Farewell to the First Congregational Church in Norwalk, Conn. (bound with other addresses)

But Dr. Bushnell has set forth in his book, what facts, and what Trinity, he finds in the Bible. Are we to understand that his preaching is contradictory to these ? or does his ex- planation imply that his preaching is even different from the representations which he has given in his book ? We see not the slightest reason to suppose so. We regard the book, therefore, as the true explanation of the more general state- ments of the communication embodied in the report ; and we have already declared, that in our view, the doctrine of the book is a denial of the doctrine of the Trinity, as it stands in the formulas of our churches, and as it stands connected with the other fundamental doctrines of the Gospel. We inquire, 2d, of the explanation concerning the doctrine o^ Justification hy Faith. The communication inserted in the majority report is in these words, viz. : " I hold most emphatically the doctrine of Justification by Faith, and that any and every form of religion which propos- es to save mankind, on terms of merit or desert, is not Chris- tianity. As regards the ground of Justification, I believe that without somefthJng done, which in Christ is done, to declare 30 the righteousness of God, and maintain the sanctity of law, a free pardon offered to sinners would be nearly equivalent to a dissolution of Government. At the same time I look upon Christ as fulfilling the highest and principal office of his Mes- siahship by means of the incarnation itself, that is, by the rev- elation he makes of God's feelings towards us, in and through the human state assumed, and the immense power he exerts, or is to exert, in this manner, over our spiritual character. He is then emphatically 'The Life,' the new-creating grace of God — the wisdom of God and the power. To preach him in this character, is my deepest study, and my in tensest love to him centers here." Now when one declares, in a formal explanation of his views, upon their being called in question, that he holds most emphatically " The doctrine of Justification by Faith," he is bound to use the terms, Justification and Faith, in their cur- rent sense, as he knows they will be received by those whom he addresses, and by the intelligent Christian community be- fore whom that explanation is to be spread and have its effect; that is, in the sense in which they are current among the or- thodox churches, the orthodox ministers, and in the orthodox standard writers and formulas. To use them in a sense fun- damentally different from this, when they can exonerate him from heresy only by being understood in the current sense, is to pass off a counterfeit as current and genuine coin. Does Dr. Bushnell then mean by the words " Justification by Faith," what those words mean in their current sense, and what they will commonly be understood to mean by our min- isters and churches ? If so, then he has retracted and renounced all that he has taught on this subject in his book. If this be so — if your As- sociation have received evidence that it is so — ^we shall greatly rejoice, and only demand that the evidence of such retraction be made as unequivocal and as public, as your re- port, and as the book itself If this be not so, then we re- spectfully submit, that our brethren of the Hartford Central Association have inadvertantly accepted a spurious Justifica- tion by Faith, instead of the true one ; and have been made the instrument of passing off upon the Christian public, a Justifi^ 31 cation by Faith which the orthodox Christian public have only to know, to pronounce it spurious. If Dr. Bushnell has retracted the doctrine of his book, on the subject of Justification by Faith, it is well. If he has not, then we refer to those doctrines in the passages which we have cited, in proof of the justice of our conviction, that he does not hold " The doctrine of Justi- fication by, Faith," which those terms currently represent, and which they will by our ministers and churches be understood to indicate : but that he holds to a Justification, and a Faith — and to a Justification by Faith — diametrically opposed to the common orthodox doctrine known by that name, and utterly subversive of it. It is on this account that we regard the book as the more dangerous, and the more reprehensible, — that while it denies the fundamental doctrines of the Gospel, and substitutes in their places dogmas which are contrary to and subversive of the same, it stillemploys the words Trinity, Atonement, Redemp- tion, Faith, Justification, as though it were not denying, — but as though it were inculcating, — the great truths which these terms currently represent. In our view, therefore, it is not by any deep " Chetnistry of thought," but by a simple and un- warrantable change of names, that the book proposes to fuse down, and unite in one homogeneous substance, systems of faith as irreconcilable as the doctrine of Christ and the docr trine of devils; calling evil good, and good evil ; putting bit- ter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. We beg leave, alsoj to call your attention to another im- portant error — on pp. 97, 98 — viz., that a man is not responsi- ble for his belief, whether he holds the truth or rejects it. The passages are in these words : — " I suppose it is proper to say, that I did not prepare the occasions on, which, these Dis- courses were delivered, and seem scarcely to have chosen the subjects themselves. Indeed) I seem, too^ as regards the views presented, to have had only about tlis same agency in forming them, that I |y;e in prepar-ing the blood I circulate, and the anatomic frame I occupy. They are not my choice, or invenMon,.so much as a necessary growth, whose process^ I 32 can hardly trace myself. And now, in giving them to the public, I seem only to have about the