The Clergy oppose the education of the Poor. Charity-schools originated in the suggestions of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Sunday-schools were proposed by a Clergyman, Mr. Raikes, of Glocester: the Madras system was the invention of a Clergyman; the National Society was the effect of a sermon, by a Clergyman, now the bishop of Peterborough. The circulation of the Bible endangers the Church: Bibles were circulated by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, at least half a century before any similar institution was established. Religious knowledge endangers the Church, to which the country owes the translation of the Bible, the most numerous and the most valuable expositions of the Bible, with a copious and unparalleled collection of sermons and discourses, upon every question of theology, adapted to the information of the community of all classes and all ages. Religious freedom endangers the Church; then were the seven Bishops, in the reign of James II. the adversaries of the Church. By his precipitancy and presumption Mr. Conder has drawn upon himself this collation of historical facts with his private assertions; and it is to him alone that we desire all the animadversions, which his publication has extorted, to be principally, if not exclusively applied. Our occasional intercourse with Dissenters, in private life, and the reports of their conduct on more public occasions, will not suffer us to believe, that they will generally approve the peevish and the petulant humour of Mr. Conder, or entertain any serious respect for his theological attainments. The false liberality of the day has few charms or fascinations for us; we rather think that it is want of knowledge, or want of courage, or want of zeal, which leads either Churchmen or Dissenters to shrink from an avowal of their distinguishing principles, and that it is treachery not to act in conformity with them; but it is nevertheless due to our common charity to maintain our several opinions with candour and moderation, and without insulting those to whom we are opposed in argument, and it is prudent policy to avoid irritation, even where it is not possible to produce conviction. It is in this spirit that we have avoided the recrimination which Mr. Conder's intemperance would have almost justified. But, although our own opinion is fixed, that there can be no effectual means of reconciliation between Churchmen and Dissenters, unless the latter shall modify or abandon their opinions in the right of private judgment, and of the nature of ecclesiastical power and ecclesiastical establishments, we will not therefore follow Mr. Conder's example, or return upon the Dissenters the unfriendly and the uncharitable language, which he has not scrupled to use concerning the Church of England. If we cannot convince the non-conformists by sound arguments, we will not offend them by illiberal aspersions; if we cannot overcome their prejudices or prepossessions, we will not inveigh against their infirmities; if we cannot guide them into our sanctuary we will not intrude into the dwellings of individuals, or disturb the ashes of their fathers for new occasions of censure; if we cannot succeed in refuting the pretensions of false doctrine, heresy, and schism, we will at least avoid the imputation of envy, malice, and hatred, and all uncharitableness. A Sermon preached at St. George's of your standing fast in one spirit, and on Sundaynce of Wales's Island, with one mind striving together for the 16th May, 1819. By Thomas-Fanshaw, Lord Bi- WE understand that, not more than 1 "Different as are the circumstances of the Christian world in modern times, especially in countries where our Religion is fully established, it is yet difficult for us to read such passages as my text, and many others in the writings of the Apostles, without some application of them to the condition of the church in India. We are here, for the most part, small Societies dispersed through a territory of vast extent: the Christian Churches already existing in the life-time of St. Paul probably did not occupy so wide a field, as do our English Churches in this quarter of the globe: there is, indeed, one point of difference, which is sufficiently obvious; the former arose and subsisted under every discouragement, and were exposed to hostility and persecution; while we, on the contrary, have nothing to dread from the Heathen around us, but are ourselves the Ruling Power. This difference, however, though in other points of view it carries with it important considerations, affects not the application of my text; to you at this moment, as it was then to the Philippians, every clause of it may be suitably addressed: prosperity and independence have their trials, as well as adversity and depression: and I may fitly exhort you to 'let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ,' that so I may hear Faith of the Gospel.? "There, are, however, circumstances in this Christian Settlement, which impart to it, if things always infinitely important admit degrees, a more than ordinary interest. What was this Island only a few years since, but a blank in the Moral Creation? Its hills and its forests served only to exbibit to the mariner a scene of › wild and cheerless grandeur, as he passed the inhospitable shore: no associations dear to the mind were awakened