and 

 still retards, the universal propagation of Chris 

 tianity through the world. Something has indeed 

 been effected, of late years, by various sections 

 of the Christian church, in the different Mis 

 sionary enterprises which they have conducted, 

 in their separate capacities ; but it is not too 

 much to affirm, that, had they acted in combina 

 tion and in harmony, in jthe missionary cause, 

 ten times more good would have been effected 

 than has ever yet been accomplished. Besides, 

 in our present mode of propagating the Gospel 

 among the heathen, we are to a certain extent, 

 sowing the seeds of those unhappy dissensions 

 which have so long prevailed among ourselves. 

 And, therefore, till the different religious deno 

 minations, in this and other Christian lands, be 

 brought into a more general and harmonious 

 union, we cannot expect to behold a rapid and 

 extensive propagation of primitive Christianity 

 throughout the Pagan world. 



Such are some of the evils which a sectarian 

 spirit has produced in the Christian Church. It 

 is almost needless to say, that they do not origi 

 nate in the genius of the Gospel, which is direct 

 ly opposed to such a spirit, but in the corruption 

 of human nature, and the perversion of true re 

 ligion. They have their rise in ignorance, in 

 ignorance both of the revelations of the Bible, 

 considered as one whole, and of those truths of 

 history, philosophy, and general science, which 

 have a tendency to liberalize and to enlarge the 

 capacity of the human mind. This ignorance 

 naturally leads to self-conceit, and an obstinate 

 attachment to preconceived opinions and party 

 prejudices, to attaching an undue importance to 

 certain subordinate and favourite opinions, and 

 overlooking the grand^ essentials of the Chris 

 tian scheme ; and thus prevents the mind from 

 expanding its views, and taking a luminous and 

 comprehensive ssuvey of the general bearings 

 and distinguishing features of the religion of the 

 Bible. And, if such numerous and serious evils 



have followed from the divisions of Christians, it 

 becomes an important inquiry, whether they har 

 ever been productive of advantages sufficient to 

 counterbalance such pernicious effects. Is an 

 obscure question, in relation to church-govern 

 ment, to be set in competition with Christian 

 union? Is a metaphysical opinion about the 

 sovereignty of God, and his councils during eter 

 nity past, to be obstinately maintained, although 

 the strongest bonds of Christian love should there 

 by be burst asunder ? Is the rigid adherence to 

 an opinion respecting dipping or sprinkling in 

 baptism, or the maintenance of a dogma in refe 

 rence to the extent of Christ s redemption, under 

 pretence of bearing a testimony in behalf of 

 Divine truth, to be considered as sufficient to 

 counterbalance the numerous evils which have 

 flowed from a sectarian spirit ? Can we suppose, 

 that He whose law is love, who hath commanded 

 us to &quot; keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond 

 of peace,&quot; and who hath declared, again and 

 again, in the most explicit terms, &quot; By this shall 

 all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love 

 one another:&quot; are we to suppose, that He will 

 consider the maintenance of such opinions, un 

 der such pretences, as a warrant for the infringe 

 ment of the law of charity, or the breach of Chris 

 tian union, or that he sets a higher value on in 

 tellectual subtleties and speculative opinions, than 

 on the practical requisitions of his word, and the 

 manifestations of Christian temper and conduct ? 

 To answer these questions in the affirmative, 

 would be little short of offering an insult to the 

 King of Zion. Whatever is not so clearly re 

 vealed in Scripture, that every rational and se 

 rious inquirer does not plainly perceive it to be 

 truth or duty, can scarcely be supposed to be ot* 

 such importance, as to warrant the breach of the 

 unity of the church. For the inspired writers, 

 who were the vehicles of a revelation from hea 

 ven, can never be supposed to have used vague 

 or ambiguous language in explaining and enfor 

 cing matters of the first importance. 



If we consider the temper and conduct of many 

 of those &quot;who are sticklers upon phrases, and 

 zealous about matters of mere form, we shall be 

 convinced how few beneficial practical effects are 

 the result of a narrow sectarian spirit. While 

 they appear fired with a holy zeal lest the purity 

 of divine ordinances should be tainted by un- 

 washen hands, you will sometimes find them im 

 mersed in the grossest sensualities and immorali 

 ties of conduct. While they are severe stick 

 lers for what they conceive to be the primitive 

 form and order of a Christian church, you will 

 not unfrequently find disorder reigning in their 

 families, the instruction of their children and 

 servants neglected, and a sour and boisterous 

 spirit manifested in all their intercourses with 

 their domestics. Yea, you will find, in numer 

 ous instances, that they scrup/e not to practise 

 frauds in the course of their business, and Uu&amp;lt; 



