Further theological investigations.--Unwarranted statements by preachers.--John Foster's Essay on Some of the Causes by which Evangelical Religion is Rendered Distasteful to Persons of Cultivated Minds.--Introduction of similar views to the notice of my ministerial brethren.--The reception they met with.--No Church has got all the truth.--Most Churches, perhaps all, have got portions of it, which others have not.--My attempts to gather up the fragments from all.--Freedom from bigotry.--Love to all Christians.--Judging trees by their fruit.--Reading the books of various denominations, like foreign travel, liberalizes the mind.--I found truth and goodness in all denominations.--Appropriated all as part of my patrimony.--Results.--Suspicions and fears among my brethren.--Mutterings: Backbitings: Controversy. Bad feeling, 65 CHAPTER VIII. My style of preaching.--Decidedly practical.--Using Christianity as a means for making bad people into good ones, and good ones always better.--Reasons for this method.--A family trait.--Hereditary.--Great need of practical preaching.--Folly of other kinds of Preaching.--Littleness of great Preachers.--Worthlessness of great sermons.--The Truly Great are the Greatly Good and Greatly Useful.--My Models.--The Bible.--Jesus.--My Favorite Preachers.--Billy Dawson, David Stoner, James Parsons.--My Favorite Books.--The Bible--Nature.--Simple Common Sense, instructive, earnest, moving books.--How my preaching was received by the people.--Its effects on churches and congregations.--Uneasiness of my colleagues.--Fresh mutterings; tale bearings; controversies; and more bad feeling, 82 CHAPTER IX. Extracts from my Diary.--A strange preacher.--Horrible sermons.--Lights of the world that give no light.--Theological mist and smoke.--Narrow-mindedness.--Intolerance.--T. Allin,--Great preaching great folly.--A. Scott,--A good preacher.--Sanctification.--Keep to Scripture.--R. Watson: theological madness.--Big Books on the way of salvation; puzzling folks.--Antinomian utterances about Christ's work and man's salvation.--Preachers taking the devil's side; and doing his work.--Scarcity of common sense in priesthoods, and of uncommon sense.--The great abundance of nonsense and bad sense.--Common religious expressions that are false.--Favorite Hymns that are not Scriptural--Baxter's good sense, 98 CHAPTER X.