at the approach; the charities and the arts of civilized life were here unknown; here man, even in his rudest state, had as yet no fixed abode. How altered is now the scene! a numerous and increasing population;—an active and beneficent government;-streets resounding with the occupations of industry;cultivated fields and thriving plantations;residences bespeaking comfort and opulence; our arts, our language, and our laws introduced into this remote corner of the East; these surprising changes invite reflexion, and cannot be contemplated with indifference. But, what it is even more to my purpose to remark, and without which all else were unsubstantial, our Holy Faith is here established, to guide those, who know the truth, in the way of salvation, and to be a light to lighten the Gentiles around, if haply they may be turned from their vanities to the Living God: and you have here an edifice fully adequate to your Christian population, and in point of decency, and even of elegance, worthy of the flourishing and powerful Body, by whom it was erected: it is now dedicated unto God; and some of the most solemn ordinances of religion have already been administered within its walls.* "In a state of things, then, in which the dispensations of Providence are so remarkable, I cannot forbear to press upon you' the counsel, which the blessed Apostle of fered to his Philippians; and you will best be enabled to comprehend and to apply it, by considering it in its separate clauses: his exhortation is generally, Let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ: but this he subsequently explains to refer more particularly to their standing fast in one spirit, and with one mind striving together for the faith of the Gospel:' in other words, he makes a conversation worthy of the Gospel to shëw itself more especially in Christian unity and Christian zeal." P. 6. * A Confirmation was holden at Prince of Wales's Island on Saturday 8th May." ye His Lordship then observes that the English word "conversation" does not precisely convey the Apostle's meaning-that he evidently in tended to say, "Be such members of the community to which ye belong as your religion requires you to be, or let your society be actuated by principles worthy of the Gospel of Christ." And the text is applied by the bishop in this its true signification. He sets out with observing, that a truly Christian community will have its appropriate character; and that in order to form such a community, his hearers must inquire what are the principles that distinguish our religion, and what are those holy and beneficent laws to which it would subdue the human heart. "The basis of all Christian society must be faith in Christ: the heart must be sensible of its weakness and its wants, and of the utter insufficiency of man to his own well-being: the conscious need of a Saviour, and a thankful acceptance of pardon and peace as offered in the Gospel, are in dispensable to the genuine Christian cha. racter, and of course to qualify and dis pose men to be members of a really Chris tian Community. It is true, indeed, that this Faith will not be equally strong and active in all, who have been admitted to the Christian Covenant: and in the Visible Church of Christ, there will be many, who as yet know not the things, which concern their peace. Still Faith in the Son of God was the principle, ou which Christians were first brought together: and they in whom this principle is weak or wanting, though found within the Christian pale, are not of the class of persons, by whom Christian Communities were originally formed, nor of those, by whom the objects of such a Community can be fully appre ciated. And in close connexion with Faith in a Saviour is our conviction, that we need the succours of the Holy Spirit: both rest alike on the Word of God, and of both the necessity is made apparent by a consciousness of human corruption. "But in the train of this Faith and of a cordial adoption of all that is revealed and enforced in the Scriptures, I beseech you to consider what has followed: the same Faith has united men in the same form of Discipline and Worship: Churches were built, in which they might profess their common belief, and offer a common homage to the Father of Jesus Christ; and thus were they brought to live together under the same spiritual Guidance and Government, having the same Gospel preached to them, profiting by mutual edification, affording a mutual comfort and support, and cemented together by an intercourse of Charity and Love. It were, indeed, too much to expect that any Christian Com munity at the present day, except in circumstances resembling those of the primitive Christians, should exactly correspond with such a model: men are brought together by motives, in which Christian considerations have little or no share: they go to the spot, to which Providence calls them, as interest or connexion points the way. Still it will be useful to keep in view the principles, on which Christian Societies were originally formed, if we would clearly apprehend, what, even in the ordinary circumstances of the world, should be the character of a Community, such as 'becometh the Gospel of Christ.' It is certain that the Gospel will not be ho noured, where its excellence is not illus. trated and exemplified, or its influence is but partially felt. Is there