EVANGELICAL MAGAZINE, AND Theological Review. AUGUST, 1822. . ESSAY ON BIGOTRY; TO WHICH THE PREMIUM OF BOOKS WAS AWARDED. for its tomb, which is much more than a century old; nor am I aware exactly how to account for this singular fact, but on the supposition, that, before this period, people had a greater sense of propriety than to write epitaphs for any beside the dead. It is remarkable that all, even those who cherish Bigotry the most fondly, yet fully agree, that she is a most horrid monster; this indeed will be abundantly apparent, if we consider only for a moment what she is, and what she has done. Sometimes she has appeared unmasked, in all her native hideousness; false, and cruel, and detestable, kindling her accursed firebrands at the flames of hell, and with unsparing and relentless hand, scattering ruin and death through the finest portions of the habitable globe. At other times she has assumed the garb of an angel of light, and, with the fairest professions, she has reigned, whilst she seemed to have but little influence, and secretly, silently, and effectually accomplished her infernal purposes. Bigotry, political, literary, and religious, exists among all ranks and professions.* In reference to religion alone it is now presented for our consideration. Infidels, under the specious veil of universal candour, have proved themselves the most execrable of bigots. In Bigotry, written by an able hand, would, I am 2 F 66 France, a few years since, the sun of revelation underwent a total eclipse; the very sabbath was abolished, and death was proclaimed to be an eternal sleep. Infidelity and atheism were indeed awfully triumphant; but instead of its promised candour, and boundless toleration, the most hideous bigotry, crimes of gigantic magnitude, and horrible and unheard of massacres, were indeed the order of the day. Cruel," says one who had the best opportunities for obtaining the most correct information on the subject, "as the aspect of the former government of France had been to the servants of Christ, the little finger of the monster infidelity, was found to be thicker than its predecessor's loins. The mouth of every confessor of the truth was stopped. The religious meetings among the Protestants were forced to be discontinued, and every Protestant minister was compelled to abandon his station. The goddess of reason was exalted to be worshipped, and private libraries were ransacked and pillaged of their religious books. Every Bible which could be found was burnt. Good writings of the old Reformers, or distinguished Protestants, were preserved from the universal destruction, only by being buried in the ground, The people were compelled to work openly on the Sundays, and punished by law if they did not, in order, if possible, to obliterate every trace that remained of the sanctification of the Sabbath-day. Such was the liberal and tolerating spirit of the infidel philosophy." blood of the Lord Jesus, or by their own imaginary or real virtues, are with them, matters of no great importance. To compliment one another, as being doubtless in the road to eternal bliss, though there may be no deadness to sin, no life to righteousness, no affectionate attachment to the Saviour, and no ardent love to his blessed commands, is all that is deemed necessary, provided the external conduct be somewhat decent and polite. This view of the subject is, however, grossly erroneous. Indifference to the truth does by no means necessarily imply freedom from Bigotry, and certainly is not Christian candour. A man may hold the truth of God with a firm hand, so as never to surrender a single particle of it, and yet be no Bigot. If conscientious, undeviating, and intrepid attachment to truth be bigotry, then Christ, his apostles, and the noble army of martyrs, were some of the worst bigots that have ever disgraced our world. The individual who dares follow the plain dictates of God's holy word wherever they may lead him, may, and most likely will, be derided as a Bigot; but he has done nothing for which he ought to be branded with this opprobious epithet. The person who tells me, that Jesus is a mere fallible, peccable man,-that his blood has no peculiar merit in the sight of God, and has no connexion whatever with the remission of sin,—that disobedience to the divine commands is a trifling evil,-that we are at liberty to reject, modify, or treat with indifference, any even of the minor precepts of divine Indeed, a person who manifests any revelation,-and that, if I do not bow zeal for the diffusion of infidel senti- to his authority, and believe his asserments, must necessarily possess a con- tions, I am a bigot,-excites in my bosiderable degree of Bigotry. "The do- som no emotions but those of pity. I minion of Christianity," says the elo- would be far, however, very far, from quent Robt. Hall, "being in the very doing, or even wishing, any injury to essence of it, the dominion of virtue, such an individual; on the contrary, I we need look no farther for the sources would be sincerely concerned for his of hostility in any who oppose it, than present and eternal welfare. But I their attachment to vice and disorder." would grasp my Bible, and tell him, Many have made large claims to the that Jesus made the world, John i. 10. exclusive possession of that Christian-that he was God, manifest in the candour, which is the opposite of Bi- flesh, 1 Tim. iii. 16.-that he was woundgotry, whilst they have strenuously in-ed for our transgressions, that the Lord culcated an entire and awful indifference to the truth. Whether Christ he truly divine, or merely man,-whether men are to be saved by the atoning hath laid on him the iniquity of us all, Isa. liii. 5, 6.-that his blood cleanseth from all sin, 1 John i. 7-that it is an evil and bitter thing to sin against God, * Mr. Robt. Haldane's speech on the behalf of the Continental Society, in the New Evangel. Mag. for 1821, p. 156. and that the wages of sin is death, I monstrous claim, or he may reasonably Rom. vi. 23.