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Paulinus. But, Sir, you make me tremble; are all those men who talk and preach so much about the atonement and the love of Christ to be reputed no better than universalists, if they discard disinterested affection?

Theophilus. Not a whit better, provided their hearts correspond with their theory. For they oppose the doctrine of the gospel, and hold that we cannot love God till we know that he is our friend and will save us from future misery. They stupidly believe that Christ died in a particular manner for them, and they love him as their saviour. The faith of the Methodists and many others is of the same description. But Christ says, "If ye love them that love you what profit have ye? What do ye more than others?" All self love christians are in Christ's estimation no better, than the selfish publicans and sinners.

Philo. But this greatly reduces the number of hopeful christians, and may appear rather uncharitable.

Theophilus. Rather say, Philo, that the inspired theory re. duces the number of christians. For if the hearts of these self love theorists are like their heads and sentiments, they are but nominal christians. For they love God and Christ merely for the sake of the loaves and other private benefits. However, I have more charity for some of these theorists, than to believe that their hearts correspond and harmonize with their sentiments. It is possible for a man to have a good heart while he wears a leprous head. But I am afraid to give much scope to charity on this ground. For a good man is sweetly influenced to approve and embrace good sentiments. Though many men understand the truth and do not love it, yet those who love the truth generally understand it or readily perceive it when fairly stated.

Philo. What shall we think of the Calvinistic theory? Clerus. Generally speaking, it corresponds with the bible. Real Calvinists have just views of God and his operations; and of man in his original, lapsed and restored state. The great design of God in creation, providence and redemption; the deerees of God, the nature of divine love, the nature of holiness and sin and the mediation of Christ, are advantageously displayed by Calvinism. There is, in a word, more of the jointed, connected, contents of inspiration delineated by informed Calvinists, than by all other theorists of contrary sentiments. For to those who discard Calvinism, the bible is a sealed book.

Philo. You speak, Sir, of real Calvinists with the air of discrimination: pray inform us a little about other Calvinists.

Clerus. By others, I mean those men who style themselves moderate Calvinists, because they like the name while they dislike the thing.

Philo. But is it fair and honorable for divines to act in this manner?

Clerus. Judge for yourself. I judge no man: I only state facts. For my part were I displeased with the thing, I should not accept the name. For names with common people, stand for things. Surely, self love theorists have no right to call themselves Calvinists. For if we accurately examine, we shall find at bottom no alliance between the different theories.

Philo. What is there in Calvinism which self love theorists cannot adopt consistently?

Clerus. They cannot adopt the doctrine of total depravity; the doctrine of special grace; the doctrine of disinterested affection and unreserved submission; the doctrine of God's decrees, and the final perseverance of the saints, as contained in the bible and explained by real Calvinists. All these cardinal doctrines they dispute and discard. What claim then have they to the name of Calvinists? For the intention of names is to represent things.

Philander. Is it not for a lamentation that there are so many different theories of theology? For some of them must be erroneous.

Theodore. It certainly calls us to mourn over Zion. For it operates like the confusion of tongues. What one theory styles good, another styles evil; what one denominates light, another denominates moral darkness.

Philander. How is it possible for teachers of morality and preachers of the gospel even to dream that self love is the basis of religion? For what is more evident than that all sinners are the subjects of self love in all their transactions? Self love is the source of pride; for a man is proud of himself or his acquisitions. Self love is the source of dishonesty; for men are dishonest because they love their own advantage, rather than their neighbours. In a word, we shall find on examination, that self love is the root and essence of all sin. A person can no more sin while destitute of self love, than he can see while destitute of eyes.

Leander. But they tell us that self love is virtuous when under proper regulation.

Theodore. And why do they not tell us also that certain degrees of cold are heat, and that certain degrees of darkness are light? For these sensations are not more diverse in their nature, than the objects of selfish and unselfish love.

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The disinterested man devotes himself to the universe, but the selfish man wants the universe to be devoted to his private enjoyment.

Lucindia. O how foolish! For that man gives away all and possesses all; but this grasps at all and holds nothing.

Paulinus. Is it not for a lamentation that false teachers mix so many good things with the bad which they advance? For I never heard an erroneous sermon or read an erroneous book which did not in some detached manner contain many good things.

Clerus. I heartily wish every false theorist would deliver nothing except the contents of his theory. For then the chaff would be easily distinguished from the wheat. If all false theorists were to preach and pray strictly according to their own theories, there would be no wolves in sheep's clothing. But alas! alas! satan does the most mischief when he resembles the angel of light.

Lucella. I have attended and heard the preceding inferences with pleasure. My mind has been enlightened and, I trust, my heart enlarged. O how excellent is truth!

Lucinda. Let us sell all we have and buy it. Let the truth be our object for ever. It is more precious than rubies.

Clerus. It has afforded me ineffable pleasure to observe your attention, my young friends, to the several subjects which have been before the conference in the course of the year. It is hoped some lasting impressions have been made, and that we shall, some of us at least, meet in the region of spirits, and confer forever with the most sublime delight on the great things of God and the eternal world. Let us then live like christians, and make all our calculations for the great day. Let religion be our business; the divine commands our rule, and the friends of truth our companions; Christ our guide, and heaven will be our endless residence.

Mas. Mis. Magazine.

INDIFFERENCE TO RELIGION IN THE ADMINISTRATION OF A GOVERNMENT A GREAT NATIONAL SIN.

