The modern Transcendental views of inspiration, which have made so much noise of late, differ substantially very little from those of Dr. Priestly, and other Unitarian writers, from his day to the present. I will quote from a recent publication of this new school,* that the reader may see how far they agree with those of Dr. Priestly, already mentioned. Speaking of the Books of the Old Testament, and the faith of Christians in their infallible inspiration, this writer says,

"But modern criticism is fast breaking to pieces

fiction of some early Gentile convert, who hoped, by elevating the dignity of the founder, to abate the popular prejudice against the sect."

AMERICAN WRITERS.

CHRISTIAN EXAMINER." There was a time in the dark ages, when it was maintained, we cannot say believed, for the proposition does not admit of being believed, that the whole Bible, including the historical books of the Old Testament, was a revelation."

"His reasoning (the writer of Hebrews) cannot be regarded as of any force, by an intelligent reader of the present day."

"The words of Christ were reported from memory by the Evangelists, and not always with perfect accuracy."

These are only a specimen of what may be found scattered through this work in a great variety of forms, as well as in other Unitarian works; all of which go to show that the sentiments expressed in the South Boston Ordination Sermon, concerning inspiration, are not a new developement of Unitarianism, but the same form that it had from the beginning; with, perhaps, the difference hinted by the author himself, that he comes out with it openly before the people, while others may confine it to the study, and to learned discussions.

* Mr. Parker's Ordination Sermon.

...

this idol, which men have made out of the Scriptures. It has shown. . . . . that their authors, wise as they sometimes were, pious as we feel often their spirit to have been, had only that inspiration which is common to other men, equally pious and wise; that they were by no means infallible; but were mistaken in facts and reasoning; and uttered predictions which time has not fulfilled." "The history of opinions on the New Testament," he continues, "is quite similar. It has been assumed at the outset, it would seem with no sufficient reason, without the smallest pretence on its writers' part, that all of its authors were infallibly and miraculously inspired, so that they could commit no error of doctrine or fact. Men have been bid to close their eyes at the obvious difference between Luke and John; the serious disagreement between Paul and Peter."

The writer goes on at considerable length in this strain, and even intimates that Christ himself was mistaken in predicting his second coming. His ideas of revelation, if I understand him, are the same in regard to the truths of religion, as to the truths of science; for he puts the sacred writers on a level with the discoverers of the principles and facts of natural science.

But such a revelation as this would be no revelation at all. It does not meet the moral necessities of man. It gives him no authority to which he can appeal as a standard of truth, and of right and wrong. It leaves him still upon the boundless ocean of conjecture, without oar or rudder, or any beacon to direct his course. It is not a whit better than that Deism or natural religion, which denies all revelation. But, a

revelation, to meet the wants of man, must be a direct communication of the divine will, imparting a knowledge of those facts and doctrines which it is necessary for us to know, which can be appealed to as of divine authority. Nothing else will satisfy the mind of man. It is reasonable to expect such a revelation from a beneficent being to his dependent creatures. And, though the writer last quoted says that "the current notions respecting the inspiration of the Bible have no foundation in the Bible itself ;" and triumphantly asks, "which evangelist, which apostle of the New Testament, what prophet or psalmist of the Old Testament, ever claims infallible authority for himself or for others?" Yet, this is precisely what they claim for themselves and for each other; and if they were honest men, and spoke the truth, it must follow that they were in such a sense inspired that God spake by them, so that what they wrote is the infallible word of God. This will appear,

(1.) From the direct assertions of the writers themselves. Moses himself represents that God spake to him face to face, and communicated to him his will. Joshua asserts in the beginning of his book, that the Lord spake to him. Samuel gives an account of the manner in which the Lord first revealed himself to him, and represents that this was continued, so that the people resorted to him to hear the word of the Lord. David said, "The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and his word was in my tongue." And every one of the prophetical books except Daniel, and that is partly historical, begins with the direct announcement of the inspiration of the author, and generally in

,

this simple form,-the word of the Lord came to such a prophet; thus professing not only to speak in the name of the Lord, but to speak the words which came to him from God by direct inspiration. The same is true, also, of the New Testament. Though the writers of the gospel narratives nowhere expressly claim this inspiration; yet it is implied in the promise of the Saviour, recorded by John, that, when the spirit of truth should come, he would guide them into all truth; that he should teach them all things, and bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had said unto them ;* and Luke's narrative of the Acts of the Apostles gives a particular account of the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the inspiration of the apostles; and though Mark and Luke were not apostles, yet we have no evidence that this inspiration was then confined to the twelve apostles; and we know, moreover, that both these evangelists were the companions of inspired apostles, the one of Paul, and the other of Peter, under whose superintendence they must have prepared their narratives. Paul repeatedly declares the fact of his own inspiration. In his epistle to the Galatians, he says, respecting the gospel which he preached, "I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." The same asser-. tion he repeats in his epistle to the Ephesians; and in his first epistle to the Corinthians, he declares that even the words of his gospel were dictated by the Holy Spirit-"Which things," says he, "also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but

* John 14: 26; 16: 13.

which the Holy Ghost teacheth." How strange that, with all these declarations before him, any man should presume to assert that the sacred writers make no claim to infallible divine inspiration! But,

(2.) The sacred writers not only claim this for themselves, but for each other. The writer alluded to, again asks, "Did Christ ever demand that men should assent to the doctrines of the Old Testament, credit its stories, and take its poems for histories ?" To this it may be replied, that, in all his ministry, he assumes, and takes for granted the fact of the divine inspiration of the Old Testament Scriptures. He appeals to them, and so do the evangelists, continually in this expressive form: "It is written "-implying that what he referred to as being written was of unquestioned authority. He does not, indeed, assert their inspiration in so many words; for that was unnecessary, when the fact was not disputed. Again, he refers the Jews to their own Scriptures, as testifying of himself. No one can attentively and candidly examine these frequent appeals of Christ to the Scriptures then existing, without the fullest conviction that he regarded them as the word of God. But there is one place in which he distinctly recognizes the several parts of the Old Testament Scriptures, thus showing that he regarded all the books then included in the Jewish canon, (which are the same as those now included in the Old Testament) as being of divine authority. After the resurrection, as recorded by Luke, he declares that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets,