ARTICLE XI.-NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

THEOLOGICAL.

ESSAYS ON THE SUPERNATURAL ORIGIN OF CHRISTIANITY.*— Several of these Essays appeared originally in the New Englander, and the interest which they excited as well as the general favor with which they were received, led the author to rewrite them, to add others to them, and thus to make a somewhat complete series of Papers bearing upon the general subject described in the title. The contents of the volume are as follows: The Nature of the Conflict of Christian Faith with Skepticism and Unbelief; The Genuineness of the Fourth Gospel; Recent Discussions upon the Origin of the First Three Gospels; Baur on Parties in the Apostolic Church, and the Character of the Book of the Acts; Baur on Ebionitism, and the Origin of Catholic Christianity; The Mythical Theory of Strauss; Strauss' Restatement of his Theory; The Legendary Theory of Renan; The Critical and Theological Opinions of Theodore Parker; An Examination of Baur and Strauss on the Conversion of St. Paul; The Nature and Function of the Christian Miracles; The Testimony of Jesus concerning Himself; The Personality of God: in reply to the Positivist and the Pantheist. These topics are all treated by Professor Fisher in his uniformly clear and scholarlike manner. His treatment of each of them shows perfect familiarity with the most recent discussions by other writers. His well known lucidness of statement brings all the points which he makes within the easy comprehension of the attentive reader. It is rare that we find such subjects treated in a manner at once so thorough and so readable. The statement and refutation of the negative theories of F. C. Baur is alone worth the cost of the volume, for it supplies a want which has hitherto been unsatisfied in English, critical, and theological literature. The ignotum pro magnifico has had full oppor

Essays on the Supernatural Origin of Christianity, with special reference to the Theories of Renan, Strauss, and the Tübingen School. By Rev. GEORGE P. FISHER, A. M., Professor of Church History in Yale College. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. 1866. 8vo. pp. 580. New Haven: Judd & White. Price $3.50.

tunity to excite painful misgivings as to what this master in historical research might have unearthed. The occasion for such groundless fears need exist no longer. Any student of theology, any ordinary reader of the Scriptures, can understand the theories of Strauss and Baur, as set forth by Professor Fisher, and can weigh the reasons for and against them which he so impartially and lucidly expounds.

We greet this volume with welcome, because it is an indication that the interest in discussions purely theological has not died out, but rather promises to be revived. It is a good omen for the prosperity of learning, and enlightened learning, that such a volume as this should be issued and find readers.

The most of the positions taken in these discussions will meet with a general assent from believers in the supernatural origin of Christianity. Some of the views expressed in Chapters XI. and XIII. will not be accepted by all, and are fair subjects for discussion and criticism.

THE VICARIOUS SACRIFICE.*-The theological "formula" of this volume is that Christ is a sacrifice for us, because by his incarnation, life, and death, he manifested a sympathy for mankind which made him the power of God unto salvation. This sacrifice is "vicarious," because it is undertaken on behalf, and for the good of the sinful race. It is grounded on the principles of universal obligation, because in the providing of it, the "law-precpt was duly sanctified," "legal enforcements are not diminished," and "God's rectoral honor is effectively maintained." The result is that by the operation of the moral power of this exhibition of God's sympathy and sacrifice, the man who believes it, is made righteous, and this is justification by faith.

The "formula" of doctrine which Dr. Bushnell rejects and aims to overthrow,-or rather to displace,-may be best inferred from his own language. "By the previous exposition, Christ is shown to be a Saviour, not as being a ground of justification, but as being the moral power of God upon us, so a power of salvation. His work terminates, not in the release of penalties by our compensation, but in the transformation of character, and the rescue,

* The Vicarious Sacrifice, grounded in principles of universal obligations. By HORACE BUSHNELL. New York: Charles Scribner. 1866. 8vo. pp. 552. New Haven: Judd & White. Price $8.

in that manner, of guilty men from the retributive causations provoked by their sin. He does not prepare the remission of sins in the sense of a mere letting go, but he executes the remission by taking away the sins, and dispensing the justification of life. This one word Life is the condensed import of all that he is, or undertakes to be." This means that the author distinctly and unequivocally rejects the doctrine that in any sense whatever, Christ by his work provides any ground or reason which renders it consistent for God to remit or pardon the deserved penalties of sin.

It will be seen from these statements that the author finds less import, though perhaps no less importance in the work of Christ, than is usually conceded to it, and than seems to be most distinctly taught in the Scriptures in every form of direct and indirect assertion. His "formula" of doctrine is narrower than that which is usually accepted. What he affirms to be true of the work of Christ, would be generally assented to; what he denies, would be affirmed in addition. The "formula" of the church is ampler, not narrower, than his. We do not assert that some of the truths which he enforces with so much eloquence and power, have been as warmly and ditsinctly recognized as they ought to have been ; or that they have been as efficiently used in the practical creeds of Christian believers, or as clearly set forth in the instructions of Christian preachers, as was desirable. But they have always been received in theory. For what Dr. Bushnell and others have done, and are still doing, to revive their importance and their power, they deserve the hearty thanks of all lovers of truth.

