CORRESPONDENCE.

SIR,

THE CHARACTER AND OFFICE OF CHRIST.

THE following passage of a sermon preached by the late Mr. Aspland, at the close of the twentieth year of his ministry at Hackney, which is given in the last number of the Christian Reformer (p. 485), may serve as an appropriate introduction to the following remarks:-"I confess that I look with growing reverence upon the character, and attach increasing importance to the office, of our Saviour."

Nothing could give me greater pleasure than to believe that Unitarians in general, both ministers and laymen, participated largely in this growing feeling of the above-named distinguished individual. I fear the fact is widely different, and that the Unitarian body, distinguished as they are by good sense, candour and liberality, are, in general, lamentably deficient in spirituality, and in that deep conviction and heartfelt feeling of the unrivalled and unapproachable dignity of the character of Christ, to which every book of the New Testament bears unequivocal testimony. While we reject what others call the peculiar doctrines of Christianity, too many, I fear, forget that it has any thing peculiar; and, while in theory they admit its divine authority, fail in feeling and sentiment to recognize, in any great degree, the unspeakably important character of the great Mediator, as an essential part of the religion they profess. Practically this kind of Christianity scarcely differs from mere Theism, and is less calculated to produce the genuine effects of the doctrine of Christ than what is usually called Orthodoxy, encompassed as it is with what appears to us manifest errors and absurdities.

Many among us appear to consider Jesus Christ in scarcely any other light than a prophet. But how immeasurable is his superiority to the most distinguished prophets! How different is the language of Scripture respecting Him to what is used of any mere prophet! Of whom but Him did a voice from heaven pronounce, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"? Who else is described as "the brightness of God's glory and the express image of his person," and as "better than the angels"? Of whom besides Jesus has an apostle ever said that" in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily"? No prophet ever presumed to use such language respecting the power committed to him by the Almighty as was frequently made use of by our Lord. The following texts may be selected from many others: "All things are delivered to me by the Father." "All power is given to me in heaven and in earth." "All things are delivered to me of the Father." Which of the prophets would have dared to use such language?

There is, I think, no discourse so deeply interesting in the New Testament as that of our Saviour to his apostles just before he was betrayed by Judas, and which is found in St. John's Gospel, from the 13th to the 17th chapter inclusive. The first three verses of the 17th chapter are very remarkable. "These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee; as thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

This passage of Scripture seems to me an epitome of the whole of the Christian religion, as it contains an assertion, in language quite unequivocal, of the sole Deity of the Father; and as it sets forth the power committed by Almighty God to the Saviour. To those who inquire what are the essential doctrines of Christianity, these texts afford a satisfactory answer:-1, The existence of God; 2, The divine authority of Jesus Christ bestowed on him by

God. This is the only creed to which the old rule, familiar to all acquainted with ecclesiastical history, applies, Quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus. We know that disputes about the nature of Christ arose in an early age of the Christian church; but all parties claimed the name of Christian, and all acknowledged the divine authority of Christ. It is only within a few years that persons who only consider Jesus as a teacher of religion and morality, but deny him any supernatural power, have chosen to arrange themselves under the name of Christians, thus giving a meaning to the word Christian at variance with the usage of eighteen hundred years.

I have long been satisfied that the unpopularity of Unitarians, and the small progress they make, if indeed they make any progress, is in a great degree to be ascribed to their deficiencies in sentiment and feeling towards the great Promulgator of the new covenant. Let any serious and reflecting person compare what is repeatedly said in the Epistles respecting the Saviour, and especially of his death, with the writings of many-I fear I must say of the majority of-Unitarian writers; and I think he will not fail to come to the conclusion, that if the sentiments of the apostles are to be held authoritative, it is impossible to justify those of the writers in question. The spiritual character of the writings of Channing, his fervent piety, and his exalted sentiments of the Redeemer, have occasioned him to be highly estimated by many of those who differ widely from him in doctrine. I do not believe that this eminent and truly excellent man would have attained so much popularity in this country if he had been an English Unitarian divine; but if we had more of his spirit among us, it would probably tend in a very material degree to the advancement of our cause.

