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CHEROKEE PH<EMIX
AND IXDIASTS’ ADVOCATE
CHEHOKEE NATION, PROPRIETOR. EDITED BY ELIJAH HICKS.
ret. v.
WEW ECIIOTA, CHEROKEE NATION, SATURDAY, JULY 30, 1833.
NO. 33.
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RELIGIOUS.
From the Biblical Repository.
CHRISTIANITY
idtred in relation to the Perfecta-
btlity of our Moral Being
il«ud from ths French. With additional ro
cks. By John Whoolor, Pa3tor of the Con-
Ohurola in WinJsw, Vermont-
his abuse, as may be seen, leads to
ocedure altogether diverse from the
and prudent course which we des
and which indeed merits to be
td opposite course, a mere dis-
i, rather than an abuse. We wuold
however, that the method we have
id at, if too exclusively followed,
detract somewhat for simple faith.
is destined to renew. The book is it?'cause he is constrained to accuse him
self a history of regcuerati -n. In the
f ;ospel, regeneration is anuounced as a
act, of which the Holy Spirit is the
author. Without departing from this
settled position, Mr. Diodati considers
the fact as a phenomenon. He shows
that a certain moral constitution being
self? rather is he not trulv noble, be
cause he does accuse himself?”
It is diliicuit, by a single word, to
designate the evil-working principle in
this great catastrophe, but tuking Bul
lishness in its most extended it ease, it
is selfishness.* To this may be imput-
assumed, a certain power, in like man- ' ed the dreadful victory ot sin, in out
lier assumed, ought to act upon it, and nature; lor sin always presents itselt es
modify it. This happy action, he fol- : the impious preference of stlf to the i-
low9 step by step, marking its principal doiaule Being from whom sell pro-
features, its progress, its vicissitudes, | ceeds. Sclt, preferred to God, is th;
and its continuance, until the tiiumph foundation of all sin.
of divine power in human weakness I Christianity attempts the radical cute
The character of the essay may be un- of the perverted will, and seeks :o
dei stood by this rapid analysis It is transform the man into the iinuge of
truly philosophical, and the philosophy , God. But where shall he uiid this in
is that of observation, and the mist ri- age? fussing by the uicoininuincaile
gorous induction, applied to Christiani
ty. It is not to simple minded Chris
tians alone, that the work is addressed,
but especially to philosophers; and we
have little doubt, that it may attract the
attention ot some, who have been more
inUrustod in the latv, lliau 111 WOTK8 Of
this kind.
As the excellence of Mr. Diodati’s
work does not consist mainly in the
style, but in the fundamental concep
tion, and in the general outline, it may,
to a certain extent, be understood by
an analysis This we will attempt,
premising, however, that in suppress
ing the author’s illustrations, his
will endeavor to make ourselves thoughts will be found more diliicuit to
intood. Metaphysics place us at be understood, or to be followed. In
without the relations of time, and lb® work itseli there is no difficulty ol
ao account of circumstaneos of Ibis kind; for nothing can be more lu-
htime and place are the conditions, mmous, and in general more easily un-
gcience does not examine causes derstood, than the ideas contained mit.
'fleets, but principles and results. The perfection of our moral being is
esnot seek for taels, but ideas', lhe object commm both to philosophy,
rhen rashly brought into the field and to Christianity. Chistianity m ikes
latiagent and particular events, it this perfection the principal business of
css its steps, as though upon the this life, ana the pledge of the life to
iscent. If, however, it is occu- come; she attaches eternity to the
with facts, it is in their collective, work, and thus elevates her views far
elnracter, that they arp exam- 1 above those of philosophy. The sys-
while a thousand details, which j tem she proposes us the object of faith
*■
1 It is necessary to know in thfi nrsi
place, upon what foundation, upon what
substance, Christianity operates; or,
in other words, what is the constituent
eloraent of the moral being on which it
acts. This element is a principle of nc-
iples, are voluntarily nog
philosophy ha# come to the point
lilting the intervention of God in
ttfiurs, and looks at religion with
ipliic delight; when searching
it depths oi human nature, it per-
tho necessity'of a peculiar edu-
for it, which involves in itself
i advances on the part ot God; it
:om the height of these idea3, a
ua descent to fall into the order
liblc occuirences, such as the call-
of Abraham, his departure from
ipotamia* the institution of circum-
i, of the passover, the passage of
d Sea, the manna, tho taberna-
ic altar-service, the institution ot
lesthood, and Judea as the thoa-
ir manifesting the designs of an in-
Intelligence, and a spiritual Pro
ice. From these general views,
this immense perspective, where
[delights to extend his vision, it may
pe be unpleasant for the mind to
mdto details in one’s own condi-
local and assimilated to those wUh
tithe history of man is filled. He
come down to them like the natur
i who, occupied with the contem-
d of the one great unity, and of
igular connexion of tho phenome-
the world, finds difficulty in mak*
limsolf familiarly acquainted with
which by their extraordinary
or aro excludedfrom the field of
ice. It is on this account, that,
ut objecting to those researches
ich allusion has been made, and
ich we take great pleasuro, we
there is required much sober dia
ls, lest the coast be lost sight of,
the facts which are necessarily
*cted wilh the historical conccp-
of religion; and to which we are
tly carried back in our philo-
1 meditations upon Christianity;
which enables us to *ee, ta reli-
i history, of actual occurrences
world, under the particular di-
'®n of heaven.
