Part 27 (1/2)

And man is left to his choice

Here we have the substance, the elee, of all law, of all duty, of all retribution We have the principles of the divine government We have the substance of all history We have in substance, the lessons, the warnings, the counsels, the encouragements, the prophecies and revelations of all times and of all worlds The tendency of the whole story is toand eternal good; and that sin, unchecked indulgence, is the one great, eternal, and unchanging curse The spirit of the story, its drift, its aim, is _holiness_ frohout by the Holy Spirit--the Spirit of truth and righteousness--the Spirit of God We see it, we feel it, in every part

We want no proof of the fact in the shape of miracle; the proof is in the story itself It is not a matter of dispute; it is a matter of plain unquestionable fact And that the story is essentially, morally, and eternally true, is proved by all the events of history, by all the facts of consciousness, and by the laws and constitution of universal nature

And in the history of iven, and in the account of its effects, and in the conduct of God to the sinning pair, I find, not the y, but the ious, and physical science And instead of feeling teaze on it with the highest ad wisdom

As to whether the account of the creation of the man and the woman, and the story of the forbidden fruit, and of the serpent, and of the tree of life, are to be taken literally or allegorically, I have no concern at present My sole concern with it is that of a Christian teacher and moralist The only question with me is: 'Is it divinely inspired? Does the writer speak as a man moved by the Holy Spirit? Is it the tendency of the story to ardless of God and duty; or is it the tendency of the story to hteousness?' And that is a question answered by the story itself On other e and country; on this, the only matter of importance, he writes as a man moved by the Spirit of God

And what I say of the accounts of Creation, I say of the history of Cain and Abel, of Enoch and Job, of Noah and the Flood, of Abraham and Lot, of Moses and his laws, and of the Hebrews and their history, of the Psalms and Proverbs, of the Prophets and Apostles All have one aihteousness The writers are all moved by one Spirit--the Spirit of holiness

With the exception of the Book called Solo, and some other unimportant portions of the Bible, the Scriptures all bear unquestionable marks, are full from Genesis to Revelations, of proofs indubitable, that they are the products of divine inspiration; that their authors wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit Whatever their rank or profession, whatever their position or education, whatever their age or country, whatever their particular views onor science, the sacred writers all speak as s, however they may differ in style, or size, or other respects, are all, ”profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the ood works”

16 I have been asked why I do not publish a refutation of s one by one, and a full explanation and defence ofthis, so far as it is really desirable, is a want of ti in this line in my _Review_ I have done a little more in my lectures on the Bible and on Faith and Science, and I hope, in tiain, why I shun discussion on the subject I answer, I have never done so When those who invite me to lecture wish reed to a public discussion at Northaain, if any one really wishes to discuss with h the press I published o I have published ood an opportunity of discussing them as they can wish And there is not the sah the press, to invite discussion on the platforh the press

The following letter, written to a friend in Newcastle-on-Tyne, may explain my views on this point a little more fully:--

MY DEAR SIR,--In answer to your question whether I will meet the Representative of Secularism in debate, I would say, that I had rather, for several reasons, spend what reth in peaceful labors as a preacher, a lecturer, and an author I seeh in the way of public discussion And I have not the ath of voice and lungs, which I once had I ae, but from a terrible shock received in a collision on the railway, causing serious paralysis ofthe force and action of my heart and brain

Then I am not the representative of the Church, or of any section of it

I can only stand forth as the advocate of my own views Further; there are many questions connected with the Bible, which appear toscholars and critics, than for debate in a popular audience Onthemselves They differ, for instance, to some extent, in their views of Bible inspiration and the sacred canon; they differ as to the worth of manuscripts, texts, and versions, the validity of various readings, the origin and significance of discrepancies in soical portions of the Bible, &c, &c On none of these points do I consider myself called upon to state or advocate any particular views

There are however points of a broader and more iht be proper and useful; such as the general drift and scope of the Bible, or its aim and tendency; the character and tendency of Christianity as presented in the life and teachings of its Author, and in the writings of the Apostles; the comparative merits of Christianity, and of Atheistic Seculariss of Secularists