a Christian Community, in which its grand and leading truths are depreciated, or but imperfectly understood? in which moral decency and common integrity pass for Religion? in which men confound the laws of Civil Society with the more operative and extensive injunctions of the Gospel, and par, row the range of Revelation to the limits of human reason? In such habits and sep timents wherever they prevail, the Faith of the Redeemer is not honoured, but disparaged; it is not perceived or felt, that the mercy, the power, and the justice of God have been wonderfully exerted, and were actually required, in the salvation of a fallen race, In like manner, is the Sabbath desecrated, and the house of prayer deserted, while business or recreation occupies the hours, which should be given to the worship of God and to holy meditation? Are the prevailing habits irregular and worldly, if not absolutely dissolute and depraved? Are men, though living together in the same place, unconnected with each other by the ties of good-will and charity? In short, is any Community in great measure deficient in those characters of piety and mutual benevolence, which are inseparable from a sincere profession of the Gospel? It is plain, that in all such ins stances there is much need of reform. It may be said, indeed, that I am here speaking of Christian Communities, as having for the most part a prevailing character: J conceive this to be the fact; especially where, as in this country, they are separated from the mass of Christians: every where a great diversity will be found among individuals; but still there will be a prevailing character either of good or evil; the general aspect of such Communities will be either that they are Christian in faith, in life, and in deportment, or the contrary: a few exceptions will not change it. The opinions, the habits, and the example of those, who take the lead, are no where without effect, and least of all in such bodies of men as those, to which I have alluded. What, then, is a Commn nity, generally speaking, such as 'becometh the Gospel of Christ?' To convey to you an adequate idea of it would require me to expatiate on the power of religion upon the babits, the sentiments, and the tempers of men. In such a society the excellence of our Faith will be illustrated in the lives of its professors: the benevolent observer will find with delight, that there the truth is received and honoured as it is in Jesus;' Eph. iv. 21: that all holy ordinances are revered, while secular duties are not neglected; more especially, that men forsake not the table of their Redeemer; that the Sabbath is really solemnized as a day of holy rest; that they enter the House of God with awe, and that decency and order are not violated by listless inattention, or irreverent and idle gestures; that they who rule are just and beneficent, while the governed yield a cheerful submission, that the relation between the pastor and his flock, one of the most endearing relations in society, is maintained in a parental vigilance on the one hand, and in an affectionate respect on the other; that the rich are liberal and the poor thankful; that institutions for the relief of misery are well patronized, and what is much less common, well superintended; that a neighbourly and friendly intercourse prevails among all of the same class and babits of life; and that men of every condition endeavour faithfully to discharge the duties assigned them by Providence, whether these be eminent or humble. I say not that sneh a Community is every where to be found; still any thing far short of this becometh not the Gospel of Christ." P. 10. The bishop proceeds in imitation of the apostle to speak more particularly upon the two grand points of unity and zeal. "Foremost in the sad catalogue of divisions stand those, which turn upon questions of Religion: some men revolt from REMEMBRANCER, No. 18. every thing connected with order and establishment: some, who have need to learn, are more ready to teach: some seem to derive consequence from being the leaders of a party: and others are actually deceived, believing interpretations of Scripture, which are unsupported by the letter, or by the general tenour of the Word of God, to be the true, though hidden sense, revealed to them by the Holy Spirit. Under this head happily, so far as I am informed, I have nothing to apprehend for you at present: but if my solicitude for you be in any thing predominant, it is that this little flock' of Christ, this infant Colony of the Church of England, may ever stand fast in one Spirit, and through God's grace resist every attempt, should any such be made, to divide it: every hope of good to be derived from it hereafter would be defeated by a difference among yourselves. But then, beloved, let me caution you against the easy mistake, that you are standing fast in one Spirit, if in truth you are sunk into indifference: men are apt to believe that they agree in Religion, and even take credit to themselves for the agreement, when the subject does not sufficiently interest them, to afford any cause of dissension. Unity is, indeed, precious in the sight of God, and lovely in the eyes of men: but remember, that Religious Unity supposes that we are really Religious: in no other case does it deserve the name: and in candour I must admit, that better are differences, where