Friendly letters to the society of Friends, on some of their distinguishing principles...

Letter I. Introductory, And Miscellaneous

Friends,

In so addressing you, I wish to be understood as using, not merely the distinctive designation by which you have chosen to denominate yourselves as a body of professing Christians, but a designation expressive of personal regard. I have not been an inattentive or uninterested observer of the agitation that has, for some time past, pervaded your society ; and I have felt a strong inclination, blending with a hardly less strong repugnance, to " show mine opinion." — The cause of my repugnance may be easily imagined. I may seem to many an officious intermeddler. I may fasten upon myself the unenviable character of a gratuitous and forward disputant, fond of the gauntlet, most unconscionably enamoured of controversy, when I thus, as it will be thought, go so far out of my way to find it, — when I cannot leave

A a Christian community, between which and myself there subsists no bond of connexion, to carry on, without interference, its own discussions, and settle its own disputes. — The inclination, however, has proved still stronger than the repugnance; and I trust, that, when it is with friends I have to do, and it is in the spirit of friendship that I enter their arena, I shall not verify the proverb of the wise man, and, in " meddling with strife that belongeth not to me," find myself in the predicament of " one that taketh a dog by the ears."

The inclination thus to address you has arisen from two sources. — The first is, the esteem in which, on various grounds, I have long been accustomed to hold the Society of Friends; an esteem generated and maintained by both public and private, official and personal acquaintance. The part which they have all along acted in a variety of the leading objects of humanity and Christian benevolence, has entitled them to it. They have been the staunch promoters of the suppression of the slave-trade and the abolition of slavery ; of the circulation of the Bible ; of universal education ; of the mitigation of our sanguinary penal code ; and of charitable relief in all its forms. — Their high average character for simplicity, integrity, and general moral worth, has entitled them to it ; a character which, with whatever amount of exceptions, either as to practice or principle, it may be regarded^could never have been so extensively earned, and so long maintained, without a corresponding reality. While I can smile at some of their peculiarities, and gravely condemn others, I yet cannot but hold them, as a body, in affectionate respect. — And this respect, resting on public grounds, has been confirmed by personal acquaintance, and the intimacies of friendship. I may possibly have been fortunate in the individuals and families with whom I have had the pleasure of intercourse, and the little coteries of Quaker society into which circumstances have thrown me ; but assuredly, from all with whom I have come into contact, my favourable impressions have received great accessions of strength.

Those among whom my lot has been cast, I have found, not only the steady and zealous friends of every measure of public benevolence, but amiable, social, and kind in private intercourse, cheerful without levity, and serious without moroseness. I have seldom felt happier than when in the bosom of their domestic and friendly circles. — Now, you must be aware, that in proportion to the degree in which our esteem and affection are engaged, the deeper becomes our regret, that in those who are the objects of them there should be aught which we are constrained to disapprove ; and especially when this is the case in what relates to their spiritual and eternal interests, — compared with which, in the Christian's estimate, all a 2 else is lighter than vanity. — It is thus I have felt towards you. In the Quaker system of doctrine and practice, as expounded in those works which have heretofore been considered as the accredited standards of their profession, there have appeared to me such defects and errors, as well as such confused and indefinite generality on essential points, as are inconsistent with a Scriptural faith and a true subjection to Christ, detrimental to the spiritual life, and even hazardous to the soul's salvation. — You will pardon me, then, if, in these circumstances, affection prompts to remonstrance. When the young man came to our blessed Master, inquiring the terms of admission into the kingdom of heaven, it is said that " Jesus, beholding him, loved him." The Saviour's affection, in this case, was not, we may be assured, that of complacency in his principles and character ; for he had spoken of himself with all the vain self-sufficiency of the Pharisee, unconscious of defect, and elated with the expectation of such a flattering reception as he conceived due to his merits, — a state of mind in which he who came " to seek and to save that which was lost" must have felt any thing but satisfaction : — it was the tenderness of compassion, a feeling engendered in that gracious bosom by the sight of a youth, it is not unlikely of interesting and prepossessing appearance, labouring under such miserable self-delusion, — puffed up with self-righteous conceit, and, judging by the test to which he was immediately brought by him who " knew what was in man," " loving this present world," and, with an ungenerous selfishness, " laying up for himself treasures upon earth."

