$8 reach of priestly rancoar as of friendly criticism and eulogy. But the three remaining criminals, the Reverend Messrs. Wilson, Jowett, and Williams : they as least have spoken out firmly and with no uncertain sound. To say that they are insidels, or favourers of infidelity is to say an untruth, so fur as the fact can be ι}is. •ermej} from their writimgs. They simply refuse to accept every old wife's fable as inspiration, and insist upon ascertaining how much of the Seriptures is revealed truth, how much the 'accumulations and inertistations of ignoretico and credulity. It is all very well for Soupy Sam to denounce the entire server, and to “all fit faggots, but the only effect of his into imperate zeal has been to create an almost unparallel“d demand for the obnoxious book. Five editions in twelve mouths of a really dry and * into what repellant work slows how widely
- }
i 3 s.d must bethv gernus of doubt. I spø0pie : "l'y b die ved in the religion they profess, they wool tuo with disgust from the idea of : "ailing a book that denied any Art les of their faith, or even implied the possibility of the prophets being some i: , s tiresumers, or under i t hr unt, “e . . . . . o . B1 be - we have a to vy, uninvit tug volume scrambled for, he ause it is supposed, though erroneously, to upset the doctrine of atonement and indeed all the Poor l)r. Tuit w ings his hands piteously over his dear friend articles of the ('hristian faith. ". K. * * * o * or 'temple, but warms into kindly indignation when that aioloinable “ ()x on ” declares the
- o } n A ha de seven to be equally wrong
g, and accuses the whole boiling of them of inculcating infide! i retrines. Such remarks, observes good “fon are nn warranted. Messrs. Longman .*, *,” wi.i. t dare say, forgive the Saponaeeons One, for they purchased the copyright of old Parker, at the lamented death of his son, and a right Soi hing they are making of it. THE EN GT.is 11 MAN, A PRII, l (), i 86}. ( ( ) R RES || O N D E N C E. !"Row Fi.Anois W. NowMAN Esq. 'ft T : { } {}R, A H M A SAM AJ rhnoutri i Helit secarta RIES. Pated LooJo“, 1 Circus Road, 2. March 186l. Dear Gentleinen, " . In reply to your acceptable letter of January 9th I will first state the facts of England and i তত্ত্ববোধিনী পত্রিক। Europe, (as I view them) which bear on the prospects of Theism and Theistic churches, and will state my opinion of the prospect. All our most influential literature and all the movement of mind acts in the direction of Theism. All the teachers of “orthodox ('hristianity know and avow that there is no possibility of stopping between the ecclesiastical trinity and a total overthrow of the special Christian faith : and though the small sect called linitarians (very estimahle men in many eases; and a few, of eminent powers) strongly deny this, yet the sect itselflooks with dread at its own leading minds, whose doctrine makes iniracles an open question and v ste in each of us an inspiration coordinate with that of the a postles. In this state of things, to say (what is the truth,) that very few active minded an highly educated m on are orthodox trinitarians, is to say that nearly all these have throw off all "I'll : ; England, as of the l, urolo eat sharply, defined belief in Christianity. is as true of coutinent. Neo, ertticless, a very small fraction of the whole are willing to say publicly, 1 & on of w Christ, on. This is partly from unwillingness to pairt friends in their owr family, or to teise the friendship and society of accomplished men. the higher clergy and others; partly, becaus, they might, datnage their politieal prospects, partly, because they do sincerely reverence much in Christi:inity, and (uuless they have give" years of study to it, or are hard and clear thinkots) perhaps they have not finally renounced the possibišity, that there inay be something in it of the preterilatural. You are aware that a comparatively large number of writers in the last dozen years have avowed themselves, with their names, as essential unbelievers in the preternatural claims of £hristianity, You ask, whether there is any outward union between them, or other rise of a Théistic Church. I reply, there is none; nor do I think a church could rise thus. They differ too much among themselves, they live in places too listant, and they will not risk the mortification of entering an organic society from which they might soon wish again to break away. And I fear that a majority of these writers know what they disbelieve, much better than how much they believe. They have eased
