146 



ON THE GENERAL DIFFUSION OF KNOWLEDGE. 



you can have less dependance on their promises 

 than on those of the men of the world, who make 

 no pretences to religion. As an excellent writer 

 has well observed. &quot; An ardent temperament 

 copverts the enthusiast into a zealot, who, while 

 he is laborious in winning proselytes, discharges 

 common duties very remissly, and is found to be 

 a more punctilious observer of his creed than of 

 his word. Or, if his imagination is fertile, he 

 becomes a visionary, who lives on better terms 

 with angels and with seraphs, than with his 

 children, servants, and neighbours ; or, he is one 

 who, while he reverences the thrones, domi 

 nions, and powers of the invisible world, vents 

 his spleen in railing on all dignities and powers 

 on earth. &quot;* 



What are the remedies then, which may be 

 applied for healing the unhappy divisions which 

 have arisen in the Christian church? It is evi 

 dent, in the first place, that we must discard the 

 greater part of those human systems of divinity, 

 and those polemical writings and controversies, 

 which have fanned the flame of animosity, and 

 which have so frequently been substituted in the 

 room of the oracles of God. We must revert to 

 the Scriptures as the sole standard of every reli 

 gious opinion, and fix our attention chiefly on 

 those matters of paramount importance which are 

 obvious to every attentive reader, and which enter 

 into the essence of the Christian system. For, 

 to maintain, that the Scriptures are not suffici 

 ently clear and explicit in regard to every thing 

 that has a. bearing on the present comfort and the 

 everlasting happiness of mankind, is nothing short 

 of a libel on the character of the sacred writers, 

 and an indignity offered to Him by whose Spirit 

 they were inspired. We must also endeavour to 

 discard the &quot; vain janglings,&quot; the sophistical 

 reasonings, and the metaphysical refinements of 

 the schools, and the technical terms of polemical 

 theology, such as trinity, ypostatical union, sacra 

 ments, &c. and, in our discussions, especially on 

 mysterious or doubtful subjects, adhere as nearly 

 as possible to the language of the inspired writ 

 ers. In particular, more attention ought to be 

 paid to the manifestation of Christian love, and 

 the practice of religion, than to a mere coinci 

 dence of view with regard to certain theological 

 dogmas. For it is easy to conceive, that aman 

 may be animated by holy principles and disposi 

 tions, although he may have an obscure concep 

 tion, or may even entertain an erroneous opinion, 

 of some of the doctrines of religion ; and we know 

 by experience, that men may contend zealously 

 for what are considered orthodox doctrines, and 

 yet be destitute of the spirit ofreliion, and tram 

 ple on its most important practical requirements. 

 And, were tne spirit of our holy religion thorough 

 ly to pervade the different sections of the church 

 were Christian affection more generally mani- 



Natural Hist, of Enthusiasm, p. 14. 



fested among all who bear the Christian jracae, 

 and the practical injunctions of Christianity uni 

 formly exemplified in their conduct, we should 

 soon behold a general coincidence of opinion or, 

 every thing that can be deemed important in re 

 ligion, and a mutual candour and forbearance, in 

 regard to all subordinate opinions, that do not 

 enter into the essence of religion, and wnich 

 ought to be left to the private judgment of every 

 inquirer. 



But I entertain little hope that such measures 

 will be adopted, and an object so desirable accom 

 plished, while so much ignorance still pervades 

 the minds of the majority of Christians, and while 

 the range of their intellectual views is so much 

 contracted. It is only when the effects of a gene 

 ral diffusion of knowledge shall be more exten 

 sively felt, that a more general and cordial union 

 of the Christian world is to be expected. Light in 

 the understanding is the source of all reformations, 

 the detector of all evils and abuses, the correc 

 tor of all errors and misconceptions, and the 

 stimulus to every improvement. It dispels the 

 mists which prevented our distinct vision of the 

 objects of our contemplation, discovers the stumb 

 ling-blocks over which we had fallen, points out 

 the devious ways into which we had wandered, 

 and presents before us every object in its just 

 magnitude and proportions. The knowledge to 

 which I allude consists, in the first place, in a 

 clear and comprehensive view of the whole system 

 of divine revelation, in all its connexions and 

 bearings,-vand, in the next place, in an acquain 

 tance with all those historical, geographical, and 

 scientific facts which have a tendency to expand 

 the capacity of the mind, and to enlarge our con 

 ceptions of the attributes ofGod,and of the ways of 

 his providence. Wherever the mind is thorough 

 ly enlightened in the knowledge of such subjects, 

 the tendency to bigotry and sectarianism will 

 quickly be destroyed, and the partition walls 

 which now separate the different sections of the 

 church will gradually be undermined ami crumble 

 into dust. This might be illustrated from the 

 very nature of the thing. A man whose mind 

 is shrouded in comparative ignorance, is like a 

 person who lands on an unknown country in the 

 dusk of the evening, and forms his opinion of its 

 scenery and inhabitants from the obscure and 

 limited view he is obliged to take of them, during 

 the course of a few hours, while he whose mind 

 is enlightened in every department of human and 

 divine knowledge, is like one who has taken a 

 minute and comprehensive survey of the same 

 country, traversed its length and breadth, min 

 gled with every class of its inhabitants, visited its 

 cities, towns, arid villages, and studied its arts 

 and sciences, its laws, customs, and antiquities. 

 The one can form but a very imperfect and inac 

 curate conception of the country he has visited, 

 and could convey only a similar conception tc 

 others, the other has acquired a correct idea o 