Jesus " beheld" this youth with the " pity" which " melts the mind to love ;" and, the tenderer that affectionate compassion, the severer would be the pang with which, aware of the result, he applied the test, and sent him away " sorrowful." — In this, as in every thing else, our Redeemer has " left us an example that we should follow his steps." I quote the case at present, with no further application, than as it exemplifies the principle by which we should ever seek to be actuated. Whatever be the nature and grounds of our affection, there cannot be a greater mistake than that we should spare those we love ; that we should prefer their pleasure to their profit ; that we should rather leave them in delusion than disturb their repose ; rather let them hold their errors than subject them to the pain of their discovery. This would be hatred, not love ; cruelty, not kindness. There is no greater favour we can do to a friend, than displacing error in his mind, and introducing truth. And according to the measure of our friendship, and the importance of the error and the truth, will be our solicitude to accomplish this end.

The second source of the interest I have felt in the recent agitations of your Society, is to be found in a3 the part formerly taken by me in a controversy which involves the essential elements of Christianity. I mean, of course, that which relates to the Socinian heresy. The connexion here you will find no difficulty in discerning. The remarkable and melancholy fact, of so large a secession from your community in the United States to errors of a quite analogous description, if they may not even be pronounced identical, very naturally, as you will allow, drew my attention, and stimulated inquiry as to the tendency of some of your principles. Even although, in the Quaker system, there were some things which appeared the very antipodes of Socinianism, — the latter discarding every thing of the nature of direct divine influence on the human mind, and avowedly inimical to all spiritual excitement, presenting a scheme of self-sufficient and frigid rationalism ; — yet there were other points respecting which, it seemed to me, it would be far from easy to acquit them of the imputation of a tendency to such a result, although that tendency may generally, in regard at least to outward profession, have been counteracted by other causes. In saying so, I have a special reference in my mind to the views entertained by Quakers respecting the Holy Scriptures ; — the secondary place which they assign to them ; their subordination, in point of authority, to the inward light ; and the difficulty, — in spite of all that can be said of its being a gift of the Spirit and not of nature., and a benefit resulting from the merits of Christ's mediation, — of distinguishing, or at least maintaining the distinction, in minds that are not sufficiently imbued with a previous mysticism, between the light of the Quaker and the reason of the Socinian. Even the most intelligent Friends, while they lay down the distinction as an article of their system, find it no easy matter to keep the two clear of each other in their illustrations and reasonings. And if even in the writings of such men this difficulty is apparent, how much greater must it be to ordinary minds, unaccustomed to discriminative thought ! — how much more prevalent in such minds the propensity to confound the two together, — universal light with universal reason ! Of the Quaker sentiments respecting the Scriptures I shall speak at large by and by : — at present I merely hint at one of their tendencies, as perhaps exemplified in a special case ; the idolizing of the light having a similar effect on the mind of the thorough-going Friend, in reducing the paramount authority of Scripture as the direct and only standard of religious truth, with the idolizing of reason on the mind of the thorough-going Socinian.*

* What Socinian could desire a loftier eulogy of Reason, than is to be found in the words of one of your earliest writers, one who may be reckoned among the founders of your Society — William Penn ? " Right reason I mean — the Reason of the first

Be not offended with me, when I say (for I say it in kindness and under correction) that this tendency is indebted, amongst Friends, for an augmentation of its strength, to a prevailing deficiency in their system of religious instruction, — that all-important branch of early education which consists in the communication of general religious knowledge to the mind. I am anxious to avoid all inculpatory reflexion that may not have foundation in fact. But is it not so, that too little attention has been bestowed amongst you on this department of tuition, — the informing of the youthful mind as to the principles and general contents of the inspired oracles, and as to the evidences of their divine authority ? Is there generally, among Friends, such a system of domestic scriptural instruction, or of such instruction in Sabbath schools in cases where it is not enjoyed at home, as is calculated to impart any thing like enlarged and connected views of divine truth ? Is the mere practice of daily reading a portion of Scripture, with a few moments of silence, however solemn, before and after, as a domestic exercise, at all sufficient for such a purpose ? Or are silent public meetings, — or meetnine verses of the first chapter of John. For so Tertullian . gives us the word Logos ; and the Divine Reason is one in all ; that lamp of God which lights our candle, and enlightens our darkness, and is the measure and test of our knowledge." — Quoted by Richard Ball, in his " Holy Scripture the Test of Truth," Note, page 93.

