221

CHAPTER VI.

CONTRAST BETWEEN THE RELIGION OF THE BIBLE AND MODERN INFIDELITY.

THERE are many practical motives which should urge men to receive the Bible. Religion is an exalted principle which is addressed to them as reasonable beings, possessed of the power of rational choice. Yet these free beings, in consequence of the primitive fall, resemble a mariner whose arms and oars are indeed unconstrained, but whom a strong and never ceasing current bears rapidly onward and away from his proper course. Hence religion, when presented to such individuals, will be regarded in various lights, in proportion as they are more or less under the influence of this undue bias. All along the progress of human history, from its remotest ages and primeval scenes, down until this hour, mankind may be distinguished into two great classes, of those who believe and those who disbelieve; of those who struggle for light, and those who rejoice in darkness; of those who are the friends of liberty and truth, or those who are votaries of bondage and error.

The relation which these two classes bear to each other, is necessarily that of active hostility. The self-preservation of each requires that it should seek the extermination of its irreconcilable opponent. Revealed truth can be received in only one of two ways. It must either meet with a cordial reception; or else with a virtual, and hence complete denial. If the Bible is rejected from its high

position as a revelation from God, only one alternative really remains, and that is the adoption of a dark, cheerless, and ruinous infidelity, fraught with no substantial joys for the present, and gilded with no brighter hopes for the future.

That minds of mighty power have settled down in unbelief; that they have declared themselves unsatisfied with the evidences of the truth of Revelation which were presented to them, need not be affirmed. The loftiest intellects, moulded with exquisite benevolence and skill, and wisely adapted to behold and adore the infinite in God, as well as the sublime and beautiful in Revelation, have with mournful fatuity, groped their way downward into the abyss of error, until they have reached a remote extreme of solitude and gloom, where truth can scarcely be expected to reach them. Such great men, like fearful spectres from departed ages, rise to our remembrance from their unquiet graves, and stand forth like terrific beacons to warn all succeeding generations from pursuing the same conduct and inheriting the same fate. They present mournful instances of men, whose powers should have been consecrated to the noblest purposes on the altar of God, which were desecrated and dissipated in the debasing orgies of corruption and guilt.

Notwithstanding all this, the friends of unbelief will often affirm, that their doctrines are in themselves more noble, more free, more elevating, and more comfortable to their own minds, than the opinions of those who believe can be to them. In contrasting their system of infidelity with that of faith, when placing them side by side, so that the comparison between them may be more direct and striking, they affirm that the contrast is favorable to them, that their views present a fairer and nobler appearance than those of their opponents, and that hence they are justifiable in retaining them on this ground, if on no other.

There are doubtless many who, in casting off the restraints which former religious convictions may have imposed upon them, and in shaking themselves free from all moral obligations, do feel, for a time, a new sensation of joyous liberty, of deliverance from present constraint, and from all future fears. They seem to rejoice, that whilst others are still enduring the inflictions of an absurd superstition, they at least have risen above it; that while others are suffering unnecessary fears and solicitudes, they have minds which are at perfect ease, and consciences which rest

in unbroken repose. We wish now to examine what may 'be the relative beauty, desirableness, and profit of these two systems of opinion; to ask whether the believer has just grounds for dissatisfaction with himself; whether the unbeliever has any just reason to congratulate himself and admire his system; or whether on the contrary, he should not learn that his doctrines are the most absurd, the most cheerless, the most destructive of man's present welfare, and all his future good, which could possibly be entertained; and whether the religion of the Bible on every imaginable point, is not infinitely nobler, more reasonable, and more conducive of the best interests of immortal man.

There are various forms of Modern Infidelity which are prevalent in society, which are produced by different causes, but the ultimate character and consequences of which are all alike. There is a learned infidelity, entertained by men of great talents and extensive acquirements, who arrive at their notions by a process of investigation which they suppose to be learned, but which is only pedantic. These pretend to find unanswerable objections to Revelation, in the various departments of human science. There is also an ignorant infidelity, entertained by those who have sufficient penetration to detect a few supposed inaccuracies in the Bible, but possess not knowledge enough

to comprehend the replies to them. There is also an infidelity which is natural and instinctive with some minds, whose construction is such, that they are always prone to doubt and disbelieve whatever others around them may believe. These could scarcely be able heartily and cordially to receive the truths of Revelation, unless aided by the strong preserving influences of the Holy Spirit. Besides these there is an unsettled kind of infidelity, entertained by those who, having no permanent opinions on the subject, have exercised their ingenuity in contriving objections to Revelation, which they leave undetermined as to whether they are answerable or not. Yet this kind of doubt is just as injurious as any other, because it prevents better principles from being lodged in the mind, and makes it familiar with frivolity and insincerity.

In regard to each and all of these forms of unbelief, we may say, that they possess the same general features and characteristics; they present the same opposition to the Bible, and afford the same horrid contrast to its religion. Let us then place them side by side, let us behold them when brought into each other's presence, and made thus directly to confront each other.

I. We will discuss the main points of difference which exist between the religion of the Bible and Infidelity, and show in each case the amazing contrast which presents itself to view. The various forms of unbelief which exist among men, may be condensed and represented by some five or six main points, upon which the opinions of those who held them were peculiar. By glancing at each of these, we will be able to obtain a view of the whole; which may easily be resolved into these several parts.

Infidelity denies the existence of a God. Although there are various shades of opinion even on this funda

mental point, the system of doctrine termed Infidelity may with truth be represented as virtually denying the being of a God. Some may elevate the powers of nature to the dignity of deity; others may call the moral order of the universe God; others still in various ways may deify certain objects as possessing the character and position of the Supreme Being; but they all deny the existence of the true God, and hence of God, correctly speaking, altogether. They dispute sometimes the being of a personal God; of a separate, independent and individual Deity, while they may personify some abstract law, or principle, or influence, and call it God. In every such case they blot out the existence of a God, as effectually as if, as in other cases they do, they wholly denied the operation and existence of any Deity of any sort whatever.

But what infinite absurdities are involved in all such conceptions! We glance around us, and behold a glorious world on every hand, each portion of which contains ample evidence of the existence and operation of some creative and active being; while this truth is confirmed by a widening survey of the countless worlds, which stretch away throughout the domains of illimitable space. How absurd is it to suppose, that while every other product of skill and labor argues the existence of the creating agent, the greatest and sublimest of all existing objects, the universe itself, should form the only and most unnatural exception to the rule. If, during the experience of six thousand years, no one case has ever been discovered, in which a thing exhibiting ingenuity and contrivance has come into being, without the known operation of some ingenious and contriving maker; if this has been the harmonious observation of all rational beings on this subject, how absurd is the supposition, that a departure from this most universal law occurred in the creation of the universe. Where is