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LETTER

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RKillT REVEREND

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LORD BISHOP OF FB^ERICTON,

THK KRV* R. tt. IVIGCIINS, A. HI.

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SAINT JOHN:

PHINTED BV UEIfRY CHUBB it COMPANT,

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PBINCC WILtlAW STBKST-

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LETTER.

cava me Ihfl llbertr to know*, to uttor, nml to nrHH« I'lvrly, ncror^ing
tocouKtence, above nil lllM>rty.«~!IIl[/roN.

TO THE

RIGHT REVEREND

TUK LORD BISHOP OF FREDEBICTON.

Mv LoRD,"^ I

When I forwnnled to yo\i, for perusal, two volumes written bytlio
lato Rev. Mr. Clowes, of Manchester, Englani). I tlesicfiied to test the
question of doctrines therein contiiined. Tlie previous controversy
between the Rector of Trinity Church ond myself did not toucli the
question. Ho conRned himself to the consloemtion of Mr. (Mowes'
opinionsjgaj4 coanceicd with the dogmatic tcnching of the Church,
and decWKaltogcther to discuss the subject on Scriptural authority. ,
Your opmiiti, as expressed to me, is ofi the abstract ground of doc-
trine itself; arid you cTeclarc, in this vioW' of the subject, that Mr.
Clowes denied the Trinity, the intercession of Christ, and the eleventh
article of the Church of England ! — The controversy with the Rector
of Trinity Church, just alluded to, has done its work, and left its
impress on the public mind, and the developments of the subject dis-
cussed wilV be more fully seen in due time. But the present letter
i^ more important in its bearing, as requiring, from the very ground
taken by yourself, not only an explanation of the doctrines of Mr.
Clowes, but also a distinct recognition of the authority on which
Mr. Clowes founded his views of these doctrines. There is a wise
discretion, as to the time and opportunity, demanded of us, in enCnr-
cing the truths of the interior sense of the Word, and therefore this
recognition has not been so distinctly called for before.
\ It is a grave charge that is now made by yourself, however, against
o venerable Clergyman of the Churclr of England, who was sixty-
two years Rector of a Parish, and who lived in the affections of his
people, to say, on the abstract question, that he denied the doctrine
of the Holy Trinity. The chaige is still more grave when it js
known that, in reply to those who accused him of this heresy, in the
beginning of his ministry, the Bishop, before whom ho was arraigned,
told his accusers to go and become like him whom they denounced.
Neither the doctrine not the man was found ccnsuiablo by Bishop
Porteus. But the Bishop himself might have been an heretic, by the

I.,

U'nnn nml tU'lliiitionn of the Church of England, nml iho iiiiralUm
ihfwforo nriiM'ii, what ia thi- ihKtrino h**!!! by Mr. Clowua, and ianc-
tibnoil hy tho Rinhnp of tho DioM'M in which hfl waa a drrjorman f
Mr. Clowi'K lM)Iii<v«d I'innhitlicnily, an all do who ri'«»«iv« lh« doc-
trinfli of tho Word, nn f»pliiiiK>«l in tho writinj;;* of SwodunlmrK, that
the Lord ia ono, and indivisible, and that hu who proc«eda from ano-
thor in not (Jod: tho lA>rd ho ia (Ipd. Ho taujfht diHtinctly from tim
word, that tho Lord is the Croator, aa well aa tho Kodcointr; that Ho
ia tho forj(iv«!r of ain«, nn well na tho Hcinp ajfninat whom thoy liavo
IJCfu coinrnittiul; and that He ia tho Wor«l itaolf,— th«i Word which
wna in tlio bvginninflf, tho Word wljo apnko to tho propheta, and ihu
Word which waa nia'nilcsti-d in tho flo»h.

