ART. VI. - The Rationale of Religious Enquiry: or the Question stated of Reason, the Bible, and the Church, In Six Lectures. By JAMES MARTINEAU. London, 1836. 12mo. pp. 256.

It is remarked, in the Preface to these Lectures, that "there are systems of Christianity in abundance, as, before the time of Bacon, there were systems of natural science; but the Organon of theology yet remains to be written." A distinction is here pointed out, the neglect of which explains, in some measure, the present degraded state of theological science in England, compared with other departments of intellectual research and discovery. While physical science, political economy, the theories of government and social institutions, the application of the useful arts to the purposes of life, and the higher branches of literature, have been cultivated with singular industry and success, it has been the fate of that master science, which the author of the "Novum Organum" designates as "sacred and inspired theology, the sabbath and port of men's wanderings and labors," to languish in utter neglect, or to be left in the hands of religious artisans, who had neither the taste to perceive its richness and beauty, nor the skill to further its progress. It seems to have been taken for granted, that this was a sphere of thought, on which no new light could fall, which was absolved from the great law of advancement that binds all other human affairs. The idea of infusing any fresh life into its aged veins has been deemed chimerical; so that theology alone, in the midst of scientific progress, nay, of revolution, retains the withered form and rigid features of the past. It is not true, indeed, that there has been any period of English history, in which religion has failed to excite a lively interest. It has been incorporated with the most valuable institutions of our mother country; it has pervaded, in some form or other, her laws, her social habits, her domestic feelings, her language, and her literature; it has found upon her soil, that is so fruitful in all the noblest products of humanity, many of the most glorious specimens of character which it seeks to call forth; and, after all that is said of the decay of piety in modern times, we believe that it maintains a strong hold in the true, substantial English heart, from which it will not easily be dislodged.

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Still, upon looking at the condition of theology in England, merely in its relation to the present state of science, in the civilized world, we must note a striking and lamentable deficiency. Theology, in that country, has not been elevated to the same plane, which is now occupied by the other branches of liberal study; and the consequence is, that it presents few attractions to the most scientific minds; and the spirit of philosophical investigation, which is becoming more and more the order of the day, is almost exclusively turned in a different direction. There is a great deal written on theological subjects, but scarcely any thing with the precision and depth of true science. Even the reforms which have been attempted, are rather the spontaneous protest of reason against absurdity, than a profound discrimination between error and truth. They have consisted, principally, in setting aside some traditional dogmas, which, regarded in a literal point of view, were too preposterous for reception, but without laying open the central source from which such errors proceeded. There has been no thorough discussion of the philosophy of human nature, in reference to religion, of the ultimate criterion of truth, of the history, position, and value of the Scriptures, as the records of revelation; and hence, with all the systems which have been presented, there is no one that has commanded universal assent, or, we might almost say, that has been considered a fit subject for philosophical examination. We are not aware of a single effective endeavour to advance theology to the rank of a free, intellectual pursuit; to bring it into harmony with the progress of scientific culture, and thus to secure it a permanent place in the unity of speculation. It remains, in fact, for all scientific purposes, nearly in the condition that it was in when the wisdom of Cranmer was embodied in the articles of the church, and a code of doctrinal theories established in a form, as cold, as lifeless, as petrified, as any that ever darkened the worst days of Catholic predominance.

It was supposed that the science of theology sprang at once into perfection from the heads of the Reformers; and every attempt to modify its character, was regarded as an offence, and almost as a blasphemy. In this way, it has been left encrusted with ancient errors, while the work of purification has been going on in every other department of inquiry and thought. Astronomy has been separated from astrology, chemistry from the search after the philosopher's stone, medicine from the

incantations of magic; but between theology and mythology, a sharp line of distinction yet remains to be drawn. It is a problem, which we who speak the English tongue have hardly looked in the face; but one which we must be prepared to meet, before the claims of science and religion can be reconciled, before "an open and solemn marriage between faith and reason can be celebrated." The time has come when a revision of theology is demanded, as the commencement of a reform; when no solemn mutterings can present a charm to keep away the hand of bold research; when the veil must be wholly lifted up from the face of the statue, before which men have so long bowed in darkness and dread, and a clear, piercing light be admitted into the temple of our faith and the mysteries of our worship. Systems of divinity we have, indeed, had in abundance; but how unworthy of the name! Where can we find one which has not failed in the very thing that science demands as essential to a system, a rigid method and a comprehensive unity? The science of Divinity, regarded in its true light, is the noblest that the mind can be conversant with, for it is the science of the Divine, of the Infinite, of God in Nature, in History, in Humanity, in the Heart of Man. It should be filled with the dewy freshness of the morning, it should breathe an atmosphere of unclouded light, it should move with the freedom and grace of conscious inspiration, and gather around itself all that is attractive, beautiful, and glorious, in the whole compass of creation.