Whoever will embrace Christianity in its full extent must begin with a deep conviction of the sinfulness of man, and must constantly bear in mind that we can expect forgiveness of our sins from the mercy of God alone.

We must look to the means of salvation, not according to any preconceived notions of our own, but in strict accordance with the sacred volume. There we find Jesus Christ, the great Mediator between God and man, him to whom the Spirit was given without measure, asserting such authority from God as was never claimed by any other individual, called better than the angels, and (at least as far as this world is concerned) ranking under God above every other being. These are things which ministers should strive earnestly to impress on the minds of their hearers, and which every Christian should lay deeply to heart.

The scheme of salvation which God has been pleased to adopt for reconciling sinful man to himself, and for preparing him for the happiness of the world to come, is that of sending his Son Jesus Christ with full power to declare salvation to repentant sinners, and with a mission to instruct in religion and virtue, to work miracles, to suffer, to die, and to rise again. All these are facts, and we cannot reasonably consider them in any other light than as essential parts of the Christian redemption. I do not believe that the death of Jesus was a satisfaction to Divine justice, because not a single text in the New Testament asserts it to be so. In that sense I cannot, therefore, say that we are saved by the merits of Christ. But this does not prevent my regarding with the profoundest reverence the whole course of his life, and looking to his death with a feeling of deep interest and profound veneration which no other event can inspire, and to which the apostles advert in language wholly inapplicable to the sufferings of any other martyr, however eminent. It is by these Christian sentiments that the believer in Christianity is distinguished from the mere Deist; and too great pains can hardly be taken in impressing them on our own minds, and inculcating them on others.

L.

CRITICAL NOTICES.

Religious Movements in Germany in the Nineteenth Century. By Charles Herbert Cottrell, Esq., M. A. Petheram. 1849.

We believe our readers to be, like most other persons in this country, however attached to the study of ecclesiastical history, very ignorant of the present state of religion in Germany; and we have therefore great pleasure in making known to them Mr. Cottrell's pamphlet, which gives a clear and, as far as we can judge, a fair account of the state of religious parties in Protestant Germany. This is but a brief outline of its recent ecclesiastical history. Our own summary must be, therefore, very brief indeed.

We premise this only,- that it has been generally known in this country that while Germany has been in the possession of a small portion of civil liberty, under the government of princes who were in theory absolute, or under restraints imposed by diets or states, enjoying very little actual power of control,-the clergy, and in general the thinking portion of the community, have possessed a degree of religious liberty which might be an object of envy in countries otherwise in the possession of popular power. Either from indif ference or prudence, the governments held the reins of authority very loosely over their clergy, and scarcely assumed any over the Professors of their Universities. Instead of being the stimulators of intolerance, they were only now and then instruments in the hands of their clergy; and within the last thirty years, the only government that has taken any active part in ecclesiastical matters, is that of Prussia. Of the German clergy, a very large portion have undergone the suspicion of being mere formalists. They were required to subscribe their assent to the symbolical books,—that is, the several Confessions of Faith introduced at the Reformation, but were permitted to subjoin the qualification, ". as far as they are consistent with the Holy Scriptures"! For what varieties of opinion such a proviso afforded a cover, it is needless to state. No wonder, therefore, that Kant, Fichte, Schelling, Hegel, and their numerous followers, were all accused of propagating notions at variance with Christian doctrines. In this country, the opinion has been generally entertained that German philosophy has been the avowed or secret enemy of Christianity; and the "Religious Movements" of which this little book gives an account, are the consequences of the conflicting philosophical and religious elements in the mind and consciences of mankind. Mr. Cottrell distinguishes five parties or classes which have bestirred themselves during the long German conflict.