Ho tmight, inoroovor, that tho Lord ia man, very man, that Hjj ii
tho Divine man, that Ho ia a p«>raon, and that Ho waa alwaya human
in potency, though not in actuality; that in uaauming our nature
He became the Lord in ulHmatrs, an hf waa in lirat principh^s ; that
the tirat became the hiat, the, Alpha ||«»<amo (ho Omega, and centred
in himaclf, by incarnation, ull created ihinga, till hiapUxU', from fw-
in^f a created, actually l)ccnmq the Divine aulwtance, through tho
-Aver of tho indwellmi,' Deity. In thua deaceuding through tho
in vena, He who waa above tho heavens, clothed Himself auccessivoly
ith their cmbodimenta, till Ho touched tho very earth; and then,
hilo of a nature infirm and human, b«!came subjwt to all the grie-
vous temptations from tho hells, and by aubduing them on their own
plane, reduced them to order, and made them aubxervieht, while thus
in subjugation, to oho salvation of all who follow Him in the regrnor-
ation. Unity in the Lord is tho idea clearly revealed in the IJible,
and tho Trinity in tho Lord as O/te Person is confirmed from the
letter of Scripture by the spiritual sense included in it, as are all the
other doctrines taught in tho writings of Swodenborg. This doc-
1 trine, as opposed to tho dogmatic teaching of tho day, will ho seen in
\ a stronger light ^contrasting it with tha contradictions tirhich the
tri-pcrqonal theory every where exhibits.

That tho Lord is one in person and essence, and that the human
form, or Son of God, is tho manij'estation o( tho Father, and is tho
form from which the Holy Spirit, or proceeding Divine, emanated,
is clearly intclligiblo from tho spiritual sense of Scripture, for the
spiritual sense conjoins what tho literal sense separates; and interces-
sion, mediation, and terms of that import, have reference exclu-
sively, in tlio spiritual sense, to tho Divine and Human Natures in
the Person of the God-Head. They are at-one, and hence the
at-one-ment, or reconciliation, is now possible between the Lord and
his fallen creatures, but otherwise not possible. These are at-ono
with Him by being regenerated, or by becoming a new creation, and
thus the partakers of a nevlr nature, in consequence of redemption
from hell; and sins are therefore no longer imputed to them when
sins no longer reign and rule in their hearts. Hence " God was ia
Christ atoning the world unto himself, not imputing their tresuassea
unto them." .

Contrast this simple and obvious teaching of the Gospel with the
theory that man has made for hjlisclf. By this theory tlicrc are

'T:'i7rpt"fir

MrM HepamUs Divinn j)«iiifffl, iliiiilnrt [n Uiuught, llu)ut(li wiiii tho
lipH it is (leclarod, at tlm iiainn tinit*, thnt thoru m but onr. Th« Fa»
thur claiinH juMticii ;'tho Sun mitiilioi (hit jiistii*!!, iind thu tmalt in «
reconcilintion through tho iiuHliuiii of thu third I'Driion in the Trinity.'
To Httv nothing of three tming otu (jod, n>iil y«!t t-ach (litroring from
thu other, it it nnnarkitblo that the very <|ualitiet attributed to tlie
Father urn d<>ni««d by ttna tri-|N>p«ointl tlx'ory of ri'di'ni|>tion. It in
dvclnrod thnt the love of Miving the hiunun nice origiiuit«*d with tha
Father, that th« Son undortakcii the work of Hnlvuliun, aul yvt thaf .
when the work in done the tjon noeda to inter ceiU witMim Father,
nnd even to prcnunt Hin blet'ding woiiiuU to move the Father to
mercy ! If the domnndK of jtuticti nro fully siitiHlivd, where ia the
neceuity for " interceiwion ?" And if, indeed, the Fathor ia just, how
could Ho allow the moat innocent lieing in the univemn to auiler in
order to antiiify thnt jumUci; ? Thia ia to consider the Divine princi*
pie out of thu Lord, when, novertholoas, it ia in Ilim ; and thu per* '
ception of tho Lord's JXieinity poriahca with thia idea, for it makua
two out of one ! Tho dbctrine ia monatroua, atid it haa blighted nnd
deaolntod the Chriatian Church. I jim aware that the du«'trinu ia
mixed up with tho emotional part of our nature, and (tomthii cause
atone it haa lM>en capable hitherto »f being over-ruled by the Lor4
for good in the Church; but thia cntotionnl tendency ia all towarda
tho Saviour, while it'btjcomca alienated from' the Father, or God
himaolf; and tho conaequenco baa been, to der))r the Deity of the
Lord, by considering Him a victim to appease n being who waa

ermter than Himself, and totally different in hia nature and attri-
utca. So far as those doctrines aro concerned, they are treated of,
according to my humble ability, in tw). Sermons lately publiaheit'
with tho view of covering thu whole ground in the lato coiKrovursy
here; as to the facts devclo|K!d in that controversy, they apeak for
themselves.