He

But when Dr. Bushnell goes further and denies the other aspect of the work of Christ he opens anew the discussion of one of the most important questions in theology. It is a question which is profoundly agitating the minds of many thoughtful and inquiring spirits in the church and out of it at this very moment. Upon the solution of it he has bestowed the studious attention of years. has brought to the support of his views an ingenious theory of ethical and theological philosophy. He has endeavored to square this theory with the representations of the Scriptures. In the prosecution of his arguments he has dealt very heavy and effective blows upon not a few false dogmas, and exposed the weakness of theories that however often refuted do yet maintain a most tenacious vitality. For all these reasons his work deserves, as it will doubtless receive, the attention of theological critics. Perhaps we may

return to it ourselves in a future number. In the meantime we can assure our readers that notwithstanding its material defects of doctrine, the volume contains many most important and quickening truths.

LECKY'S HISTORY OF RATIONALISM.*-By Rationalism the author does not understand any definite doctrines or criticisms, "but rather a certain cast of thought or bias of reasoning," which, he thinks, has during the last three centuries "gained a marked ascendency in Europe." This tendency includes a disposition "to subordinate dogmatic theology to the dictates of reason and conscience, and to attribute all kinds of phenomena to natural rather than miraculous causes." Mr. Lecky sees in the course of modern history a waning sense of the supernatural, a decreasing influence of the belief in the preternatural world upon feeling and action, upon the individual mind, and upon society. His plan leads him over a large field, and his chapters are really a series of separate dissertations. In the first two chapters, he treats of the declining sense of the miraculous, as illustrated in the history of magic and witchcraft, and in the loss of faith in the ecclesiastical miracles. In the third chapter, he speaks of the "æsthetic, scientific, and moral Developments of Rationalism." This chapter contains interesting matter upon the subject of Christian art and poetry, and the mutations which art has undergone. The fourth chapter relates to Persecution. The remaining chapters discuss "the Secularization of Politics," and "the Industrial History of Rationalism."

The style in which these volumes is written is unusually attractive. There is an affluence of language, an animation and felicity of diction which keep the attention awake.

It cannot be said that the author is not well-informed; yet there has been too little original inquiry and research, and he follows French writers with a too evident partiality. Even if his statements are correct, they are frequently adapted to suggest very erroneous impressions respecting the persons and times which pass under his notice.

* History of the Rise and Influence of Rationalism in Europe. By W. E. H. LECKY, M. A. Two volumes. New York: D. Appleton & Co. 1866. New Haven: H. C. Peck. Price $5.

The argument of the book—so far as it has an argument-is strangely defective and faulty. The changes of feeling on the various topics which the author handles is traced to the progress of civilization, with the constant implication that the movement in question has gone forward independently of the influence of the Bible and of Christianity. But is not Christianity a vital element in modern civilization? And are not the downfall of superstition, the abandonment of persecution, and the securing of rights to the indvidual in political society really the result of the better understanding and more potent operation of Christianity itself?

When Mr. Lecky speaks of Calvinism, he caricatures it. He has no adequate knowledge of the theological opinions of the Calvinistic leaders whom he stigmatizes.

Yet this work is full of interest, and cannot fail to awaken valuable thoughts in the reader who has sufficient knowledge to remain unaffected by its fallacious reasonings.

HURST'S HISTORY OF RATIONALISM.*-This volume treats of Rationalism technically so called, and in this respect it differs from Lecky's more profound and philosophical work. It discusses Modern Rationalism, the Rationalism that has sprung up since the Protestant Reformation, and proposes to itself a narrower field of investigation than Farrar's Critical History of Free Thought. It is a history of Modern Rationalism in all countries, and is thus contrasted with Hagenbach's German Rationalism. The field is very wide, but the author has labored in every part of it with much pains-taking and careful research. He sketches the Rationalism of Germany, of Holland, of France, of Switzerland, of England, and of the United States from the earliest beginnings, down to the latest developments of each. His method is very uniform. He sketches the history, writings, and influence of the leading writers in each of these countries, and aims to be candid and fair in his representations. Much, if not the most of his information, is taken at second and third hand, as must necessarily be the case, so that his work is a kind of digest of critical sketch

History of Rationalism; embracing a survey of the present state of Protestant Theology. By the Rev. JOHN F. HURST, A. M., with Appendix of Literature. New York: Charles Scribner & Co. 1865. 8vo. pp. 623. New Haven: Judd & White. Price $3.50.