(Continued from page 235.)

BUT the popular system of the day, which is to dissolve all connection between civil government and the religion of a country, does not stop at mere indifference about religion, but goes a step farther. It places christianity in the back ground, and as respects one class of men, at least, is not perfectly free from that system of persecution it professes to abhor. When a particular class of men, possessing, perhaps, at least an equal share of virtue and intelligence with the same number of their fellow citizens of any other class, and im

portant at least, if not absolutely necessary for the due administration of christian institutions, are, in a nation calling itself christian, deprived of any of the common privileges of citizens, it must be a species, a small degree at least, of persecution. Of all the rights of citizens, the right of property is one of the most unalienable. No species of property can be considered as more absolutely a man's own than his personal services. Gospel ministers in particular must, if faithful, devote their time, their talents and their personal services, to the proper business of their calling. To say that this class of men neither have, nor of right ought to have, any legal claim to remuneration for their personal services, but must either devote their time and talents to the work gratis, or be dependent upon the cold. hand of charity for their support, is to place them in a situation different from that of every other class of men, by imposing upon them peculiar hardships, and subjecting them to disabilities not imposed upon any other class of citizens. What other class of men would be willing, either to bestow their personal services upon the public, for the principal part of their lives, without compensation, or depend for that compensation on mere voluntary contributions, furnished either by the cold hand of charity, or the colder calculations of avarice? But is it not true that the laws of several states afford no protection to this most sacred property of this class of men ; and that the little shadow of legal security which is enjoyed in other states, is a theme of constant clamor and a subject of almost incessant attack, and. if we may calculate on present appearances, will not be of long duration.

I say not these things from an impression that ministers of the gos, pel have any cause to despair of the care and protection of their master, or that they ought to shrink even from suffering in his cause. My aim is merely to show that this disposition to throw the christian religion and its ministers out of the protection of the law, is a manifest dereliction of duty, on the part of the government of a nation laying any claim to the character of a christian nation, and carries the point of indifference about religion farther than any supposed impartiality will warrant, and does not merely flow from a want of religion, but is a real act of opposition to it, on the part of the government.

It is true, it may be said that this irreligious feature, in our national government might be remedied, if in our elections of men to fill the several departments we were generally to act up to the christian character, by selecting for places of public trust not only men of probity, but men known to have a conscientious regard to religion. i. e. If public sentiment did not at all partake of the spirit of the government, which is itself an expression of public sentiment, then the defects of the government might be remedied. But is such an event as this rationally to be expected? Is it not much more probable that the genius and spirit of the nation will participate largely in the irreligious features of the Government? Had not this spirit prevailed in the nation, at the time when the constitution was formed, it is not probable that such a feature in the government would have ever existed. When it exits in the head, what can we expect but that it will diffuse itself among the branches? Has not, what it was reasonable to

anticipate, been verified in fact? Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon, that men professing to regard christianity and christian institutions should be found to advocate the sentiment, that a regard to christianity is neither a necessary nor a very important qualification for a ruler in a christian country, and that a christian does not act a part inconsistent with a sincere and conscientious regard to the religion he professes, in being instrumental in elevating a man, openly professing himself to be an infidel, to the highest place of public trust, among a people still claiming the character of a christian nation. The practice of many is, as it might be expected, agreeable to the principle thus openly avowed. It is to be lamented that, in many instances, we see infidels, men equally without religion and without morals, elevated to the most important places of trust, places which fix them in a situation in which they can do the greatest injury to that religion which they contemn, both by their influence and example. It is a maxim of eternal truth, equally applicable to all times, places and nations, but more especially to a people possessing the privilege of selecting rulers by their own free suffrage, that, When the righteous are in authority, the people rejoice, but when the wicked beareth rule the people mourn. That an infidel, as such, should wish to invest persons of his own moral and religious complexion with important offices is naturally to be expected. It will afford him an additional advantage for opposing that religion which he wishes to undermine and destroy. But that a Christian, one whose constant wish and daily prayer is, for the advancement of the kingdom of CHRIST, should wish to elevate either an atheist, an infidel, or a man grossly and flagitiously immoral, to a situation which will give him an opportunity to do the greatest injury to that religion, both by his influence and example, which he himself professes to love and esteem, is one of those unaccountable infatuations. which, it would seem, could only influence the minds of those who are, in this particular at least, given up to strong delusions to believe a lie. Indeed it seems very much like a voluntary surrender of the cause into the hands of its enemies, if not a Judas like betraying of the Son of man with a kiss. A deist, or an infidel as such, can be viewed in no other light than as an enemy to the christian religion and its professors. Had he the power, and did not the maxims of worldly policy forbid it, he would extirpate every vestage of christianity from the face of the earth. Whatever may be the variety of opinions among the opposers of christianity, and the different shades between immortal deists, or deists who believe in a future state, and absolute atheists, are very numerous; enmity to the Gospel is the only point in which they all agree. In this they imitate the several sects of ancient philosophers, and the votaries of the vast number of pretended deities in the heathen world. These could give the most unbounded and unlimited toleration to one another, that they might unite all their forces to bear down christianity alone. So it is with infidels of different shades. Their own differences of opinion are almost infinite. Opposition to christianity is their only point of union. To this object they bend all their forces, and the reason is obvious. Christianity can enter inte

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