there is a work on the philosophy
Christianity, where the abuse of
£ h we have spoken is happily avoid-
it is the Eat oi »ur le Chrulianimc,
Diodati. It is the work of a
an filled with the truths of the
i and embracing it in its entire
r, facts and ideas, body and
without reservation. It is de-
thuB to observe religion in its
with the human heart, which it
of the system; and to it we give the and man; it comprehends eternity —
power ot stamping its own impress up- The infinite whi.-h
The infinite, which the immortal spirit
seeks, is found in the expiation, in Him
who accomplished it, in the love by
which it was accomplished, in the glo
rious end of the sacrifice. Indeed it
** s °“\?V ,,tere9t ’ w ‘ lich .shall suf- ' is all divine; immensity and eternity
ice wholly to occupy the principle of envelope the whole subject of the tZ
ctivity, and which shall give to it a conciliation of man to his Maker ”
stamping its own impress up-
on every act.”
Now then, this want, this fall of hu
man nature, Christianity turns to profit
in our regeneration. “To establish in
the soul an
fice
activity
ii? Ction L a n dthat K he \ PpOB i tC of l ,m8 me ’ °ncc established in the
the one marked out by the objects soul, will be found essentially active or
which have heretofore occupied it, will practical. How can it be otherwise?
be indeed to change tho soul. This For it has the threefold charade^ of
eradn eat 'T‘ d b , et T ,C the re g e »- j filling the soul with transport, in view
erating principle; and the occupation of its loved object; of consecrating
oi the .owerot activity by this inter- the soul to that object; and of direct-
est would consuiiiute the work ol re- ing it to the doing of all things dear to
generation. Thus th* re-establish- that object. The immeffiate conse-
uicnt ol the man m his nrst estate would
oe obtained uy a very simple view,
the suootuution of one interest in the
piuce ol another. 'Ihe whole life
would oe changed by the change of the
dominant inleiest ” .
a no oubuicss oi Christianity is to
create a new interest m the soul; but
tins interest must be supreme, and
perfections of God, he seeks it in his
moral attributes, it is in the wiA of
God, that the model and rule of tue hu
man will may be ibuiid. The intellect
would apprehend this image only in u
vague and imperfect mauuer. if »cwu
uu oilier means of' acquainting our
selves with it. But Christianity pre
sents it to us in the person oi Josus j must give to the soul a direction the op-
Christ, in the most lively manner, God ■ posito ol tlial which it has pursued; in
manifest in the jits a. in Jesus Christ short, it most detin one self, which
we contemplate the divine perlectiou in | has violated all ttie soul's previous ac-
human nature; we see it applied to our tivity.
VVlrat then is that interest, in which
all these c.nsideiatiuns meet? AViiat
is that interest, which is capable of sat-
istying Inc soul, which catries it oe-
youu ml visible and temporary things,
which indeod wrests it from the do
main ol sell? it is Tut 1-oveof God.
“it is to the love of G d, that is con
fided tire task ot breaking the corrupt
inclinations ol the soul, and ot bring
ing it into unpon with God. All the ob
jects winch wo love, stand between us
and God, and thus intercept our wor
ship.—btili uioie it is our own selves,
that we seek in the objects we pursue.
It is to ourselves ue oiler incense, and
thus become tire idolaters of self. Ail
the ostensible objects of our worship,
oiriTfe l 'ariar : ai seh; 'bo uuu 'uw *\««y
tilings tit at hide God from us, serve to
increase still more the real and insur-
ticihf, free aud spontaneous, which is
not the will itseli, but its root; and a-
round which are grouped, in the unity
of self, all the diversely characterized
faculties. It is in the will, that this
primordial clement becomes manifest,
it is therefore upon the will, that it is
necessary to act to modify the moral
being; and the perfection of this being
consists in the education of tho will.
