Religion. IS SECTARIANISM OBSTRUCTIVE TO CHRISTIANITY? AFFIRMATIVE ARTICLE.-I. "Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand."-Matthew xii. 25. 66 ; In the consideration of the question under discussion, we propose to base our arguments upon the above statement of Holy Writ. We will deduce our conclusions after an impartial survey of the effects which sectarianism has had upon Christianity. We have nothing to do with any theories as to what sectarianism should do and might do, we take it as it is-analyze its pretensions, and test it by what it has done. Christians are men who are, professedly, followers of Christ. Sectarianism introduces amongst them the elements of discord and uncharitableness therefore Christianity, or the cause of Christ, must necessarily suffer. It cannot be otherwise; for the Saviour, under whose banner each sect is professedly fighting, himself tells us, that 'every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation." If we can only prove undeniably that sectarianism has divided and is still dividing Christ's kingdom into an innumerable series of hostile bodies, fighting with greater energy against each other than against the enemies of their Master, the conclusion that it is bringing Christianity to desolation is inevitable. If we succeed in showing how fiercely rampant is this spirit of discord amongst all sectaries, we must not be supposed to select for condemnation or approval any particular body of the Christian world. We believe that, however unfortunate may be the fact that instead of one Christian church, we have Christians split up into denominations innumerable-into High Church and Low Church, Lutherism and Calvanism, Methodism and Latitudinarianism, ad infinitum-each and all have some good points in their church polity or sectarian belief. They have one object in common; and what we lament is, that such small differences of opinion in respect to some minor points, unconnected with the salvation of our souls, should introduce those elements of discord, vain disputation, and ill-will into the Christian world, which cause Christianity to appear, in the eyes of the infidel, a worthless thing. “The Bible tells you to love your enemies; and yet, if I look around, I find not only single individuals, but whole sects of Christians, condemning those who disagree with their particular form of belief, or refuse to adhere to their religious creed, to eternal ruin.” This is no supposition on our part; we have heard these or similar words uttered many times by men professing no religion, yet who followed the dictates of the Bible in many particulars with far more exactness than a large proportion of our professing Christians. How comes this? The answer seems easy. The Church has lost its influence; men no longer allow themselves to be guided; they must be allowed to steer their own courses through life, to frame their own religious creeds, and carry into practice their own codes of morals. Religion has ceased to be, having lost its dominant power over the hearts of men. The cold formalism and 'the fierce intolerance of sectarianism have been for years insidiously sapping the foundations of the church of Christ. It may be argued that never before was there such an amount of apparent religion and morality in the world as at present. Granted. But it is all theoretic. Religious doctrines we have in abundance; moral precepts and injunctions are equally numerous; but-and here comes the drawback-we are no longer sensible to their teachings; we believe, it is true, but have commenced not to care for the practical exemplification of our belief. This latter evidence of Christianity is exhibited homoeopathically. Indeed, it is astonishing what a small amount of vital religion is considered sufficient to be mixed up with our doings in real life. Faith there is in abundance; but it is invested in the pursuits in which we are severally engaged. For this faith in the worldly maxims which point out in the distance that wealth which all are striving to obtain, men submit to privations and hardships innumerable. But how few are the men who have faith in things spiritual sufficiently strong to enable them to live up to the theoretic creeds and principles of morality they profess. Is not the religion of the counting-house distinct from the religion of the chapel? Are not opinions that are groaned over in the House of Prayer applauded in the Houses of Parliament? The devout merchant, driven by vulgar necessities to enter the world of trade, is contented to take it as it is. There are things therein decidedly wrong; but now they are there, why should he decline to profit by them? The coolness with which such individuals will resort to the lowest usages of trade is perfectly astounding. Peace is being constantly preached in our places of worship; in private life the glory and the pomp of war are constant topics of conversation. Human blood is no more thought of than so much dirty water. Our officers write home from India describing the "jolly fun," the "capital sport," they have had. They talk as coolly of cutting down human bodies as they would of "beasts that perish." One has gone so far as to constitute himself professional executioner. And all this is done with the full concurrence of the people. Our religious newspapers fill their columns with letters teeming with such expressions as above quoted. The press and the platform go hand-in-hand in stirring up the evil feelings of our nature; and they tell us, practically, that the Bible is not always to be followed in its teachings. We boast of being Christians, and yet those amongst us who have asked that the innocent should be spared, that none but those proved guilty should be punished, are ridiculed as milksops, and denounced as traitors. The destruction of populous villages, and the wholesale massacre of their inhabitants, are applauded by the religious world as a righteous retaliation, So much for our Christianity. We have one religion for the church or chapel, another for the world. Is not sectarianism at the bottom of this fearful distinction between things mundane and things eternal? Has it not broken up that which should be a grand UNITY into infinite fragments? That beautiful fabric, THE CHURCH, in which our forefathers, the early Christians, worshipped, is now a ruin; sects after sects are further demolishing the temple, and attempting to build up edifices of their own from the wreck they have made. Sectarians point to the innumerable chapels and meeting-houses thus raised and scattered throughout the land as an evidence of the vitality of religion amongst us. How false, how fallacious is such a method of reasoning! Why, one-half of the so-called houses of God owe not their elevation to the love for Christianity and its teaching, but to base and unchristian feelings. They originate in what is called 66 a split," which