ings where, in that which is said, there is little or no appeal to the sacred records, the direct movements of the Spirit taking precedence of them, by any means fitted to supply the deficiency ? It is easy, on such a subject, to speak of the benefits of getting still, — and to say many plausible things as to the necessity in religion, both as a part of its essential exercises and of the means of its growth, of meditation, and quiet musing, and the introversion of the mind's eye upon itself. But you should not forget, that to true and profitable meditation materials of thought are necessary. The mind that has little or no information on the subjects of religious musing will generally muse to little purpose ; nay, as it can hardly be an entire vacancy, I fear they are but sciolists in the knowledge of human nature, who, in such circumstances, will commit it to its own thoughts without the apprehension of pernicious rather than of salutary results. Deem me not uncharitable, — tell me not that I judge of others by myself, if I venture to surmise, that, were there such a tribunal as a Quaker confessional, there would come to light before it many a thought of vanity, if not of worse than vanity, that has seemed a part of silent devotion. Nay, is there no such sentiment among you as a jealousy of the human tuition in question, as if it were an interference with the province of the Holy Spirit, derogatory to the supremacy and sufficiency of the inward light, and a taking of the mind, as it were, out of the hands of God ? — And if I am right in suspecting the prevalence amongst you, from such causes, of a defect of information on religious subjects, — may not the existence of this defect contribute, in no small degree, to account for the fact of so many, when controversial discussions do arise, being shaken, and falling away ? Ignorance, or very partial information, can never be a safe-guard against error, or a preparative for withstanding either its sapping and undermining insinuations, or its more direct argumentative assaults. It is quite the contrary. In such circumstances, knowledge is power ; ignorance weakness. The uninformed mind is taken by surprise. With flimsy and confused conceptions of truth itself, and little acquaintance with either the evidence in its support or the objections against it, it is quite unprepared to meet the arguments of heresy, and, when they are presented, in their imposing dogmatism, or their subtle plausibility, is startled into scepticism ere it is well aware. To commit the young to the world in this state of ignorance, is like sending out an uninstructed and inexperienced mariner on a voyage, without giving him any information of the rocks, and sands, and currents, and winds, to be expected by him in his course, — without furnishing him with a chart of the seas he has to traverse, or showing him how to use it ; so that he is utterly

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unqualified for avoiding or for encountering the dangers that lie in his track, and may find himself in the very midst of perils from which escape is impossible, while he is fancying nothing before him but a clear sea, propitious breezes, and a safe haven.

In saying these things, I am anxious to guard against two misconceptions. The first is, that I say them in ignorance of the counsels, on the subject of " parents and education," contained in the Society's " Rules of Discipline with Advices," in which a careful instruction in the contents of Holy Scripture is recommended and urged on parents and guardians, in extracts from the minutes and letters of many successive yearly meetings. This would be a mistake. I have the third edition of the " Rules of Discipline, &c.," lying before me. The counsels therein given on this important subject are excellent. It would evince an unreasonable jealousy, and hypercritical captiousness, to find any very material fault with them. But this is not the present question. The existence of these advices is one thing ; their reduction to practice is another. The question is, whether a practical conformity to these advices has been generally prevalent in the Society ; — or whether the Quaker youth, taken in the aggregate, do, in point of fact, evince a fair average of Scriptural information. — And here I would guard my reader against a second misconception, — as if I intended to advance a charge of the contrary, without exceptions. Far from it. I believe that there are exceptions, and I rejoice to believe farther, that the number of these exceptions is decidedly on the increase : — and I cannot but regard the multiplication of instances of exemplary attention, on the part of parents, to this essential branch of their duty, as one of the gratifying symptoms of a begun and advancing amelioration in the body. — But I more than fear I am right, in conceiving the average amount of religious, that is, of Scriptural knowledge, as having been, generally speaking, in the Society of Friends, unhappily and characteristically low. And the secondary place which, in their standard works, and by the venerated * fathers of the system, is assigned to the Divine volume, as the rule of faith and conduct, is quite sufficient, independently of every thing else, to account for the fact, as one which it was no more than reasonable to anticipate. And even in the excellent advices in your Book of Discipline, there occur such occasional allusions to your primary principle of the inward light, and the immediate and independent guidance of the Spirit, as to enfeeble the force of that influence upon the conscience which they would have possessed, had the Holy Scriptures been distinctly acknowledged as the supreme and only authoritative test of religious truth, and source of religious instruction. I refer to such sentences as these, which

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occur in immediate connexion with the inculcation of Scripture instruction : — " They " (parents) " will " frequently feel the vast importance of doing their " utmost to cultivate in their tender offspring a hum- " ble obedience to the teachings of the Lord's Spirit; :; and, as they advance in years, to establish in them a " firm belief of the all-sufficiency of this holy Guide:"* - — " On this principle," — (the correct and important principle, that " we cannot of ourselves produce religion in the mind") — " we must make it our chief w object to direct the early and constant attention of " our offspring to the Spirit of Christ ivithin them, from i; which alone can spring the fruits of righteousness :"f — (i and in order hereunto," (that is, to their " instructing them in the nature and necessity of being born from above, without which, our Lord declared, no man shall see the kingdom of God") " that they labour to bring them acquainted with the holy seed, which is sown by the Divine hand in every heart for that gracious end" — This last sentence occurs immediately after the specification of the duty of " encouraging children, as well by example as by precept, 'to the frequent reading of the Holy Scriptures :" — but it is evident, that instruction in those truths which the Holy Scriptures reveal is not regarded, nor recommended, as the principal means of regeneration,