With regard to faith alone, tho time has gone by when that doc-
trine might be defended, any more than the doctrines which gavo
riso to it, It has been often declared, aince the Reformation, that tho
Church was to riso or fall by this doctrine, and she has fallen by it.
This justification by faith alone is not -a faith in tho Lord as tho Je-
hovah, and therefore cannot save tho soul ; for tho Lord is present
according to the perception that man has of tho Lord ; and if thia per-
ception IS not that the Lord is tho only Person of Oodi the Divine
Being himself is not present in His omnipotence. Thtrf? doctrines,
as atill taught by tho CHurch, are falsifications of tho Word, by sub-
stituting the apparent for the real truths of Scripture, in order to suit
tho depravity of human nature. Tho doctrine of " faith alone " is
declared by the article beforo alluded to as being a most comfortable
doctrine ; but however comfortable it may appear in tfnt Wdrld, it is
doubtless instrumental in leading many to uneasinej}s and disquiet-
ude in the world to come \ ■ ■ . ' ,
^ The doctrines of Swcdcnbofg, of which Mr. CloWes was the faiUiful
expositor and exemplar, need yet to bo fully known; and when known,
; no intcljligent mail will have the hardihood to controvert or deny
^cm. iPricstley was wilted to the earth by such nn attempt, uud

s.,.-._.

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was compelled to bo uUnt under the ovcnvhellininfj nature of the
evidences of Swedenborg's 'Divine mission. AH who have since ta-
ken the same course have retired from the controversy with the samo
success. They have felt that though there may be enough apparent
weakness in the sy&tem to invite attack, -there is hidden strength
enough to repel it. The truths there which appear helpless from
their very innocence, will be found to exert an influenroof which the
mightiest may be well afraid. Their claims are not the claims of a
seft, but of a new dispensation. They are truths descending from
God out of Heaven, and accompanied by the living voice of the Lord .
'—Behold I make all things new.

Hitherto it has been argument enough to meet the claims of Swe-
denborg with ridicule ; but such an argument is no longer available
in the world, and consequently the Vrorld has given it up. The peo-
ple who hold these views lately had a convention in London, and the
proceedings were reported by the leading morning journals, a^)nro-
ceedings not to be despised.. The New Church was represented at
that meeting by an order of intellijrenco not inferior to any in Eng-
land, and by distinguished individuals from Germany, Sweden,
France, Spain, ond the United States ; while communications were
received even from the Indian Empire, Edfh of these countries is
a centre, from which rays are beginning to diverge in all directions,
while the light of the new Jerusalem will mingle with artd temper
the discordant elements of a \yorld in ruins. This Church has no
retrograde motion; its truths never die out, in minds where they
have once fairly lodged; they are as imperishable as the source from
whence they come. After struggling against conflicting elements
for nearly a century, these trutns are now taking a position and
holding a tone of languag:e, which -they who know them best are the
least willing to question or to oppose. And as if to support these
claims, and as an eviderice io some minds of their reality, the philo-
sophical^writings of Swedcnborg are now in bourse of translation
from theoriginal Latin. In these writings are contained all the prin-
,ciple8 of natural science; and the critical journals of the day have
"already begun to accord their testimony to the wonderful truth*-,
therein developed. They are truths of the most profound nature,
acquired by the deepfest research and most exact science, supported
by the severest induction, and are confirmed and established by
a system of the most merciless dialectic*.

But I have not to do at present with the philosophical but the
theologicol writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. The former, indeed,
are evidences of what the human faculties may perform, when
trained to the pursuits of natural science ; but the latter are evi-
dences of the same highly trained laculties, acting under the
influence of Divine illumination. The oho was preparatory to the
other in the order of Providence; but these departments of know-
ledge are separated from each other by '•distinct degrees in the
human mind. It is not competent for the natural to ascend to the
spiritual degree, though all things; on the natural plane, are con-
firmed and established by the higher evidences of Divine illumi-
nation.