is nothing more or less than a religious row." What a contradiction of terms! Professing Christians, who are told to love their enemies, cannot dwell in unity amongst themselves; they quarrel; members of the same family cool towards each other; they form separate bodies, and immediately is formed " the old cause and "the new cause. The new lights set to work to erect a chapel of their own, and select a site, in many cases, as near as possible to the old one, thus proving to the uninterested observer, how dominant an element was spite in the midst of the confusion. Is it possible that out of such an unchristian commencement good can come ? We have no need to point to any particular instances as illustrations of what we have said. In every town there are perpetual monuments of the evils of sectarianism, in the shape of unsightly piles, ycleped chapels. The animosities which sprang out of the great Wesleyan "split" are familiar to every one; but the minor "splits," that are perpetually occurring in every town of any importance, in reality are of a far more dangerous character. We boast of our liberty and tolerance, and yet how humiliated ought we to feel that the fruits proceeding therefrom have been so injurious to the cause of Christ! How many of our religious edifices are but "whited sepulchres," their very 66 presence being practically to deny the truth of our Saviour's assertion as to the unity of his religion. They are witnesses continually announcing to the world our intolerance, our bigotry, and our uncharitableness. Sectarianism, instead of leading men to worship God, exerts its greatest influence in making them adherents of some particular cause. As Carlyle expresses it, "to make people sectarians and Christians has become the primary object" of the present age. The style of preaching in vogue is of a declamatory and speculative character. More stress is laid upon the errors of other sects than upon the desirability of a Christian life. Instead of one Pope we have hundreds, each laying down the immutability and infallibility of his particular creed. Like rival potentates, they view with envy the successful sway of any one amongst them belonging to a different form of church government. They try to gain converts to swell the number of their adherents, more than from the desire to serve God. Instead of being able to say with Paul, "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord," they elevate themselves and preach the cause. Their sermons are mere essays, in which but a very little evangelical religion is to be found. They argue, ridicule, and make appeals to their hearers, but the whole of their conclusions end in the superiority of their sect to any other. They never make appeals to the conscience; they never speak individually to men's hearts, making the listener to understand, "Thou art the man,' as particularly addressed to himself; all is cold, cheerless, disputatious. Men go away as they came, glorifying in the superiority of their own form of belief; instead of being better after leaving the house of God, they are worse than when they entered, being more puffed up and contented. It is no wonder, then, that amongst the various sects evangelical religion is in such a low state. By religion we understand, not merely a sentiment of the heart, an adherence to any particular form of belief, but also an all-pervading essence, to be shown and manifested in the actions and the life. The Church of Christ should be as one body. We have the highest authority for our statement,-that of the Saviour himself;—and therefore to erect a temple to every whim and caprice, is a treason and a sin against God himself; and we feel no hesitation in believing that had Wesley have foreseen the evils that would spring from his separation, the anarchy and confusion having destroyed, in a great measure, the good, he would never have destroyed that unity in which resides the power of the Church. The Dissenters of Wesley's day bear no resemblance to those of the present period. Then the meeting-house attracted the heavenly-minded men who saw with alarm and consternation the inactivity and religious lethargy into which the Church of England had fallen. Now they have become hot-beds of fanati cism and political organizations; the first and most important article in their creed being hatred towards the Church of England, and the primary object of their political influence to compass the destruction of Church and State. In conclusion, we have seen that sectarianism has destroyed the unity of Christ's kingdom; it has nullified Biblical teaching in respect to the great doctrines of love and peace; it has introduced discord and ill-will into the Christian world; it has violated the plainest dictates of humanity; it has placed the peculiarities of the sect above the broad, universal teachings of Christianity; it has entirely altered the tone of the religious world. We, therefore, can only come to the conclusion that sectarianism is obstrucivte to Christianity. We have been compelled to speak thus strongly of the effects of sectarianism; we must not, however, be supposed to condemn all parties connected with the various sects. Some of our best friends, our most respected friends, are members of dissenting chapels. There are many-and we are glad to say it-very many exceptions to the state of things we have shadowed forth. The general tendency of sectarianism is, however, as we have stated. It would be well if the good of every sect, the conscientious worshippers of God, were to attempt to introduce more catholicity of feeling into the Christian world; to withdraw their countenance from anything approaching towards a display of sectarianism, and to do all in their power towards reuniting the fragments of the Church of Christ. For the present we have done. be said in favour of sectarianism. We have yet to see what can TALIESIN. AFFIRMATIVE ARTICLE.-II. "By sectarianism the unitive faith of Christianity has been reduced to a 'thing of shreds and patches;' its charity has been destroyed, its holiness stained, its purity spotted, its love abnegated, its whole meaning misinterpreted, its tendency misdirected, and final triumph materially retarded."J. A. Langford," Religious Scepticism and Infidelity." IN the belief that the great aim and purpose of all debate should be the derivation of truth, I have much pleasure in taking part in the discussion of this question; and the more so, since it involves a principle which undoubtedly, in an eminent degree, accounts for the present condition of the religious world-a condition which all who have given attention to the fact must be conversant with, and must view with feelings of concern and regret. When we look around at the position religion occupies at this present, we cannot fail to be struck with the growing indifference on the part of the people to religious influences. "A |