-and that he who shall expect to meet with unqualified and break one of the least of Christ's com- merited contempt. Such a disposition mandments, and shall teach men so, is entirely unsanctioned by Scripture, shall be called least in the kingdom of which enjoins us to love our neighbour heaven, Matt. v. 19. O no, a firm as ourselves,-and by right reason also, attachment to the truth of God as re- since it is not doing to others as we vealed in the Scriptures, is a noble prin- would have them do to ourselves. ciple, of divine origin, implanted in the Christianity, not that indeed of blind human heart by God hiníself, and is interested bigots, but the Christianity indeed infinitely removed from that of the New Testament, is most emphaodious thing we justly denominate tically, love. He cannot be a Christian, Bigotry. notwithstanding all his professions, who does not love his fellow-creatures. It cannot excite wonder that a produce so corrupt as Bigotry, should be found on the malignant tree of infidelity; for no one can rationally expect "to gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles;" but that so hateful a production should be found among professing Christians, may indeed be justly regarded as matter of astonishment.And yet, "Tell it not in Gath, publish it not in the streets of Askelon, lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, lest the uncircumcised triumph." Its dwelling is among the sons of God,-it has taken up its abode in the professing church, there it appears "in double shape, Half is a murd'ring wolf, and half a mimic ape." The man who employs abusive or improper terms in defending his sentiments, though they may be just and scriptural, is chargeable with Bigotry This practice was shamefully common about the time of the Reformation, and even among the principal Reformers. Luther, I think, rather excelled Calvin in this unenviable art, though Calvin was but too well skilled in it.* The Scriptures utterly discountenance such a practice. It is said, that Michael durst not bring a railing accusation even against Satan, but only said, "The Lord rebuke thee!" Our Lord declared that whosoever should call "his brother a fool, should be in danger of hell fire." And was not his glorious example in perfect harmony with his charming instructions? It was. "When reviled, he reviled not again,when rebuked, he threatened not; but committed himself to him who judgeth righteously." Christianity needs not that such unhallowed weapons should be used in its defence. Its noblest and most successful champions have scorned to gird on any other armour, than such as is "lovely, and of good report." If the Bible be our guide, we shall be sin That he who detests, or is evidently un-cerely concerned to speak the truth in friendly to any person because he is not altogether of his opinion, is a bigot. A Christian ought to regard the whole of the human race as children of one common father, according to our Lord's instructions in the parable of the Good Samaritan, and to treat every one with kindness. When an individual virtually, if not really, stands up, and says, I expect every one to believe as I believe, and to affirm what I affirm, or I will avoid, proscribe, and persecute him, he should produce his authority for this Yes, lamentable to relate, it has been love. And if the dictates of reason influence us, instead of those of Bigotry, we shall never forget that, if we could collect all the abusive epithets that have ever been recorded, or even imagined, we might with the strictest propriety affirm, that collectively they prove nothing but our own depravity. The individuals, or parties, who anathe' matize all that are not of their own communin, are bigots. Our Lord's own disciples manifested somewhat of this unhallowed disposition, when they saw a * The late Bishop Warburton, speaking of Mr. Romaine, says, " This is the scound) el I wrote to, but the poor devil has done his own business.” Warburton's Lellers. person casting out devils, and they forbad him, for no better reason than this, because he followed not with them; the Saviour reproved them, and bade them recollect, that "he who is not against us is for us." The Pharisees, with boundless pride and Bigotry, stood up, and said, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Loid are we!" and boldly and impiously pronounced those who differed from them, or who were not possessed of their religious knowledge, accursed. The Roman Catholic church is notorious for its anathemas against all who are without its intolerant pale. The following is the language of one of its councils, and its conduct has ever been in unison with its professed sentiments: "Whosoever, therefore, is separated from the Catholic church, notwithstanding his conduct in other respects may be excellent, he shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."* A similar disposition and conduct has ever been manifested by all worldly establishments of religion. A large proportion of their adherents, with the most entire complacency, unite with the intolerant Daubeny in giving up the numerous millions who dissent from them, to use their own language, "to the uncovenanted mercies of God." Such men seem to find a pleasure in cursing their fellow-creatures. Thus the old chancellor Tellier, in the reign of Louis XIV. earnestly entreated that the most Christian king would hasten the revocation of the edict of Nantz, lest he should leave the world without the extatic pleasure of putting his seal to it. How an event that was to deprive two millions of people, and of his countrymen too, of their liberties, and of all that was most dear to them, and consign im mense multitudes to captivity, and extreme torture, could afford any one enjoyment, it is indeed difficult to conceive. What a perversity, what an infatuation of understanding! what a depravity of heart! what monstrous cruelty! The Danish bishop, who wished to be transformed into a devil, that he might have the exquisite delight of tormenting in hell the heretic soul of king Frederic, appears indeed to have been a very near relative of this miserable individual. This anathematizing spirit is in the highest degree mean, ungenerous, unrighteous and abominable, and is the very essence of Bigotry. Where is there any reason in cursing all who may differ from us in matters of comparatively inferior moment, when it is an unques tionable fact, that excellent men, real Christians, the friends of God and of the human race, have been found among all denominations of professing Christians, not even excepting the Roman Catholic community, obviously the most corrupt on the face of the earth? And assuredly the Scriptures do not in the smallest degree sanction this detestable conduct, since they affirm, and that too in the plainest manner, that those who repent of their transgressions, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and obey his commandments, shall, whether anathematized or not, be finally and eternally saved. The Bigot very frequently expends his principal zeal on trivial things, whilst he neglects matters of the highest importance.