I understand the leaders of the Secularists to teach, that Christianity is exceedingly mischievous in its tendency,--that it is adverse to civilization, and to the teenerally,--that the Bible is the curse of Europe, &c These are subjects on which a popular audience e, as scholars and critics And if you particularly desire it, I will authorize you to arrange for a discussion on them between me and such representative of Secularism as you may think fit I should not however like the discussion to occupy hts in any one week And I should wish effectual precautions to be taken to secure a peaceful and orderly debate It will be necessary also to have the subjects to be discussed plainly and definitely stated

Yours, most respectfully, JOSEPH BARKER

18 I may now add, that the evidences which hadme of the truth and divinity of Christianity, were the internal ones I was influenced more by moral and spiritual, than by historical and critical considerations I do not think lightly of Paley's works on the Evidences, or of Miall's _Bases of Belief_, or of Dr Hopkins', or Dr

Channing's, or Dr Priestley's _Evidences of Christianity_; but the Bible, and especially the story of Christ, was the principal instrument of my conversion I believed first with my heart rather than my head

True, my head soon justified the belief of my heart: but my heart was first in the business I believe in reat importance I believe especially in the miracles of Christ But that which melted my heart; that which won my infinite adratitude; that which made me a Christian and a Christian believer, was Christ himself Even His miracles moved me more as expressions of His love, than as proofs of His power The great thing that overpowered me was the infinite excellency of Christ, and the wonderful adaptation of Christianity to the spiritual and moral, the social and physical, wants of mankind, Christ Himself is His own best advocate His life and character are His strongest claiion, like the sun, is its own best evidence of its divinity The infinite worth of the sun--the astonishi+ng and infinitely varied adaptation of his light and war--his wonderful and beneficent effects on plants and trees, on aniinal And so with Christianity, the Sun of the in by its ahty tendency to proht, the life, the blessedness it gives; by the love it kindles; by the glorious transforenerate communities; by the peace, the hope, the joy it inspires; and by the courage and strength it imparts both in life and in death

19 The form in which Christianity presented itself to me, and the way in which it operated on my soul, may be seen fros,” about the time of ard to a Fatherly God, and His loving care of His creatures The first thing that struck me in this doctrine was its beauty and tenderness It is just the kind of doctrine which the hearts of the best of men would wish to be true It answers to the weaknesses and the wants of our nature; to the longings and aspirations of our souls It is full of consolation ItIt reatness, the vastness, the infinitude of our intellectual and affectional nature a blessing It gives peace--the peace that passes understanding It gives joy,--the joy that is unspeakable and full of glory It opens our lips in the sight of sorrow, and enables us to give the sufferer consolation It gives the universe a head It gives it unity It gives to ives to conscience a controlling power It randeur and beauty It exalts it in our eyes; and it endears it to our hearts And it furnishes the all-perfect example And it makes reasonable the inculcation of hunifies the work of beneficence

It makes us the allies and felloorkers of the infinite Itback the erring, in strengthening the weak, in refor the world, we are working as children in fellowshi+p with their infinite Father, and the pulses of our generous nature beat in har Spirit of the universe

And while it brightens the present, it gilds the future It makes a blessed immortality a natural certainty If God our Father lives, then we His children shall live also Death is abolished Day dawns at last on the night of the grave Earth is our birth-place and our nursery; death is the gate-way to infinity, and there is our glorious and eternal hoood Our future life is an eternal unfolding, and a delightful exercise, of our highest powers The mysteries of universal nature open to our view, and in the confluence of the delights of knowledge and the transports of benevolence, our joy is full; our bliss complete

This doctrine, in the form in which Jesus presents it, has hold of the hearts of nearly the whole population of Christendoest hold on the best Even those who doubt it, doubt it with a sigh; and those who give it up, surrender it with regret And as they rows sad And nature wears the air of desolation The music of the woods becomes less sweet

The beauty of the flowers beco There creeps a dreary silence over land and sea Existence loses ht of life burns dim The past, the present, and the future all are cheerless The world is one vast orphan-house Mankind are fatherless Our dearest ones are desolate And language has no word to cohs The husband and the father weeps The bravest stand aghast The char, is no more