— but rather an early acquaintance with the inward light, here intended (as the established nomenclature of Quakerism might be adduced to show) by " the holy seed which is sown by the Divine hand in every heart for that gracious end." — And is it not a point of fact, that, in the process of early religious education, there has, amongst Friends, been more dependence on this supposed " holy seed" than on the written word, and a consequent disposition to leave the desired effect chiefly to its operation ? Has there not been, amongst the really well-disposed and serious members of your communion, more of a propensity to encourage, in the terms of the same publication, " a humble waiting for, and feeling after, those " secret and tender visitations of Divine love, which " are afforded for the help and direction of all," — than, by a steady and persevering process of Biblical instruction, to replenish the minds of the rising generation with a well-digested knowledge of divine truth ? — I have alluded, with satisfaction, to the multiplying instances amongst you of attention to Scriptural instruction in the fulfilment of the parental trust. It has been with a similar satisfaction, and a similar anticipation of benefit, that I have heard of meetings held with the rising youth of your Society by some of your senior members, for the express purpose of reading the Sacred volume, and explaining, in familiar remark and conversation, its divine contents. But, in proportion as this has imparted pleasure, has the information, on the other hand, distressed me, that the practice has occasioned umbrage, awakened jealousy, and drawn forth, from some of the more staunch adherents of your testimonies, serious admonition ; and that attempts have been made to suppress these Bible classes, as if they were hazardous to your principles ! Has not this been the case ? And do you really think, that the spirit, from which proceeded the suggestion of such counsels and such attempts, could be the Spirit of God, — the Spirit by which the Scriptures were dictated ? — that the same Spirit that gave the lessons, gave also the advice to withhold them ? — Are not such facts rather to be regarded as additional evidence of the timidity and shyness (to use the gentlest terms) which have existed among you in regard to direct Biblical instruction, — springing from the apprehension, that too much regard to the secondary rule might have the effect of drawing off the attention of the rising youth from that which you regard as primary ? The mistake and presumption involved in such a sentiment, and in such a fear, will be afterwards considered.

Allow me farther to ask you, whether, in Quaker education, the object, to a very great extent, has not been rather to fashion Friends than to make Christians ? — to impart acquaintance with distinguishing peculiarities, rather than with great essential princib 2 pies ? — to train to external conformity, rather than to impart mental illumination ? Has it not consisted in rearing to habits of morality, — of simplicity in appearance and manners, of integrity and truth in daily intercourse, of humanity and kindness, of domestic affection, of order, punctuality, industry, economy, sobriety, and moderation, with all those other virtues by which personal and social respectability, comfort, and usefulness in the present world are promoted ; — while too little attention has been shown to the inculcation of those great evangelical truths, in which are contained the only motives to moral duty which the God of the Gospel sanctions, — and the faith of which, in their apostolic purity, is the grand principle of the whole Christian character ? Has your moral training been sufficiently founded in evangelical instruction, — in the knowledge and belief of divine truths ? I fear not. Am I wrong ? I shall rejoice to be assured that I am. But if, to any considerable extent, my apprehension is well-founded, the error is a grievous one, and perilous to souls. It separates morality from religion ; duty from faith. Unless a character be formed on Gospel principles, — its moral virtues springing from the faith of divine truths, — -it is essentially defective : — it is worse, — its very foundation is wrong, — its primary elements unsound.

But is not the formation of characters of this description greatly encouraged by your regarding all belonging to the families of your Society as born Quakers ? — as members of your community by natural birth? The divine record tells us, that the genuine subjects of Christ's spiritual kingdom are " born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." % It is the testimony of the Redeemer's own lips — " Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."f Is sufficient, or indeed is any regard shown by Friends to this, in reception to the privileges of membership ? Is there, amongst them, any formal admission of the young to their fellowship, or any formal application, on the part of the young, for such admission ? Is there any examination of their knowledge of divine truth, or of the evidence of its having been to them " the power of God unto salvation ?" — any investigation into the Scriptural marks of a saving change having passed upon them, — of their having been born again ? If not, is it at all wonderful that there should be found many growing up amongst you in melancholy ignorance of divine truth, and consequently without the distinctive influence of evangelical principle, and, amidst all the peculiarities of Quakerism, and all the decencies, and proprieties, and conventional virtues of society, with little of what the Bible denominates " the power of godliness ?" — little

» John i. 12. f John iii. 3.