§ This was evidently the case with the Pharisees; our Lord sharply reproved them on this account: Woe," said he, "unto you Scribes and Pharisees! for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and have omitted the weightier * Quisquis ergo ab hac Catholica ecclesia fuerit separatus, quantumlibet laudabiliter se vivere existimet, non habebit vitam, sed ira Dei manet super eum. Conc. Numid. A. D. 412. It is well remarked by R. Robinson, that" if right reason and religion were to compose a just title for such a man, it might call him, a most inhuman tyrant; certainly it would not call him "a most Christian king." Bossuet says, in reference to the part Tellier had in the revocation, "Il scella avec une extreme satisfaction, et en rependant des larmes de joye, la declaration qui abrogeoit cet ancien Edit; et temoigna, comme le saint vieillard Simeon, qu'il sortoit du monde dans la paix et la consolation, apres avoir vu l'accomplissment de ses souhaits" Bossuet Orais. Funeb. p. 128. § The contentions of Bigotry are often on as trivial subjects as those named by the Roman poet Castor sciat an Docilis plus; matters of the law, judgment, mercy, | and faith; these ought ye to have done, and not to have left the other undone. Ye blind guides! which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel!" Mat. xxiii. 23, 24. He is a Bigot, whose conduct makes it evident, that his chief aim is the establishment of a party, or the gratification of worldly dispositions, and not the further ance of the truth. An individual of this class, and, unfortunately, it is very numerous, may be readily known by the following plain and infallible marks: he obstinately refuses to do any manner of good, however he may have it in his power, and whatever opportunities may be presented to him, out of his own community. Present to him a case for the support of schools in some part of our own dominions, where the people are enveloped in the grossest superstition and darkness, and in which no books whatever, beside the New Testament, and an introductory primer, perfectly unexceptionable, are used, and he may admire your benevolence, and has nothing to say against the charity, but he cannot, that is, his excessive bigotry will not let him do a generous actionhe cannot do any thing out of his church. Ask for his aid in the translation of the Scriptures for gratuitous distribution among the millions of the perishing heathen, and still, though it is exceedingly difficult to imagine how, in the remotest manner, his church could possibly be injured, and still he sings the same song, he cannot, no indeed he cannot, do any thing out of his church. Bigotry, unrelenting, downright Bigotry, seals his pocket up so closely, that no effort, however urgent and impressive, can open it, and steels his heart so impenetrably, that it is but rarely conscious of a single generous and compassionate feeling, towards the multitudes of his fellow-creatures who are immersed in wretchedness and barbarism. Much praise is due to the liberality and kindness of many gentlemen, who, though not altogether agreeing with an * applicant in every religious sentiment, have nevertheless freely and nobly contributed to the erection of places for the spread of the gospel, or the accommodation of Christian worship. It must, however, also be owned, that a very offensive spirit of Bigotry has been sometimes manifested on these occasions. When a minister, in reply to enquiry, has acknowledged that he belonged to the Baptist denomination, the very mention of the term has excited a torrent of abuse on the individual himself, and on the body of Christians to whom he has belonged. Now, is this doing as we would be done unto? Is not such a conduct a grievous sin even against common courtesy? Would not a well-bred individual, of no pretensions to piety, disdain such ungenerous conduct? And is a person to be justified, in regarding a respectable stranger, asking aid in the cause of Christ, with contempt or ill-treatment, because he has the courage to think for himself in matters of religion, and the honesty to avow that he does so? Does not the person who thus demeans himself, loudly say, "How dare you differ, even a single shade, from so distinguished a personage as myself?" Is this the spirit of Christianity? Is this a practical regard of his instructions, who bade the greatest in his family become the servant of all? It is no extenuation of the fault of such an individual, to say, that he is a man of consequence and wealth, and a very useful person. This is an aggravation of his guilt; for on these accounts it is more imperatively incumbent on him to adopt a line of conduct, at once amiable, conciliatory, liberal, and condescending. Such behaviour is both ungentlemanlike, and unchristian, and is the evident and most offensive offspring of Bigotry. A distinguished feature of another individual in this class, is, that all principles must give way to his worldly interests. Thus he is zealous in his professions of attachment to his church, and cannot speak with any temper of those who dissent from her communion, * Names in themselves are surely very harmless, and serve merely to distinguish the respective denominations of Christians. But, abstractedly considered, the term Baptist is at least, quite as important, expressive, excellent, and harmless, as that of Independent. It is the infallible mark of a mean and bigotted spirit, to use either of them as epithets of reproach and scorn. The sentiment of our great dramatic writer is obviously correct. "that we call a rose, By any other name, would smell as sweet." |