heart is produced by A VOCAL ASSENT TO THREE QUESTIONS!

Here every Christian will be disposed to pause. With amazement he will ask, "Is it possible that any, who have thus abandoned the gospel, are allowed to enter our pulpits?" It is indeed possible, and not only possible, but a mournful fact, that the ministers, who from 1826 to 1836, were celebrated in almost every part of the land as " Revival preachers," firmly held and universally inculcated these errors and made them the basis of all their instructions to the impenitent. The true doctrine of regeneration was openly abandoned and often ridiculed in their sermons. These fearful errors were inculcated in its place, and men whose hearts of stone had not been taken out of their flesh,-men, who had only the CONSENT" of the will of the flesh," were declared to be regenerated. Those whose duty it was to open the doors of the church for the entrance of converts to the Lord's table, were generally infected with the same errors. Thus it occurred that the Scriptural doctrine of regeneration was abandoned in the pulpit and neglected in the examination of candidates for admission to the church; a substitute was adopted, which led the impenitent to believe themselves to have been born of God, while they were still in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Nearly the whole community in extensive regions of the country were so deluded, that thousands were pronounced Christians, admitted to the church, and consequently believed themselves to be in the way of life, while they were in the road to death. There were, indeed, a few instances, in which a seasonable delay was admitted, to obtain credible evidence of the piety of the converts. The sun rose. They withered away. Of hundreds in these instances, who were pronounced to be converts, scarcely an individual afterwards was admitted to the church, or gave any evidence of being a child of God. But generally all this mass of impenitence, ignorance, and pride, was received into the church; and her spirituality decayed and the pure waters of the sanctuary were polluted.

Let it not be said, that this system of doctrine and operations was of very limited extent. By books, religious

*The peculiar views of regeneration exposed by the writer of this article, have been indeed of no limited extent. They are the views of those very large portions of the Pres

newspapers, tracts and letters it has penetrated sections of the country, where its authors and promoters were never seen. It has thus infected individuals in hundreds of congregations, into whose pulpits its patrons could never gain admission. But the personal operations of these men have not been very limited either in their extent or duration. In large tracts of the United States it is hardly possible to find a pulpit into which they have not been admitted. Who has not heard of the Reverend Mr. Finney, and his protracted

byterian and Congregational churches, which compose what is now properly denominated the New Haven School of Theology. Their views on regeneration have been sufficiently developed and defended by Mr. Finney, Dr. Cox, Mr. Duffield, and by the writers in the Christian Spectator. These authors agree in ridiculing and blaspheming the views of all preceding orthodox divines on this subject, and have treated this great doctrine of evangelical religion with more severity than we remember to have witnessed from Socinians and open infidels. They agree in denying that any holiness is implanted in the heart of man in regeneration, which is the source of holy acts, or that any such holiness is predicable of man-they not only ridicule the old doctrine that regeneration is what may with propriety be called a moral change in man which lays the foundation for holy acts, but while with Dr. Emmons, they make regeneration the act of the creature, they hold in opposition to him, that it is not the result of divine efficiency, leaving it to be merely an act of the creature himself. Those who have embraced the sentiments of the New Haven school have every where given substantially the same views of regeneration and spiritual religion, which have been exposed by the writer of this article. We regard them as fundamentally erroneous and directly calculated to ruin immortal souls: and we believe that those who have encouraged deluded beings to trust in such a change as making them meet for heaven, have deceived them to their eternal ruin, and taken upon themselves the responsibility. We regard these views as utterly subversive of all spiritual religion-making it a chimera. We uniformly find, that those who deny that there can be any sinful principles or affections inherent in man's nature, or a holy principle implanted there, are also compelled to trace all holiness and sin to the acts of an innocent principle of self-love-making this the heart with which we love both God and the world, with which we seek the honor which comes from men and that which comes from God only

meetings in Rochester, in the First church in Auburn, in Rome, in Utica, in Troy, in the Fourth church in Albany and in almost every other prominent pulpit in the central and western parts of the State of New York? Who has not heard of his operations in Providence? and of his being brought to Boston and introduced to the churches by the Rev. Dr. Beecher, and the Rev. Dr. Wisner and proclaimed by the latter as THE HOLIEST MAN, he had ever seen? Who has not heard of his six months' campaign against

