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they will lead you there. You have more serious views of the importance of religion, than many, perhaps, of those who speculate with you. Consistency with your present views, will afford strong inducement, not to give up the divine authority of the Scriptures. But are there not some, who embrace Unitarian sentiments, that have no inconsistency to fear, by adopting such an opinion? Deeming what you have publicly taught them, to be true, viz., that it is "no crime to believe with Mr. Belsham," who declares, that the Scriptures are not the word of God; feeling the inconsistency, (as I am certain some of them will and do feel it,) of violating the rules of interpretation, in order to make the apostles speak, as in their apprehension they ought to speak; and unable to reconcile what the apostles say, with their own views; will it not be natural to throw off the restraints which the old ideas of the inspiration and infallibility of the Scriptures impose upon them, and receive them simply on the ground, on which they place any other writings of a moral and religious nature?

I make no pretensions to uncommon foresight, in regard to this subject. I certainly do not say these things with invidious designs, and for the sake of kindling the fire of contention. Very far from it. On the contrary; I fear that the parties now contending here, will not cease to contend, until this ground be openly taken. For myself, I regard it as more desirable, in many points of view, that the authority of the Scripture should at once be cast off, and its claims to divine inspiration rejected; than that such rules of exegesis should be introduced, as to make the Scriptures speak, against their obvious meaning, whatever any party may desire. Avowed unbelief in the divine authority of the Scriptures can never continue long, as I would fain believe, in the present day of light and examination. Such a state of things may pass away, with the generation who act in it. But it is a more difficult matter to purge away the stain, which Christianity may contract by violated laws of interpretation. Those who do thus violate these laws, may obtain and hold, for a long time, great influence over the mass of people, who are not accustomed to examine, in a critical manner, the nicer points of theology. If opponents to this method of interpretation, lift up

the voice of warning, they may not be heard. They are liable to the imputation of bigotry, or illiberality, or ignorance. But when men professedly cast off their respect to the authority of the Scriptures, the case becomes different, and the great body of plain and sober people will revolt.

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In making these observations, of the nature and probable consequences of that exegesis, which explains away the Deity of Christ, I cannot think that I am building castles in the air, to amuse my own imagination. For ten years past, I have been called, every week, to duties which necessitated me to be conversant with the history of interpretation, as it has appeared in Germany; a country which, in half a century, has produced more works on criticism and sacred literature, than the world contains besides. fifty years since, Semler, Professor of Divinity at Halle, began to lecture and publish on the subject of interpretation, in a manner that excited the attention of the whole German Empire. The grand principle, by which he explained away whatever he did not think proper to believe, was that which has been called accommodation. He maintained, that the apostles and the Saviour often admitted representations and doctrines into their instructions, which were calculated merely for the purpose of persuading the Jews, being accommodated to their prejudices; but which were not intended to be a real directory of sentiment. In this way, whatever was inconsistent with his own views, he called accommodation; and thus, at once, expunged it from the list of Christian doctrines.

Semler's original genius and great learning soon gave currency to his views, in Germany, where a system of theology and exegesis had prevailed, which in not a few respects needed reformation. Since his time, a host of writers (many of them with exalted talents and most extensive erudition,) have arisen, who have examined, explained, modified, and defended the doctrine of accommodation. more recent method of exegesis, however, in Germany, has been, to solve all the miraculous facts related in the Bible, by considerations which are affirmed to be drawn from the idiom and ignorance of antiquity in general, and in particular of the sacred writers themselves. Thus, with

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Eichhorn, the account of the creation and fall of man, is merely a poetical, philosophical speculation of some ingenious person, on the origin of the world and of evil. (Ŭrgeschichte, passim.) So, in regard to the offering up of Isaac by Abraham; he says, "the Godhead could not have required of Abraham so horrible a crime; and there can be no justification, palliation, or excuse for this pretended command of the Divinity." He then explains it. · Abraham dreamed that he must offer up Isaac, and according to the superstition of the times, regarded it as a divine admonition. He prepared to execute the mandate, which his dream had conveyed to him. A lucky accident, (probably the rustling of a ram who was entangled in the bushes,) hindered it; and this according to ancient idiom, was also the voice of the divinity.' (Bibliothek. Band i. s. 45, &c.)