The fact is too little organized, that
relations, and to our circumstances.
We see how God would conduct, if
God were man. Notsutisned with re
alizing the image of God, in his own
peisou, Jesus reproduced and develop
ed in his precepts. Thus man may
know what God ts, aud what he himself
ought to become.
it is the simple melioration of his
character that man ought to seek? Piu-
losophy has thought so; aud thercioie
ner eubrts have liriled. Constantly
ouilding upon a miaous foundation, she
has, as constantly,- seen her stiuciurd
lulling in pieces. What is the use of
making progress in one direction, waen
tue very direction is wrong? “To at
tempt to rectify tnc moral nature of
lildA-.y' Vo Uajskvm*'
ljsh among luem a system of balancing
the one agun» 3 l lb© 0wfer,-**tO icgulavc
them according to the interests 01 afcl *
fishness. Tue radicui vitosity Still
lives, and its tendency, so violent and
arbitrary, always exhibits itself with
invincible obstinacy.” Christianity
takes other views; she asserts the ne
cessity ot regeneration', she proposes
conversion; not progress in the saint,
but in the opposite direction. Of this
immense work we can deny neither tne
necessity nor the obligation, without
causing the moral instinct to assert a
lie- for that, since the fall, constantly 1 that is seen in God. Tbus tho regen-
murmurs in the bosom of the inner crating interest proposed by Chn tian-
man, and being listened to, proposes ity purines the soul, restore* in it the
liculty; it destroys the separation irofll
God, it places the ariections upon their
proper oojects, and brings tho soul
back to true worship. Being made
free by love to God', tho chains which
bound it to the ‘beggarly elements of
this world,’ are broken. That which
i9 loved reliects itself into the soul,
and imprints upon it the holy character
that is seen in God. Thus tho regen-
UIUU) 9 , • (J i.
nothing less than our portection.—But
cious^cducation'of 0 habit Sd example j X mlau^
The cities swarm with institutions to
aid the developcment of the intellect,
and have diverted those destined exclu
sively to the formation of the moral be
ing, into the same channel.” Philos
ophy has made the same mistake;
“proclaiming the discursive faculty su
premo, she has absorbed, in a degree,
the will-, in the intellect. By this
means she has expected successfully to
attain the true and moial being, and es
tablish in the same way a moral govern
ment, as if the education of the will
did not demand more caro and present
more difficulties, than the education of
the intellect.” Christianity has been
keept from this mistake. It is to the
will she has addressed herself; it is di
rectly upon the will she acts; and her
system of moral perfection is nothing
else than a system of education for the
will
But for acting upon the will it is ne
cessary to have a just conception of it,
to know its actual state. Christianity
declares that it is not only feeble, not
onlv undecided, but actually perverted
It regards this perversion as a myste
rious fact, the account ot which occu
pies some of the first pages of the Bi
Ole. Man has fallen Amid tho ruins
of his primitive excellence, the moral
instinct-remains; not however us a rule
of power, but as an accusing witness
an uttcrcr of upbraidinss. His wretch-
edness is manifest, in the constantly re
newed conliict between the moral in
stinct and the perverted will. His
wretchedness—his nobleness also.
m an indeed porfectly wretched, be
rating power:
There is in man, a power whilch
obliges him to pursdc unceasingly some
end or purpose This end, wuich is
commonly regarded as the principle ot
his activity, is only the occasion of its
exercise; except perhaps for mere ne
cessary wants. This principle in man
regards not so much the fact, that he
is in want of an end or purpose, as it
does the very pursuit itself. Were all
his ends answered, all his desires satis
fied, he would constantly invite new
ones, solely to furnish aliment tor the
activity of his soul. Without this he
could not exist. ' ‘To otfer food Jo this
lower, is the secret of life; to which,
f taken away, moral life becomes ex
tinct.”
This want is manifest, among men
generally, in two particulars. The
miud seeks satisfaction from this pre
sent world; and it seeks this only to
gratify self: “We always find our-
stlves at the bottom of all the interests
that occupy us; the human stlj, (le
mat humain,) seeks itself with obstin
ate and invariable perseverance in the
very midst of those--objpcU, which
ought to captivate its activity; it is the
pivot on which all the world revolves
for us. With the constancy of a natur
al instinct, self is placed at the centre
por
tcljUhnets-, fo • We are liable to misundonUiid the
author, lrom cur almost toclmicAi um of the word
in theological discussion. The word 4 egoumt cy
presses it as the Bgomet 3in, the sm ot in dis
tinction frpm those* who make selfishness an ycqpir*
od habit, ihe remit ol - wrong vio'.Mion, insieM ft
tho ground of wrong vioiaiioM---
divine image, and makes it a partaker
of the divine nature.”
