Excerpt from Moral Agency: And Man as a Moral Agent

Such a well-defined and healthy protestant ism, the writer conceives the present times emphatically call for. The tendencies of theo logical and ecclesiastical opinion are making it every day more manifest that all religionists are fast'ranging into two classes, -those who take their faith from the Bible, and those who take it from the Church. Having thus stated with all distinctness with which Of these he himself holds, the writer may be permitted respectfully to ask his reader, 'with which do you range yourself?' If with the latter, and you have decidedly taken part, the writer cannot hold out to you any hope Of satisfaction in the perusal Of the following pages; for what ever Church it be whose teaching you confide in, you will not find its creed there done homage to on account of its being such; and as it must be a point settled with you beyond the reach Of rational questioning, that whatever conclu sions any one may come to that are not in har mony with the accredited symbol of your faith, must of necessity be wrong: no better results than annoyance and mental disquietude can well be anticipated from a review of inquiries and reasonings, many of which will be found to belong to what is with you a proscribed order, and which by consequence you have already prejudged and condemned.

But if you are one Of those who come directly to the Bible for your faith, you of course prac tically know that its meaning is to be ascer tained through the exercise Of the same facul ties, which are applied to the investigation of the works of nature; and while claiming the liberty of judging for yourself, and conceding to others an equal freedom, you will be ready to accept with gratitude every discreet and well-intentioned endeavour to aid you in asoer taining the true principles taught in the word of God, or involved in what it teaches. From such as you who, maintaining and exercising intellectual freedom, have resolved to search after truth for themselves, and who would not sell' it for the most splendid possessions or honours which the universe has to bestow, the writer anticipates a cordial sympathy in his labours, and apprehends no uncharitable cen sure, even where they may deem him to have erred. To such, then he would humbly de dicate the following inquiries, confident that whether they acquiesce in few or many of the results, they will at least honour the motive which prompted him to institute them.

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