That nteh an illumination in necessary for tlic full understanding^
of the spiritual sense of the Word, is evident from the very naturu
of the Word iJself. The Word, in iho letter, is the distinct embodi-
ment of the Mind of Cod to fallen beings, and the tendency and
design of the>ipiritiml sonso can be seen only by ascending to the
spiritual piano. Naturally, man can form no distinct conception of
the.Divino Being ; he has no organs to discern Ood as He is, but tho
very organa themselves have to be formed by which he may attain
to correct ideas of the Deity. This must be so from the very nature
of things. In departing from Qod man lost the actual knowledge of
God, and his knowjledgo of God thence became relative, not actual.
Me had, thereforc j^lll positive knowledge of who God is; and in tho
absence of such knlwledgc he necessarily considered God to bo such
an onqas himself. Hence his idea of God in all ages has been tho
mere Outbirth, or reflex, of his own mind, and he sees this Image^
as it were, in huge lineaments on the sky. ■ The mere letter of the
Word tends only to modify this Image, not to deface it; and hence
the Chrisitian Church, as Well as the Gentiles, have devised gods of
thei? ownX^The Heathen have gods according to their characteristic
thoughts ancMcclings. Even the Jews worshipped, for a time, tljcir
own mental creations ; and when driven to the distinct acknowldlg-
ment of (me God, they still clothed Him with«their own arbitrary'
and vindictive passions. The Christian Church has dtylded the
same idea into thnte — thus dividin^g the essence of- the !ti<)rd-^and:
fed by. the letter of the Word; and: from this
appedrmvce of truth ,\instead of the truth itself, they have p^jected
a theory which denies the very attributes of God, and renders Him,
like themselveSj placable to His friends, and wmthful to His
enemies.

In this state of things a new dispensation became necessary. The ,
letter of the word was no longer available as a guide to the human
xnind ; and the spiritual sense was disclosed through the medium of
Eftianuel Swedenborg. He was prepared by the Lord foir that pur-
pose from his very infancy ; and the evidences of his mission aire to
be found in the works he published under the Divine guidance..
These works are attested by mimcles of the highest order, and such
as leave the human mind no ei^ape, but by ignoring the very facul- :
ties themselves which God has given to man. These miracles are
not evidenced by letters of fire on the sky, or by the suspension of
the laws of nature, so called, or by any thing compulsory upon the
mere bodily senses; but by evidences which address themselves to
the interior perceptions of man, and demand a tacit assent to their
Divine origin.- These evidences begin in the higher regions of the
mind, and are felt to be from a Divine source. Ihey are not merely
the thunderings and lightnings at the foot of the mount, addressed
merely to the sensual mind, and compe//m^ assent to the external
law, but the lambent flame of heavenly love from which the law pro-
ceeds, and the tone of heavenly wisdom. by w'hich it is directed. ■

Theseare indeed high claims as an expositor to, be put forth by a
human being, but they ^re no less true than exalted, and demand the
unqualified subtnission of sound reason and common sense. These

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writirtffs givm a perfect exposition of tho Word of Coil, mid oflTonl
nn infallible principle of interpretation, or exegttis, by which each

Gissage of Scripture is seen in its own light, and all in the light of
eaven. Jhe spirit is revealed through the letter, and eveiy truth
is subject to the' spiritual test. There is no escape from their con-
elusions ; the reasoning is irresistible, and the honest mind yields its
«A^v assent to these laws of Scriptural interpretation.
^ This IB strong language, you ma^ say ; but it is not so strong aft
the subject requires, because the evidences are higher than may be
contained in any niero expressions of human thought. What do you
think of a principle of interpretation which shall explain every
chapter and verse m the Word of God by on« uniform rule— which
shall read out to ydu, for instance, in plain and intelligible language,
the meaning of each and every syllable in the first ten chapters of
Genesis, and make the Apocalypse itself translucent from a Divine
source— that book which is eUe darker than the midnight sky ? The
difference between the expositions of Swedenborg and that of the
reigning Church is as the difference between the eagle flying in the
air and the serpent crawling upon the ground.

Do you ask how the word is explained ? I answer, by the use of
that language in which it was first written, and the knpwiedge of
which was suffered to lai»e in the order of Divine Providence, but is
now again restored, through a messenger chosen by the Lord for that
purpose. Thjs language is literally Divine ; it is the expression of
the Divine Mjnd from all eternity, and was read and understood by
men before bqbks and letters were the medium of thought and affec-
. tion. It is the language written all over the face of creation, where
Xevery object to the expression of a Divine thought andof a Divine
emotion. T|ii« book of natural things contains all possible know>
ledge, to tho«e who have learned to read ; its letters are the indefi^
nite things of all creation, and their combinations ^re infinite.