Now then, to what source shall the
soul look for this regenerating interest?
“Christianity proposes the means ol ar
riving” at this interest, * «t this love,
it is tound where guilty man would nev
er have dared to hope, in the love of
God for man.” The revelation of this
is summed up in one fact,—the coming
of Jesus Christ into this world, and his
voluntary death for sinners. In the
salvation.-by his propitiutory sacrifice
is found the principle of regenerating
love. Tnert is unveiled the magnifi
cent and touching picture of/hat work
which the Son of God accomplished
upon earth, eighteen hundred years
ago.
It is on the ground of this singular
fact, this consecrated work, that the
New 'Testament constantly makes its
appeal to our love. Considered in it
self, and independent of experience
the plan adopted by Christianity pos
sesses the highest excellence. It ii
fitted to arrest at once all our faculties
It offers a most exalted subject to our
intellect, it displays a glorious perspec
tive to our imagination, it exalts our
moral sensibility, and to each of these
faculties it presents inexhaustible ali
ment, “Its influence does not admit
of limit, it will not be circumscribed iiv
its existence, nor in its duration; it
will no more admit of mete9 and bounds,
than the work of holiness itself, or the
love, which is manifested to perfect it.
The accomplishment of the glorious
mystery partakes of the immensity of
the author. The work appertains at
once to Heaven and to the earth. It
p bounded only by its subjects, God
that object. The
qucnce of the l ve, then, will be obe
dience; and the effect of obedience,
when inspired oy love, will be to
strengthen and increase the love.
11 w ® here .pApn, v jferrr: fatnrg- - pov. cr
creuted by the gospel, we cannot Lut
be struck by its admirable harmony,
with all the elements of our nature.—
Christianity has chosen, as the means
of regeneration, the only sentiment
that really charms the heart. “Love
succeeds only, by detaching the man
from that which is the foundation of
his present nature, leading him to go
off from self, and oat from self, that ho
may be absorbed in an interest that
dues net by nature belong to him —
Thcie is in this love an element, inex
pressible indeed, but profoundly assur
ed to him who loves, which uproots self
to transport us out of ourselves; which
identifies us with the object of our love,
which imprints upon us its own being,
which attaches itself to the very prin
ciple of all moral life, renews it, and
product s in it a real revolution, which
changes tho man, and gives to him a
new existence!”
Love has furthermore this excel
lence, that it uses, w.thout abusing,
our liberty. The man who loves, re
ts iu minion, ior me love lias bccoino
apa:t of his own being, and he is nd
more a slave w hen ho follows lus af
fections, than when ho follows his in
tellect.
It is still another mark of wisdom
thus to confide the regeneration of man
to a sentiment. Tho intellect, essenti
al in morals, could not apprehend the
principle involved in moral distinctions.
Sentiment alone can perceive and ap-
ireciate things pertaining to eenlimont.
The true power of the moral being, is
also its true light.
VYc further admire, how, in the wor|t
of regeneration, every thing is associ
ated which constitutes our moral digni
ty; lor “ail these sentiments, which
elevate man above tho beings that
people the mere visible creation, as
gratiude, confidence, hope, admira
tion, are attracted by love.’* Andlov#
awakens all these sentiments, without
awakenuag pride along with them; be
cause love draws from itself its cwn
power and being; and constantly ret
news all these emotions, as gratitudo (
confidence, hope, admiration, etc. iq
the recollection of the awful state of
misery from w hich God has freed his
soul.
To conclude, the regenerating ele*
ment provides for our felicity, but plac
ing a boundary to Ihe vaiu anticipa«»
tious in which our life is wasted, since
it satisfies both the demand of the soul
for activity, and the demand for re
pose. This is indeed a wonderful un
ion, and o»e of which this power a-
lone is capable; activity in order, in
terest in quietude, this eternal pro
blem of the humau soul, lovg uas
SOLVED.
Proof of Taste.—'The Jew, Dcutz,
who was ennobled in Italy, and is be
lieved at Paris to be the father of the
Duchess of Bern’s infant, is described
as an ill-favored wretch, with sunken
8t blood-shot eyes, dark hair, like horse
hair, horribly bad teeth, and features
deeply indented by the small pox.
The following illustration of the util
ity of science in the common occurrenc
es of life, i3 from the Gcnisee Farmer:
A penknife, by accident, dropped into a
well SO feet deep. A sun-beam, from
a mirror, was directed to the bottom,
which rendered the knife visible! & a
magnet, fastened to a pole* bre’l it up.