The Sheepfold and the Common; Or, Within and Without. Vol. 2 (of 2)East, Timothy
Religion
The Sheepfold and the Common; Or, Within and Without. Vol. 2 (of 2)
East, Timothy
Christian life; Christian life -- Pictorial works
_Mr. Stevens._--"Most certainly, Sir; and by your permission I will
now read you a paragraph with which I was very forcibly struck when
I first lighted upon it. The author is speaking of bigotry, and he
says, 'This sectarian and intolerant spirit can view no excellence
out of its own pale, and deems every opinion heresy that does not
bow to its authority. Its plans of doing good always betray the
selfishness of their origin; and unable from its very nature to
form designs commensurate with the grandeur of religion and the
necessities of the world, it not only refuses to co-operate with
Christians of another party in promoting the well-being of society
and the advancement of religion, but contemplates with jealousy and
often with abhorrence, the noblest efforts of benevolence, when not
performed under its exclusive auspices. Persons governed by such a
spirit cannot view with complacency the separate divisions of the
universal church, though there is nothing in their constitution
that necessarily militates against _the unity of the spirit_ and
_the bond of peace_. This unlovely bigotry narrows the range of
the intellect--perverts and contracts the best affections--and,
under its influence, even good men forget the charities of their
renewed nature, and sometimes prostitute their talents to bear
false witness against each other. To this bigotry, that religion,
whose very essence is love, is directly opposed. Christians who
imbibe the spirit of the New Testament, and who suffer that holy
book to operate with full force upon their minds, are distinguished
by a noble freedom from sectarian antipathies. They can say from
the heart, 'Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ in
sincerity.' Without verging to the extreme of latitudinarian
indifference, they can rejoice in the success of parties different
from their own, and they do not complain because 'devils are cast
out by those who follow not with them.' Every man is a friend and a
brother who consecrates his being to the glory of the Saviour, and
every society a church in whose temple Jesus evidently records his
name.'"
_Rev. Mr. Roscoe._--"Yes, Sir, I am conscious that a pious man,
who possesses the pure spirit of his religion, is at once the most
useful and the most happy man. As his happiness arises from sources
more refined than those to which the men of the world have access,
his usefulness is of a more important and more durable nature.
I remember an observation which was once made on a friend of my
own, when he withdrew from a select company to which he had been
communicating some benevolent scheme--'When he visits us he always
leaves something behind that is worth thinking of and worth talking
about.'"
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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