Originall V Ais >va» the ardy Word of God, and it w^ read fluently
and at sighlt, by the first r^ce of men, called Adam* They had an
instinctive perception of what each thing in Nature signified, or, in
other wordsl what was its name or quality. Every object in^ creation,
y^from the d^ist under their feet to the sun, moon, and stars over their
heads, hadja distinctive meaning; it was a Word of God, a^d had
its application to some thought ot emotion of the human niind;
there vms i correspondence between the external and-the intertial
man, and the whole mind was efiigied or imaged in the visibk
creation. The Creation, therefore, represented man ; and hence he \
was called the Microcosmj or the universe in miniature, because he
' partook, as it were, of all it$ parts.. ^

When man departed from innocence, Mm intuitive perception of
Ae name or quality of things was lost, by degrees, as he descended
lower and lower in the scale of being, till he finally sunk into that
grossness Of the senses which prompted him to worship the objects
of Nature themselves, instead of considering them as tiie representa- .
tives of heavenly things. At this period the Word was vyrUten,9Xii
the created word was transcribed into the written word^ and thougl<
^ embracing a continuous history, it was to written, that all things

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fhordn expressed from the iialiyml creation should correspmi to
things spiritual and Divine. By this doctrine of correspondences
there is a spirit wilhin the tetter— an internal to which the external
corresponds, and by which the Wtyd is one continuous and un«
broken series of Divine communications addressed to the internal
man. What is obscure is thus made translucent from a Divine
source, and all apparent contradictions vanish away at once. Hence
the Creation becomes alive again; it is sieen as the present work of
the Lord, and utters its innumerable voices to the living soul of
man. The letter still renmins, in all its power, for th€ natural man ;
and ho is still led by it, profitably. When no higher sense can be
discerned. This letter of the Word is holy in every part, and in-
spired as to every jot and tittle ; but its inspiration is plenary or
full, because it contains what 19 hqly within it, aiid conveys in the
spirit, or its higher sense, the expression df the Divine Mind to the
man who is progressing in , the work of regeneration. " It it the
spirit that qutckeneth, the Jlesh prqfiteth nothing; the teords that I
speak unto you, they dr« mirit,and they are life" According to
this internal sense, the Word is now made to speak a language
wlxich is dear and intelligible to all who are willin|f to learn, and
obey it. By tlie Divine mercy of the Lord, the spirit and life of
this Word are disclosed to the world on subjects hithcrta hidden
frwn the inind of man, such as l^ie nature of the resurrection of the
body, of the day of judgment, of the destruction of this earth by-
lire, and of there^vards and punishments of- Heaven and Hell. ^

Nor are the/disclosures of Swedenborg confined XS" an exposition
of the Word* Wonderful as those disclosures are; but they are con-
firmed and /illustmted by revelations from the spiritual world itself,
or by things actually seen and heard in 'the intermediate state, and
Heaven and Hell! These are established by a weight of evi-

dence, f^om reason and analogy, which makes it more difficult
doubt Aem ^an to believe them, considered on the authority of their
char^ter as rielations merely; and these, taken together with the
do<;tnnes he illustrates, leave no vront or craving 9f the human
id une»itisfied : tho'system, as a AVhole, is fuD, perfect, and com-
{et&-r" totus, teres atgue rotundus." This _wa8 a subject on which
^ihe human mind required definite and exact teachingr and which, in
tfie present state or the world, could no longer be left in doubt or
obscurity. Hence Uie Lord has fully disclosed these things ; and'it
nvust be evident to all who read these disclosures that nothmg less
than such relations from the spiritual world can now suffice to in-
fluence the' hearts of meBu The dogmatic teaching of the day has
destroyed all sensibility to impression on this subject, and the power
to influence the mind on the realities of Heaven and Hell is gone.
The veil, which concealed the future jErom 'the jpresent world, is
therefore uplifted; and men may see, iif the writings 6f Sweden-
borg, their future lot written out in living characters — a destiny
which is nei^er arbitary nor compulgory, but the natural and
\ obvious result of laws which they have voluntarily chosen to obey,
^r %o6d or evil, while upon earth. These discWsures, as they arc
read, are known to be true by higher evidcncdj than belongs to thiq

,,.■•' ■•10 . ■ ■ ■ ■ : ■■ '_

mero narration of another who hns soon and hoard ; they arc felt to
bo truo by an internal dictate — " a voico louder than nevcn thunders "
—by the voico of conscience, the voico of God.