with which a person loves his brother and hates him, with which he forgives injuries or revenges them-we solemnly believe that this system palsies the conscience by annihilating the distinction between good and evil, holiness and sin; it certainly explains away all Scriptural views of Christian piety. But this system has been extending itself with little opposition through the Presbyterian and Congregational churches. Evidences of its existence and extension have been increasing for the past eight years-but yet the press is silent and it is far more unpopular to express any alarm on this subject, than to profess the errors. No religious newspaper in New York or New England ventures to express any concern about the matter, or to consider it a matter of any consequence. These pretended revivals, produced by these errors which have beyond doubt been the most systematic and extensive schemes of delusion ever known in this coun

try, have been blazoned forth as real and genuine. We regard this silence as inconsistent with the duties of editors, whether they consider the system as important truth or fundamental error, for there can be no medium in this case. If it be truth, their patrons have a right to expect from those who have undertaken to chronicle the history of its progress and influence, some accounts of its extension and achievements. If they regard it as dangerous error, we consider such a course as unfaithfulness to their patrons and criminal treachery to that cause which they profess to espouse. Should a foreign enemy effect a landing on our shores-establish forts in every important position-gain over large numbers of our citizens and aim at the complete subjugation of our country; and should our political editors remain silent, or profess to disbelieve that an enemy, which had spread through the country for years, had even landed, in whose in terests should we feel authorized to reckon such editors, could we suppose such silence tolerated by the communityin those of the enemy or ours? EDITOR.

the remains of orthodoxy in the city of the Cottons, the Wils ns, and the Mathers? Who has not heard of his introduction to very many of the pulpits in the city and the v cinity, not excepting the church in Andover, where the venerable Phillips once preached, and the Calvinistic Abbot worshipped? who has not heard of the support which he received in his work from prominent ministers of Boston, of their notable defence of his error, when they were clearly exposed and plainly refuted by the intrepid Rand? Who has not heard of Mr. Finney's labors in Wilmington, in Philadelphia, and especially during many years in the city and vicinity of New York? Who has not heard of him in the north of Ohio, with his vast tent, and also in the school of the prophets at Oberlin? Who has not heard of the Rev. Mr. Burchard as laboring in Utica, Clinton, Cazenovia, Binghamton, Homer, Buffalo, the First church in Auburn, Rochester, Poughkeepsie, the city of New York, and various other places in the state? Who has not heard of him in New Brunswick, N. J., in Middlebury and Burlington and many other prominent towns in Vermont? Who has not heard of his doings in the vicinity of Dartmouth College? Who is ignorant that the whole western part of Massachusetts was invaded and perverted at least for a time by an evangelist of this order? Who does not understand, that in several of these districts of the United States, the gardens and fields of Zion have been so trodden under foot by a multitude of the inferior ones in the order of evangelists, that scarcely a healthful plant of righteousness shoots forth? Nor is it proper to pass in silence over the northern portions of Pennsylvania, and extensive tracts in some of the north western, as well as the south western parts of the country. Under such doctrines and administrations, so widely extended and so zealously inculcated, it is not wonderful that there is an alarming dearth of spirituality in the churches.

ART. II.-CHARACTER OF ARMINIUS.

JAMES ARMINIUS, a native of Cudewater, South Holland, lived in the sixteenth century.

The circumstances of his early life did much to fit him for the part he acted.

Difficulties were his constant attendants. Deprived of parental guidance and all near relatives, he was wholly dependent upon patrons for the means of acquiring an education, secured to him by the promise he gave of future success and usefulness.

His devotedness to literary pursuits during the six years he spent at Leyden, distinguished him as a scholar, and made him the favorite of his instructors. As a leader among his associates he acquired dexterity of management and confidence in his own opinions. This gave him ample means to gratify his ruling passion, the love of popularity. Nor was his reputation for brilliant talents confined to the University. It inclined the magistrates of Amsterdam to send him, at their own expense, to Geneva to finish his studies.

His principal instructor here was the celebrated Beza, the friend and successor of Calvin. This judicious, discriminating man looked in a more serious light upon those traits of character that had given Arminius prominence among his companions.

He saw that he was ardent, rash, and daring-that he was actuated too much by a love of novelty, and paid too little deference to the experience and talents of othersthat he was exceedingly fond of metaphysical speculations. He saw his danger, and advised one of Arminius' friends to warn him against it. "It is a thing," said Beza, " that satan often makes use of to mislead distinguished men. Do not engage in vain subtleties. If certain thoughts, which are new, suggest themselves to your mind, do not approve them without having thoroughly investigated them, whatever pleasure it may at first afford you. Calvin gave me this advice: I have followed it and always found it exceedingly good." Happy would it have been for Arminius and the church of God, had he followed this advice.