But what are our prevailing systems of theology? What claim do they present, as now organized, upon the attention of the philosopher or the lover of nature? It is hard to imagine a study more dry, more repulsive, more perplexing, and more totally unsatisfactory to a scientific mind, than theology, as it is presented in the works of by far the greater part of English writers on the subject.

It is no wonder that the heart is pulverized, that the freshness of life is exhausted, under their influence. It is no wonder, that the most vigorous efforts of sacred eloquence have been made by those, who have avoided, as much as possible, the hard abstractions of our technical systems; who have studied divinity in communion with their own nature and with the universe or who have not studied it at all. We respond, with living sympathy, to the earnest voice that comes to us from beyond the sea, calling for a new organ of theology, and

presenting us a specimen of its scientific culture. We long to see the educated mind of England awaking to the importance of this subject, seeking for an instrument wherewith this vast and holy science may be raised to its becoming rank among other intellectual pursuits, redeemed from the petty subtleties which have planted thorns around it, and brought out of bondage and darkness into the stately light of day.

but

It is a great merit of the work before us, that it distinctly asserts the necessity of a fundamental reform in English theology, before controversy can cease to resemble a contest in the dark or a philosophical exposition be given to the primary truths of religion. The author confines himself to a single question connected with the evidences of Christianity, that one which involves many topics of great moment, - and if he does not contribute any original discoveries in aid of the reform which he has at heart, it is but justice to him to say, that this is not the design of the present volume. "The popular form," he remarks, "required for public delivery, precluded any very systematic or philosophical treatment of the subject: and if one or two just logical principles, corrective of common and mischievous fallacies, are brought out with tolerable clearness, all the service to truth, of which the writer and his plan are capable, will be accomplished." This attempt is entirely successful; and, though we are inclined to controvert some of Mr. Martineau's positions, in the spirit of frank dis cussion which pervades his book, we must acknowledge the uncommon pleasure we have taken in its perusal, and the admiration we feel for the independence, manliness, and wisdom, with which it is written.

The inquiry in which Mr. Martineau engages, has for its purpose, to settle the method of investigating the character of Christianity, and to estimate the value of the materials, from which a judgment on the subject may be formed. The first Lecture opens with a graphic description of Palestine at the time of our Saviour's appearance. The principal events of his life are then summed up in a brief sketch of exquisite beauty.

"In a hamlet of this country, sequestered among the hills which enclose the Galilean lake, a peasant, eighteen centuries ago, began to fill up the intervals of worldly occupation with works of mercy and efforts of public instruction. Neglected by his own villagers of Nazareth, he took up his residence in the neighbouring town of Capernaum; and there, escaped from the prejudices of his first

home, and left to the natural influence of his own character, he found friends, hearers, followers. He mixed in their societies, he worshipped in their synagogues, he visited their homes, he grew familiar with their neighbourhood, he taught on the hill side, he watched their traffic on the beach, and joined in their excursions on the lake. He clothed himself in their affections, and they admitted him to their sorrows, and his presence consecrated their joys. Their Hebrew feelings became human when he was near; and their rude nationality of worship rose towards the filial devotion of a rational and responsible mind. Nor was it altogether a familiar and equal, though a profoundly confiding sympathy, which he awakened. For power more than human followed his steps; and in many a home there dwelt living memorials of his miracles: and among his most grateful disciples there were those, who remembered the bitterness of the leper's exile, or shuddered at the yet unforgotten horrors of madness. That the awe of Deity which was kindled by his acts, and the love of goodness which was excited by his life, might not be confined to one spot of his country, twelve associates were first drawn closely around him to observe and learn, and then dispersed to repeat his miracles, report, and teach. They were with him when the recurring festivals summoned him, in common with his fellow citizens, to leave awhile Capernaum for Jerusalem. They beheld how his dignity rose, when his sphere of action was thus enlarged, and the interest of his position deepened; when the rustic audience was replaced by the crowd of the metropolis, and village cavillers gave way to priests and rulers, and the handful of neighbours in the provincial synagogue was exchanged for the strange and gaudy multitudes that thronged the vast temple at the hour of prayer. In one of these expeditions, the fears of the established authorities, and the disappointment of a once favoring multitude, whose ambition he had refused to gratify, combined to crush him. It was soon done; the Passover at Jerusalem was its assizes too: the betrayal and the trial over, the execution was part of the annual celebration, a spectacle that furnished an hour's excitement to the populace. But there were eyes that looked on with no careless or savage gaze; of one who knew what he was in childhood; - of many that had seen his recent life in Galilee. The twelve too lingered closely around the event; and they say, that he came back from death, spake to them oft for forty days, and was carried before their view beyond the precincts of this earth.” — pp. 3-6.

Mr. Martineau then asks, What was the mission assigned by Providence to these events? The answer to this question will furnish us with the true idea of Christianity. But how are we to engage in the investigation? What are our materi