You are, therefore, cdlled iiJ)on, my Lord, to consult the writingn
of Emanuel Swcdcnborg. You arc called upon by one who baa
deeply studied these writings himself, and who is anxious, from a
deep senfte of their inestimable value, that -others should become
ac({uaintcd with them too, and especially that those should become
cquainted ^ith them who stand in.the responsible situation of reli*
ifious teachers. It is but one voice, indeed, that calls upon you in
^us letter, but it is the voico of one thoroughly Jn earnest, of one
flimong thousonds who have imbibed these trutfn, x^ho know what
tney believe, and who are - prepared to defend them against the
orld. Bat you will soon bo called upon by otha- voices than mino
you and all the professed ministers, of truth will bo called upon to
ow some cause why you reject, or neglect to examine, or to con-
te, if you can, the testimony of a person who was accredited from
eaven to Unfold the spiritual sense of tho Scriptures, and to reveal
I detail the momentous realities of Heaven and Hell. You will be
called upon, I mean, by those Avho deny the Word itself — you \vrlt
le callea upon by them to explain its whole meaning, to reconcile its
t pprent contradictions in the letter, ond to account for its conflicting
evidence against the discoveries qf modern science. These things you
oinnot do ; and yet these are stern requisitions, and they miat be
met and answered, or the infidel will boldly meet you on your own
gtound, and vanquish you by the very weapons that he has wrested
oi^t of yoUT own nands.

The truth is, my Lord, that the first Christian Church, as a dis-
pensation, had come to its end. It is now the consummation of the
age\ translated (erroneously, as you are aware,]h the end of the world,
as p^diicted in Matthew xxiv. 3 ; and a new dispensation is arising
out 0^ the old, and which is destined to change the face of the earth,
or the state of the moral world. This is expressed as the coming of
the Son of Man in the clouds of Heaven, or as the disclosure of the
spiritual sense of the word, the light, (John xii. 34, 36,) through the
clouds of thie letter which obscure it. Hence the coming^of the 'Son
of Man, Or the light of Divino truth, is with the pow^r and great
glory of tho interior and hidden senses of the word. This dispen-
sation is the crownin?, dispensation of all others; it is the New
Heaven and the New Earth which are to remain; it is the New
Church which is to grow and thrive, while the old is to pass for
ever away. The present theological systems are like the exuvico, or
cast-off clothing, which are no longer serviceable to the Christian
world. The" existing, or recognised Church, is consummated, or
btoughl to its end ; and this is beginning to be felt by many anxious
and thou^tfol minds, enquiring more or less, ardently, where ia the
Church ? The Church that they ask for has already ceased to be,
.and what 'of good is apparently there still, is not of the old Church,
bat of the new. The old Church, as a Church, has been destroyed-
by man ; and what man has once destroyed man ni^er can restoie,
and the Lotd MVer does. He does not f e-build, but: He brings what

i >

■i

[n neto out of tho old ; and at tl^o close of any dispcnstntion He innti-
tiitcH an order of thingn which gradually and silently takes tho placo
of that which is passing away. Thu causo of the Lord is onward ;
He makes all things new, because He can do all thingi/, and knows
all things ; but tho power of man can only demolish, while thu voice
of man, from mere defect of knowledge, is comiieUed to bo dumb, or

, to utter only retrospective words.

The present parties in the Church, my Lord, arc doing this work
of demolition, and they are doing it with all ^hcir might; they nro
not leaving one stone unon another in tho Spiritual Church which
they are not throwing aown. This is in tho order of Divine Provi*
dcncc, and they aro pulling down as fast as thn Lord's New Church
is prepared to build tip. There is neither force nor violence in this
necessary work of demolition, but nil things are done according to
known laws, and in accordance with human freedom. The Lord
bends, but never breaks, the freedom of the human will ; and while
men arc contending for their distinctive creeds and systems, each
mrty, by a gradual and silent process, is undermining the other.
This work of disintegration is silently going dn, and the work is
seen now, not so much by a conflict of sects against each other, as
by internal strifo and discord among themselves. T^is is the daily
complaint in the Church of England, as you are aAwarii? for her merh-
bers are at issue on the essential principles contained^ in their very
creeds, ond the toleration of ono^ parly by the other is not even
dreamed 'of. It is war — a bitter, ceaseless hosti^ty — evidenced
among us by everything subtle and malignant; Their dogmatic
teaching needs to be reviewed, and their priesent potty strifo and
pergonal animosity to bo hushed, to rest, by the voice of doctrines
which will tell upon the temper, habits, and dispositions of men.
But these very doctrines' are rejected by the Church, and all parties,
as such, in the Church make commo/t cause against tliem, and
hence the desolation of the Church. With the reigning system of
religion there is no hope for the world ; the Church, so called, is fast
losing its power to control the thoughts and affections of men;'and
a new order of truth is required, adapted to the state of the public
mind, as the precursor and harbinger of that glorious era which is
even now dawning upon the world, and which in the Lord's good
time will change the whole structure of human society.