1. The Pietists. Under this name is comprehended a class of minds—a sort of sentimental devotees, which the word expresses, rather than an organized body. Yet so far back as 1670, Spener at Frankfurt founded a school of Pietists, out of which sprang Franke, Lavater (the physiognomist) and Jung Stilling, whose mystical writings have still a wide circulation in this country. Enthusiasm is properly opposed to Superstition, yet they may occasionally combine. And the German Pietists (of whom, in modern times, Hengstenberg has been the leader) have been noted for their hyper-orthodoxy. They have been styled the Jesuits of Evangelicism, and by the intensity of their zeal would have proved the opponents of liberty of conscience, had they become a governing body. There are, however, obstacles arising out of man's nature in the way of so deplorable a result.

2. Directly opposed to these, at the other extreme, are the Licht-freundeFriends of Light-Freethinkers they might be termed. Mr. Cottrell considers them as the legitimate descendants from Savonarola, Jordano Bruno, and Vanini,-from Copernicus, Kepler and Newton, succeeded by Descartes, Leibnitz and Spinoza,-from the English liberals of the 17th century, whom

* See a celebrated Essay by David Hume, so entitled, acutely illustrating the antithesis.

he strangely joins to the most offensive French infidels and the modern heroes of German literature-Lessing, Kant, Fichte, Herder, Wieland, Schiller and Goethe-a classification which unprofitably brings together the first men we repute for talent in every country. Mr. Cottrell, however, considers the modern contest as carrying on by the Supernaturalists and the Rationalists. The Prussian government interfered in support of Revelation, but at the same time gave appointments to Wegscheider, Gesenius and others, who applied Rationalistic principles in the investigation of the claims of Revelation. In opposition to the imputed intolerance of the Prussian government, a society of " Protestant Friends" was formed to assert the right of private judgment, in opposition to creeds proclaimed by the Churches. This body, as well as the Friends of Light, were, however, driven out of the Church, but allowed to form a body apart. Among these, the most respected name is Uhlich: the one which occasioned most clamour, that of Dr. Rupp. While the Prussian government supported the orthodox Church party, it could not prevent the formation of a sort of Free Church, or religious body which is able to maintain itself. It is not to be supposed that this party consists of mere unbelievers: far from it. One very eminent man, Rothe, has published a system of Theological Ethics, in which there is a very special and minute theory of a physical hell, in which, however, the sufferers finally perish by a process of "gradual internal self-consumption"! Yet the metaphysical and moral portions of this work are declared to be among the "ablest and most profound productions of German literature."

3. Of the German Catholics a brief history is given. Our author is of opinion that though this body is in a declining state, and during the tumult of the late and still subsisting political conflicts, as it were, forgotten, yet that it has taken root, and "thereby prepared the way for a future union of the separate Christian confessions." He adds, "When the fury of the thunder shall have abated, and Germany have celebrated the festival of her political regeneration, the same day will also witness the celebration of her religious baptism." But your when is as potent a peace-maker as your if. Indeed, in the German language, these words are hardly distinguishable, being wann and

wenn.

4. The Missionary Society scarcely differs from the English Protestant Missions.

5. The Evangelical Society of the Gustavus Adolphus Institute appears to be essentially a charitable society. With no peculiar feature about it as respects doctrine, it is mildly orthodox, and is formed rather to protect the Protestant ministers against the apprehended persecution of the Catholics in this their present triumphant position, than against the hostility of the antireligious party, which has now to defend itself. It was instituted in 1832, and is flourishing in Prussia, Saxony and Darmstadt. In 1846, it excluded from its body Dr. Rupp, who underwent the reproach of heresy, and so gave a victory to the Orthodox and Pietist party. This certainly shews orthodoxy to be ascendant. So recently as last September, a meeting was held at Wittenberg, at which a league of all the Evangelical churches was formed, for raising religion out of its fallen state. Its resolutions will give little satisfaction to their nominally Orthodox brethren here-certainly, to Churchmen none; for the utmost that is contended for therein is, a Free-church Presbyterian and Synodical constitution. And we do not think that even our orthodox Dissenters will be satisfied, though on Church questions there may be a tolerable conformity of sentiment. Two incidents are mentioned by Mr. Cottrell, who justly attaches importance to them, viz. that since the Wittenberg meeting there have been two conferences, in Prussian Saxony and Berlin, at which a thoroughly orthodox and very influential theologian, who is well known as a devotional writer even in this country, Crummacher,* avowed