B3 of the holiness of the saint, as distinguished from the virtue of the moralist ? When there is a strict conformity maintained to those peculiar practices in which the " testimonies" of Friends are regarded as especially consisting, is not this apt to pass for enough, and to supersede inquiry into what is, beyond controversy and beyond comparison, more important, the spiritual state and character of " the hidden man of the heart ?" — I do not find, among your " Rule? of Discipline," &c, any instructions with regard to the application of the young for reception into your religious communion, or the examination of their knowledge, principles, and character, with this view, I find particular directions on the subject of accurate registration of births, &c. ; from which, as well as from visible facts, I conclude, that all children of Quaker parents, when born into the world, are born into the Society, and grow up as acknowledged members of it, without any subsequent investigation or recognition, on the part of the body at large, or of the particular meeting with which the parents happen to be connected. Is it to be wondered at, in these circumstances, that there should not only exist amongst you a great deficiency of religious information, but an extraordinary diversity of religious opinion ; — so that, to know a man to be a Quaker is to have no sure or definite conception whatever of his creed, or of any thing else than his conformity, more or less strictly maintained, to the marked external peculiarities of the body ?

I hope I may be allowed still farther, without subjecting myself to the imputation of " all uncharitableness," of the guilt of which imputation my inmost soul would acquit me, to suggest it to you, as one of the points of danger incident to a Society that has stood out with so prominent a distinctiveness as yours, that it is proportionally prone to admit the influence, consciously or unconsciously, of the esprit du corps, I put it to the truly and humbly pious among you (for such I rejoice to know there are) whether they are not sensible of a risk of this principle having more exercise than it ought to have, not only in keeping up attention to the outward badges and the special testimonies of Quakerism, but even in maintaining, to a certain degree, the high standard of Quaker morality itself? The body has obtained a character; and where such a character has been obtained, I freely and gladly grant the credit of having deserved it : for however frequently individuals may impose on individuals, a whole bod} r of men cannot be supposed to delude the community, and to maintain the delusion so successfully and so long. But while I admit a reality corresponding to the reputation, I cannot, with the sense I have of the deceitfulness of my own heart, and with my eyes open to the observation of others, be blind to the danger thence arising of the operation of motives of mingled and dubious rectitude in the maintenance of it. There is, I admit, a regard to character, such as, both in individuals and in societies, is not only justifiable, but incumbent. Usefulness and influence are dependent upon it. The possession of it is not merely agreeable to ourselves ; it is profitable as a means of doing good. But in our sinful world, and our state of imperfection, there is no good that does not border upon evil. The bordering evil, in the present case, is pride of character ; a self-complacency, which finds cover and apology under principles of unquestionable propriety. May not the inquiry be deserving of a place, in the process of self-examination, to what extent the morality of Quakerism may be indebted to the reflexion, we must keep up the character of the body ? Which of the two considerations most frequently and most readily presents itself to the mind, respecting any action of doubtful correctness — This would be inconsistent with my character as a Friend> — or, this would be inconsistent with my character as a Christian ? — And when deviations from the line of duty have occurred, of a public and discreditable nature, whether is the shock that is felt more imputable to the injury sustained from it by the reputation of the Society, — the blot cast upon the fair fame of Friends, — or to the dishonour accruing to the name of Christ, and the wrong done to

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the interests of true religion in general ? — I throwout these things, not as the insinuations of a spiteful malice, or even of an uncharitable suspiciousness, but as friendly hints for your ingenuous consideration. And, since I am throwing out such suggestions, may I be allowed to add another, — namely, that even in the midst of all the external indications of lowliness, there is imminent danger of the very character to which I have alluded, and for which, considered in itself, the Friends are justly esteemed and commended, engendering a spirit that is, more than any other, at variance w r ith the very genius of the Gospel, in its primary and elementary principles, the spirit I mean of self-righteous confidence towards God. I know well, that there are those amongst Friends, who will disown this temper of mind, and confess themselves, with the truest humility, debtors to mercy alone, through the merits, the sacrifice, and the intercession of the Redeemer. But such, I am inclined to think, will go along w T ith me in lamenting the prevalence of it, to no inconsiderable extent, in the body to which they belong. It is far, very far, from being peculiar to Friends. It has its seat in human nature, and the propensity to it is common to them with all others. It is well to bear in remembrance, that, if this state of mind be cherished, our Christian profession, according to the unequivocal and frequent testimony of the Scriptures, is vain,