With this view it becomes the paramount duty of all who possess
the truth to declare it for the good of others. - Let each man speak
out what truth is in him, and in this way offer a plain refutation of
false Soctrines. Truth must be supported, at any rate ; and while

.)the reigning Church persecutes and opposes those who do so, that
Church is only completing her final consummation. The life she
still, has is the result only of what truth she yet possesses ; and this
life is feeble and dying, because much of this truth is only apparent
truth, and the residue is mixed with the false that arises from ign(h
ranee, and which, on that account, the Lord can overrule for good;
Hence many persons in that Church are better than their creeds, and
live above the system which they ignorantly think is better thaft
themselves. They do not sec that their creeds and systenu, Uiough

/ i

K ■ *

tuntaining (ho apparent truth, and thence lield by many cotiscicii*
(ioua pemonn, am still really unncriptiiml, an 7u»o tauj:i[|it, ond to bo
rejected accordingly ; and that the present dogmatic teaching leadn
of necessity to tinoclief and sin, oiid consequently to the final ruin
of the soul. How con mere thought, or the mental process, on tho
one hand, save the soul — the doctrine of faith alone f Or, on the
other, how can the mere ordinances bo rendered efficacious to land a
man in Heaven, as it were, by extreme unction ? These two systcmH
contain the all of the Church, and theso have parted /(he garmtnU
of the Jjord between them! But they cannot rend His vesture ;
they cannot destroy the spiritual seme ai the word, however thejr
may divide the literal senses, so as to lead to all kinds of conflict
and denial of the word itself. The vesture, or internal, is one ; it
is mlhout seam, woven from the top throughout.

Unittf^n the Church iq on impossibility any longer, bocauso the
Lord is denied, i. e. the oneness of His person, attd hence the spiritual

. sense of His Word, which is one also. The first Christian Church
wos to fall by degrees, as predicted, and as described in the Apictpalypse
as to itsparticular states of declension. This Church was1« be replaced
by a new one, when men were able to comprehend and accept the sole
and supremo Divinity of Jesus Christ. " At that doy ye shall ask
in my name, and no more in the name of the Fother%" The first
Christian Church could not believe that He alone was the Jehovah ;.
and if this truth had been cnforced>upon them^^ it is evident that
Christianity could not have been suijfained, since this truth is widely
denied in the Church, even at this day. In order to save Chris-
tianity, and to prevent the denial of God, the Church, therefore, ad-
mitted three persons into the Trinity, when no such expression is
founa in the Scriptures! From that Nicene Council is dated (he
fall of the first Christian Church ; and the Reformers admitted thii
fact, when they denied the authority of human councils to impose

-.creeds and to enforce belief. This was called Protestantism— the
protest against all humoin tradition and human authority ; and iii
only bond 0^ union now is an opposition to' the Papacy from which
it revolted. Left to itself, Protestantism is falling to pieces, and will
be divided into as many sects aa there are. persjons, when there arc
no longer Pjaipists or Puseyites to oppose. Protestantism claims the
right of j)rt>a/0 judgment ; and when they who have been accus-
tomed to think from the authority of others begin to think each for
himself, there will result a confusion and contradiction of opinions

'which will be faintly imaged l^y the language of Babel, and which
will call for a new dispensation of the Gospel, as the sole refuge
from a mere chaos of human thought. Then the dry land will
appear, and the first signs of v^table life will give evidence of the
New Heaven and of the New Earth, which 'ure destined to renu^in,'
as the crowning dispensation of all that have gone before. (Isaiali
Ixv. 17 to the end, and Ixvi. 22.)

St. Mil, N. n., Nor. 15, ISol,

I am, yours very truly,

R B. WIGGINS.

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