all are in earnest, than the mere semblance of Christian agreement, where the great and vital doctrines of the Gospel are little regarded. Happily, such a state of things, however it may incidentally arise, is not induced or promoted, far otherwise, by the system of Faith and Worship adopted in our National Church Our Liturgy is a luminous comment on the Gospel; its devotions breathe the Spirit of the Gospel; the great and saving truths of the Gospel are prominent in every page of it; you are in no danger of becoming lukewarm as to the doctrines of Redemption and Grace, while you hold fast to the Liturgy; and as little are you exposed to the danger of division, while you reverence the primitive form of discipline retained in our Church. "But in the collisions of human Society differences will sometimes arise, where weighty questions do not come into discussion, upon matters of little moment. With regard, however, to you I hardly know what these can be: I have good hope that none such at present exist: and my counsel for the future will be, that you cultivate 3 B generally a spirit of forbearance, of concession, of courtesy, of mutual kindness; that you abstain from evil speaking, and from unwarranted suspicions; that yon be candid. to real faults and failings, and remember, that even injuries must be forgiven. I cannot contemplate such a Society as yours otherwise than as one Family, among the members of which there is really but little collision of interest, and nothing which needs greatly disturb the gentle current of brotherly love." P. 15. The duty insisted upon by St. Paul in the phrase," striving together for the faith of the Gospel," the duty of Christian zeal, is next explained and enforced. He who knows nothing of it, is recommended to inquire whether he be really influenced by any sentiment of reverence to the Almighty, or of love towards man. And at the same time it is well observed, that mere zeal without regulation or restraint, is a dangerous capricious thing, and does not answer the end of him who bids us" strive together." The first point to which this zeal is directed, is an open and consistent profession of the faith, by regular attendance upon public worship. themselves: but its influence may be of wider extent: this Island is an advanced post of civilization to the Eastward: from this little Seminary it may be the purpose of the Almighty, in his own good time, to send forth those, who shall disseminate a knowledge of His attributes and of the way of Salvation : we presume not, indeed, to fathom His counsels: but we humbly hope for His blessing, while we employ the appointed means, leaving to His wisdom the issue." P. 20. A third subject which the Bishop of Calcutta recommends to particular notice, is the District Committees of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, recently established at his recommendation in the island *, and observes that though the field of its operations is as yet but small, yet every poor Christian will be an object of its regard; the soldier and sailor who visit the settlement may be be nefited by its bounty, and may date the commencement of an altered course of life from the day when his thoughts were thus turned to the subject of salvation; and the posi tion of the Committee will give it more than ordinary importance, it will be the Society's remotest station to the eastward; and it may look with the divine blessing, to further openings, and a wider sphere. His lordship concludes in the following terms. "It is now time that I take my leave of yon, although some topics, connected with the present occasion, may remain nutouched: all Christian graces and virtues, indeed, all which belongs to Faith, to Piety, to Order and to Peace, must work together in forming a Christian Commu "Another object, to which I would direct your Christian Zeal, though out of this it originated, is the provision, which, with the liberal aid of the Government, yon have made for the instruction of Youth. In no other way do Christians more effectually strive together for the Faith of the Gospel,' than in training the children of the poor in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.' From an Institution, which is still in its infancy, and has been subject to local difficulties, very much perhaps was not yet to be expected: some good has assuredly been done, and more is in progress: and I know not of any permanent impediment to its exliibit"The Prince of Wales's Island and ing hereafter all the improvements, the Fort Marlborough District Committee of arrangement, the facility, the precision, the Society for promoting Christian Knowand the benign moral effect on t the mindsledge, held its Constituent Meeting on of the scholars, which are so conspicuous in the National System, as now practised in England. I commend, then, this Institation to your continned patronage and care: let it be an object of your warmest zeal: it is not easy to estimate its eventual importance: at any rate, great blessings will assuredly be imparted to the children Tuesday, the 18th of May. The Governor of Prince of Wales's Island consented to become its President, and presented, on behalf of the Government, a very liberal contribution to its Funds: a similar Donation was afterwards received from the Hononrable Sir T. S. Raffics, the Lieut-Governor of Fort Marlborough." |