The same writer represents the history of the Mosaic legislation, at mount Sinai, in a curious manner. Moses ascended to the top of Sinai, and built a fire there, (how he found wood on this barren rock, or raised it to the top, Eichhorn does not tell us,) a fire consecrated to the worship of God, before which he prayed. Here an unexpected and tremendous thunder storm occurred. He seized the occasion, to proclaim the laws which he had composed in his retirement, as the statutes of Jehovah; leading the people to believe that Jehovah had conversed with him. Not that he was a deceiver; but he really believed, that the occurrence of such a thunder storm was a sufficient proof of the fact, that Jehovah had spoken to him, or sanctioned the work in which he had been engaged. (Bibliothek. Band i. Theil. 1. s. 76, &c.) The prophecies of the Old Testament are, according to him, patriotic wishes, expressed with all the fire and elegance of poetry, for the future prosperity, and a future deliverer of the Jewish nation. (Propheten, Bibliothek, Einleit. passim.)

In like manner, C. F. Ammon, professor of theology at Erlangen, tells us, in respect to the miracle of Christ's walking on the water, that "to walk on the sea, is not to stand on the waves, as on the solid ground, as Jerom dreams, but to walk through the waves so far as the shoals reached, and then to swim." (Pref. to edit. of Ernesti Inst. Interpret. p. 12.) So in regard to the miracle of the

loaves and fishes, (Matt. xiv. 15,) he says, that Jesus probably distributed some loaves and fishes which he had, to those who were around him, and thus excited, by his example, others among the multitude, who had provisions, to distribute them in like manner. (p. 16.)

Thiess, in his commentary on the Acts, explains the miraculous effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, (Acts ii.) in the following manner: "It is not uncommon," says he," in those countries, for a violent gust of wind to strike on a particular spot or house. Such a gust is commonly accompanied by the electric fluid; and the sparks of this are scattered all around. These float about the chamber, become apparent, and light upon the disciples. They kindle into enthusiasm at this; and believe the promise of their master is now to be performed. This enthusiasm spectators assemble to witness; and instead of preaching as before in Hebrew, each one uses his own native tongue to proclaim his feelings."

I have not followed the words through the whole, but have given the substance of Thiess' views, in my two last sentences. Such was the outpouring of the Spirit; and such the gift of tongues.

The same Thiess, (Comm. on Chap. iii.) represents the miraculous cure by Peter, of the man who was lame from his birth, in a very singular way. "This man," says he, 66 was lame only according to report. He never walked any; so, the people believed that he could not walk..... Peter and John, being more sagacious however, threatened him. "In the name of the Messiah,' said they, 'Stand up.' The word Messiah had a magical power. He stood up. Now one saw that he could walk. To prevent the compassion of men from being turned into rage, (at his deceit,) he chose the most sagacious party, and connected himself with the apostles."

The case of Ananias falling down dead, is thus represented by the same writer; "Ananias fell down terrified; but probably he was carried out and buried, while still alive."

Heinrichs, however, who produces this Comment of Thiess, relates another mode of explaining the occurrence in question; viz. that Peter stabbed Ananias; "which,"

says Heinrichs, " does not at all disagree with the vehement and easily exasperated temper of Peter." (Nov. Test. Koppianum, Vel. iii. Partic. ii. pp. 355-357, &c.)

Numerous systems of Hermeneutica, i. e. the Art of Interpretation, have been written and published in Germany, on this plan. Meyer, in a very laboured system of Hermeneutica of the Old Testament, in two large octavos, has a body of rules, by which every thing miraculous is to be explained away. He concedes that there is the same objection to admitting any one miracle, as to admitting all. He therefore rejects the whole. So Bauer, in his Hermeneutica; and a multitude of others.

In the course of the discussions which these principles have excited in Germany, the question about Christ's divinity has been entirely forgotten. When the contest first began, this point among others, was warmly contested. But the fundamental questions, whether the Scriptures are divinely inspired; and whether the doctrine of accommodation can be used, in all its latitude, in interpreting them, soon took the place of this. Accommodation has been sifted, attacked, defended, explained, moderated, modified, itself accommodated; so that at last it is nearly driven from the ground, and the plain and simple rules of grammatical interpretation are triumphant, among the best part of the German critics.

In the mean time, they have not returned to the principles of their Lutheran Symbol. Very far from it. While many of them allow that John, and Peter, and Paul, did believe and teach the doctrine of Christ's divinity and of the atonement, they hold themselves under no obligation to receive them. De Wette, who has recently published a System of Theology, and is Professor of the same at the University of Berlin, maintains that the Pentateuch was Composed about the time of the captivity; that the Jewish ritual was of gradual formation, accessions being made to it by superstition; and that the book of Chronicles, (which is filled with scraps & inconsistencies,) was foisted into the canon by some of the priesthood, who wished to exalt their own order. His Beiträge, which contained these sentiments, was published before the death of Griesbach, and came out recommended by him; who says, 'If you object to the

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