same kind of option left me that I have in the matter of appearing in corporal mani- festation myself, — about the same anxiety, I will add, concern- ing the unfavorable judgments to he encountered ; for though a man's opinions are of vastly greater moment than his looks, yet if he is equally simple in them, as in his growth, and equally subject to his law, he is responsible only in the same degj-ee, and ought not, in fact, to suffer any greater concern about their reception, than about the judgments passed upon his person." • We also call your attention to the views of the author of the book on the subject of Creeds, — on p. 82 — viz. : " Per- haps it is on this account that I have never been able to sym- pathize at all with the abundant protesting of the New Eng- land Unitarians against Creeds. So far from suffering even the least consciousness of constraint, or oppression, under any creed, I have been readier to accept as great a number as fell in my way : for when they are subjected to the deepest chemistry of thought, that which descends to the point of re- lationsSiip between the form of the truth and its interior formless nature, they become, thereupon, so elastic, and run so freely into each other, that one seldom need have any dif- ficulty in accepting as many as are offered him." We deem that we might justly advert to other important matters contained in the book : its views of language, which we view as teaching men lightly to regard the difference be- tween truth and error, and as i«ipugning the sincerity and sufficiency of the revelation given to us by God ; its teachings with regard to inspiration, and its implication relative to the renewing of the Holy Ghost, whose essentia] personality the book denies. We, however, waive all consideration of these topics further than to request you, — ^if you skall see cause to reconsider your doings — to give to these matters the attention which their importance demands,., n Such, in our view, is the scheme ordoctrine to which your decision has given your sanction, as lot inconsistent with the 33 faith of our churches so far as justly to subject one who teaches it even to a trial for heresy. In our view, so far as these doc- trines shall prevail, the Gospel of Christ will be as prevalently rejected and trodden down. If they pass among us not only without ecclesiastical censure, but with an express ecclesiasti- cal allowance, — and if our churches and associations shall, by their silence, acquiesce in such a decision, — then a good stand- ing in the church, and in the ministry among us, ought not, in our view, to be any longer regarded as eren prima facie evi- dence of soundness in the faith : nor could we, in such an event, desire that it should be so considered by the orthodox churches in our land. Such a wide-spread indifference to the truth we should regard as a matter greatly to be deplored. And now, brethren, with all due affection and esteem, arro- gating to ourselves no superiority or authority, and wishing you grace, mercy, and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord, we make to you this our respectful but earnest Remonstrance AND Complaint. We entreat you to reconsider your doings, and to redress the injury, which, as we believe, you have in- advertently done to our churches, to the truth, to the cause of salvation, and to our Lord Jesus Christ, the adorable Re- deemer who bought us with his blood. Edwin Hall, Moderator. Thbophilus Smith, Scribe. 34 THE REPLY. " Hartfokd, March 6, 1850. "To THE Members of the Fairfield West Association : Dear Brethren : — A special meeting of the Hartford Central Association was held in Hartford, at the house of the Rev. Mr. Clarke, on Tuesday, March 5th, to entertain your Remonstrance and Complaint in reference to the action of Association upon the book of Dr. Bushnell, entitled " God in Christ." Present — Rev. Messrs. Robbins, D.D., Porter, D.D., Hawes, D.D., Bushnell, D.D., Scranton, Bartlet, Spring, Hempsted, Woodruff, Seward, W. Wright, Riciiardson, Clarke, Patton, McLean, Raymond, Searle, Grant, and J. L. Wright. The following resolutions were passed, and the undersigned were appointed a committee to transmit them to the Mode- rator of your Association. D. M. Seward, Moderator of Hartford Central Ass'n, John A. Hempsted, Scribe. R esolutions. "Resolved, That we acknowledge the receipt of a Remon- strance and Complaint from our brethren of Fairfield Asso- ciation, on the subject of our decision respecting the publica- tion of Dr. Bushnell, entitled •' God in Christ ;" that we grate- fully accept their fraternal admonitions, and sympathize with them in their attachment to those doctrines of the Gospel which have been supposed to be controverted in the above- mentioned publication. 35 " Resolved, That, having carefully examined the book of Dr. Bushnell, and heard his vindication 'of himself against the charges of heresy brought against him from various quarters, and, after solemn deliberation, come to the conclusion of which our brethren complain, we cannot, with all our respect for their judgment, think it consistent with the established rules of judicial proceedings, or with justice to ourselves or to Dr. Bushnell, to review that decision, or institute a new in- vestigation of the case, until new evidence of a decisive cha- racter shall be presented to us. "Resolved, That we have carefully considered the statements and arguments presented to us by the Fairfield West Associa- tion ; that in making up our decision we allowed greater weight to the statement of Dr. Bushnell, as published in con- nection with it, than our brethren of that Association appear to be willing to allow it ; and that we protest against the con- clusion that we give our sanction to any peculiarities of Dr. Bushnell's scheme of doctrine." APPEAL or IBB ASSOCIATION OF EAIEEIELD WEST, ASSOCIATED MINISTERS COHKECTED WITH