GENERAL REFLECTIONS. 



279 



the &quot; Society for the Protection of Religious Li 

 berty&quot; was formed, similar instances, some of 

 them of a more barbarous nature, have been 

 brought forth to public view. And, were it not 

 for the protection which this Society affords to the 

 victims of intolerance, it is highly probable, that 

 vexatious persecutions, insults, fines, and impri 

 sonments, on account of differences in religious 

 opinions, would be much more common than they 

 now are. Were such individuals as those to 

 whom we have now alluded, permitted, by the 

 laws of our country, to carry their intolerant 

 spirit to its utmost extent, Dissenters would have 

 no security either for their property or their 

 lives ; and the fires of Smithfield would again be 

 kindled, to torture the souls, and to consume the 

 bodies, of all who refused to conform to the dog 

 mas of a national church. 



After what has been stated in the preceding 

 part of this work, it is almost needless to say, 

 that such an intolerant and persecuting spirit is 

 diametrically opnosite to every principle that 

 pervades the Christian system : and there cannot 

 be a grosser misrepresentation of its spirit and 

 tendency, than to ascribe such dispositions and 

 conduct to the genius of that religion which IN 

 TOLERANCE has thought proper to assume. Can 

 a single instance be produced of a persecuting 

 spirit in the conduct of Jesus Christ, or in that of 

 any one of his apostles ! When he &quot; was reviled, 

 he reviled not again ; and when he suffered, he 

 threatened not ; and he solemnly rebuked his fol 

 lowers when the least symptom of intolerance or 

 revenue was displayed. Can a religion, which 

 commands us to love our neighbours as ourselves 

 to be kindly affectionate one towards another 

 to love our enemies to do good to them that 

 hate us to bless them that curse us and to 

 pray for them that despitefully use us,&quot; can 

 such a religion be supposed to give the least 

 countenance to actions that are both intolerant 

 and inhumane? If the religion of Christ have 

 anyone prominent object which distinguishes it 

 from all others, it is this to unite mankind in 

 one harmonious and affectionate society ; and 

 such an object is altogether incompatible with 

 resentment, intolerance, or persecution in any 

 shape. &quot; By this shall all men know,&quot; says 

 Jesus, &quot; that you are my disciples, if ye love one 

 another.&quot; 



Here I must close the illustration of the moral 

 state of mankind, though they might have been 

 carried to a much greater extent. They present 

 to every benevolent mind a gloomy picture of the 

 moral aspect of the human race, and of the de 

 pravity which the principle of malevolence car 

 ries in its train. It is a picture which shows us 

 that those moral principles and laws which the 

 Creator intended to promote, the felicity of all 

 worlds, nave never yet been brought into full ef 



fect in the world in which we live. It is a pic 

 ture, however, from which we ought not to turn 

 away our eyes. It sets before us the evils which 

 require to be counteracted, and the obstacles 

 which must be surmounted, before the principles 

 of malignity be extirpated, and the moral princi 

 ples of the Christian system take root in the 

 world. But such views of the existing state of 

 the moral world, so far from operating as seda 

 tives, ought to stimulate us to exert every ener 

 gy, and to use every judicious and powerful 

 mean, which has a tendency 1.0 promote the ac 

 complishment of this important object. 



It would have given me pleasure to have pre 

 sented before the eye of the reader a more cheer 

 ful and alluring picture ; but &quot; facts are stubborn 

 things,&quot; and there is no resisting the force of the 

 evidence which they adduce, I intend to re 

 lieve some of the dark shades of this picture, by 

 exhibiting some faint radiations of truth and be 

 nevolence which are still visible amidst the sur 

 rounding gl jom. For, amidst the moral darkness 

 which has so long covered the earth, some streaks 

 of celestial light have always been visible ; and 

 the dawning of a brighter day now begins to 

 gild our horizon. Substantial knowledge is now 

 beginning to diffuse its benign influence on all 

 ranks ; the shackles of despotism are bursting 

 asunder ; the darkness of superstition is gradu 

 ally dispelling ; the spirit of persecution is borne 

 down and powerfully opposed by the force of 

 truth and of common sense, and the rights of 

 conscience are beginning to be generally recog 

 nised. Philanthropic institutions of various de 

 scriptions have been established, education is 

 extending its beneficial effects ; the instruction 

 of the young is becoming an object of more ge 

 neral attention ; philosophical institutions, village 

 libraries, and associations for intellectual im 

 provement, are rapidly organizing; Bible and 

 missionary societies are extending their influence 

 through every portion of the religious world, and 

 Christianity is now beginning to display its be 

 neficent energies on distant continents, and the 

 islands of the ocean. But, instead of entering 

 into details in the illustration of these and si 

 milar effects which have always, in a greater or 

 less degree, accompanied the progress of the 

 Christian religion, I shall, in the mean time, refer 

 the reader to the excellent work of Dr. Ryan, 

 &quot; On the History of the effects of Religion on 

 Mankind.&quot; 



Here a question may be proposed by some ot 

 my readers, Is it possible to bring the inhabi 

 tants of this world, in their present depraved 

 state, to a general observance of the laws of be 

 nevolence which have been illustrated in the pre 

 ceding part of this work ? To such a question 

 I would reply, Whatever man has done, man 

 may do. Amidst the depravity and the dark 

 ness with which the earth has been generally en 

 veloped, individuals have occasionally arisen 