* Author of Elisha and other works of pious fiction.

opinions of advanced toleration. He made the confession that the Church required a searching and radical reform, and that the compulsory celebration of baptism, confirmation and marriage, must cease, which indeed had been before confessed by Chevalier Bunsen, in his "Church of the Future." On that vital point, the character of the clergy, Crummacher holds significant language: "In spite of pontificals and antiquity, we are not one hair's-breadth nearer to God than the meanest of our so-called lay brethren. Away, then, with the illusion as to the mediatorial character of our official position-with the vain attempt to impose upon the world by caste, authority and priestly mystification! Away with priestcraft in every shape and form!"

Now this language will not offend anomalous clergymen of the school of Arnold, such as Archdeacon Hare, Maurice, &c., but will not be relished by either the Free or the Established Church of Scotland. And of the symbolical books he affirms, with an apology, that the symbols, excellent as they are, only contain "the human expression of divine doctrine," to be tested by the Word of God-adding, "We must likewise admit, that with the advance of exegetical criticism, many dogmas which were heretofore considered as unassailable by any well-grounded arguments, have become open questions, or at least to some extent problematical." Now unquestionably there is a boundaryline between those who so affirm this of the symbolical books, and those who, like Professor Newman, hold the same opinion concerning the Scriptures. But it seems to us easier to proceed from the point reached by Crummacher to the ulterior point, than to arrive at it from the old high and dry Lutheranism of Germany.

Our author judiciously confesses that the issue of these religious movements is in a great measure dependent on the result of the political revolutions. We know not precisely on what day this little book was written, but certainly the cause as well of religious as civil liberty is looking very ill in this month of September. We rejoice in copying the expression of a confidence we may not be able to feel, viz., that the "moral, religious and intellectual elements" of Germany "will be readjusted in a salutary and enduring equilibrium.” And that "in times to come posterity will turn with amazement to the denunciations of our gloomy contemporaries, and smile at the fallacy of prophecies that have never been fulfilled." Mr. Cottrell is the fellow-traveller of Lepsius, and the friend of Chevalier Bunsen, as well as the translator of the Chevalier's great work on Egypt, and therefore one whose hopes we may venture to rejoice in. The warmth and earnestness of his religious feelings are more apparent than the character of his religious opinions. He may be a liberal member of the Establishment (of which we know nothing); he is certainly a friend to tolerance, free inquiry and progress. The book deserves to be read by all who take an interest in the intellectual movements of the most inquiring nation in this age of doubt and investigation.

Lucy's Half-Crown; how she earned it and how she spent it; with some Hints on the Art of making People happy without Money. A Tale, in Two Parts. By Catharine M. A. Couper, Author of "Visits to Beechwood Farm,” &c. Grant and Griffith.

THOSE who have read Mrs. Couper's former production, the "Visits to Beechwood Farm," will not be sorry to meet her again on similar ground, which she has occupied a second time with at least equal success. The object of the story may be gathered from the title, but is more fully explained in the following passage from the Preface. "The object of this story is not only to shew that a very litle money-even one shilling-well applied, may bestow great pleasure, but that those who have nothing to give away need not lament that they can do no good; for the loving spirit and the willing heart and hand will cause more happiness than can be readily supposed by those who, either having always had money at their disposal, or having always craved the