immediate gratification; and some of them have a no less beneficial effect upon the mind of a Christian. Astronomy and natural philosophy are branches of learning which eminently tend to enlarge and ennoble the mind, and lead to sublime and grateful contemplations of the great Author of nature. But, to pursue them to effect, requires able instructors, and a costly apparatus; and these means are to be found only in our public seminaries. 3. In these days of bold and adventurous speculation upon the great truths of revelation, it is of immense importance to the theologian thoroughly to understand the correct mode of philosophizing. This I apprehend to be one of the principal advantages of a liberal education. The present age is fitly characterized, as "the age of reasoning pride;" and the evangelical minister must expect to have his faith assailed by the subtle. ties of philosophy falsely so call ed.' He cannot fail to meet with objections to the great mysteries of the Bible; objections which assume an aspect of plausibility; and which, if he is not sufficiently acquainted with philosophy to understand its province and the legitimate principles upon which it proceeds, will at least perplex and distress his mind, if they do not force him to abandon the truth. It is true, that men of great learning and talents, may embrace and propagate error; and, through their heart-felt hatred of the truth, may wrest the Scriptures to their own destruction. Still it is a fact, that a pious mind, well imbued with sound science, is doubly armed to against the assaults of heresy. An appeal to facts will justify this assertion. Look abroad upon the Church in our days, and say, who have made shipwreck of the faith? The Church must learn wisdom from the things that she suffers, and be cautious how she encourages men come forward as defenders of the faith and instructors in religion, who are not thoroughly qualified for the discharge of so important and responsible an office. She must not "lay careless hands on skulls that cannot teach, and will not learn." Religion does not shrink from the closest scrutiny. Its peculiar doctrines will stand the most fiery ordeal. Philosophy is the handmaid of religion and not its subverter; and the more the mind of the Christian is enlarged and strengthened by scientific pursuits, the better is he fitted to understand, believe, and defend the truths of the Bible. When he has once seen and felt the difficulties and seeming contradictions that attend even the demonstrative sciences, he will not be stumbled with those which meet him in theology. When he has explored the regions of philosophy, till he is lost in the boundless contemplation of the works of God, and is brought to feel the narrowness of his own powers, and their incompetency fully to understand the smallest part of the natural world, he will feelingly exclaim, "What does philosophy impart to man But undiscovered wonders? Let her soar Even to her proudest heights-to where she caught The soul of Newton and of Socrates, And admiration. All her lessons end He will no longer think of urging philosophical objections against the profound truths of holy writ; will be content to follow Boyle, and Edwards, and Horsley, those prodigies of intellect, in a full and implicit belief of whatever the Scriptures teach, and in humble adoration of that Being, who has vouchsafed to reveal himself to sinful man. PHILOMATHETES. For the Panoplist. ON RELIGIOUS CONFERENCES. By a religious conference I intend a meeting of religious persons, in some degree anxious on the subject of religion, for the purpose of uniting in prayer, of reading the Scriptures, of singing praises to God, and of conversing upon religious subjects. The name of the meeting has reference to the last of these exercises, though it is usual to engage in the three former likewise. Meetings of this kind have existed, in every period of the Church, wherever a sufficient number of persons in a neighborhood have been in any considerable degree awakened to a just sense of religion. And they always will thus exist. It is not within the power of man to prevent them, by ridicule, sophistry, calumny, or violence. When it was death to profess Christianity under the emperor Trajan, even then the faithful met at dead of night, and sung hymns to Christ as God; in other words, they held precisely such meetings as are now called conferences. During the dark VOL. IX. ages of the Church, the Waldenses and Albigenses met in the same manner at the hazard of their lives. The odious and tyrannical Conventicle and Five Mile Acts were never able effectually to suppress similar meetings in England; Acts which, though they have not been rigidly enforced of late, were last year, to the joy of every liberal minded man, blotted from the English statute book. In this country, the scoffs, sneers, calumnies, and misrepresentations of the profane, have been liberally bestowed upon every species of religious conferences. These meetings have also incurred the disapprobation of the formal, of the enemies of vital piety, and of some serious Christians, who have been kept in ignorance on the subject. But this opposition has never been sufficient to put down the pretended evil; nor is there the least reason to apprehend it ever will be. I shall now state a few plain obvious arguments to show, that religious conferences are incalculably useful; that they can never be prevented, where there is much active piety; and that they ought to be esteemed as among the choicest gifts, which Christ has bestowed upon his Church. 1. Man is a social being, and all his more elevated enjoyments are of a social character. This will not be disputed for a moment. ment. Most especially is religon an enjoyment of the social kind. Love is in its very nature social; and every way in which love is brought into action, and manifested to the world, must partake of the social 10 character. The enjoyments of the heavenly state are represented as in the highest degree social. Now the utility of conferences is founded altogether upon this principle. If religion is social in its nature, it is to be enjoyed in every practicable social manner. It is to be cultivated in the great assembly on the Lord's Day; in smaller assemblies of friends and acquaintances; in the family circle; and with the bosom companion. He who undertakes to prevent the enjoy ment of religion in the social circle, whatever he may pretend, actually makes war upon religion. Conferences are eminently and peculiarly social. Different persons express their minds; different persons engage in prayer; the observations of one are often the means of leading others into a new train of thought; attention is kept awake; the fire of the more ardent is communicated to the more lukewarm; the caution of the more prudent is insensibly imparted to the more adventurous. In all these ways good is done. There is a class of men, who represent all religious conversation as hypocritical grimace, as the improper obtrusion of too sacred a subject, as mere disgusting cant. Yet these same persons are loud in praise of social enjoyments, and speak in raptures of those among their friends who are eminent for their social qualities, Are they aware of the dilemma into which they fall? They must either confess, that religion is a thing to be most carefully concealed, as though it were shameful and adious; or that themselves have no taste for it and take no pleasure in it. The latter alternative doubtless is true; for it is a certain fact, that a man, who is not capable of relishing religious conversation, is not capable of enjoying religion at all, And he who would banish religion from conversation, would banish it from the world, if consistent with himself. 2. Religious conferences are the means of increasing religious knowledge with very great rapidity. Of this fact every person must be convinced, who has attended them; especially in a revival of religion. The reason is obvious. Men always gain knowledge on any subject, when, in addition to the public formal means of instruction, they engage in mutually instructing each other. But I shall be asked, if I would advise private Christians to undertake the office of instructing in religion? This question will be answered in the following observations. Interesting conversation always conveys instruction; that is, it either communicates new thoughts, or more deeply impresses truths before known, To urge men, therefore, so to converse together, as that their conversation may be mutually instructive, is by no means to countenance their assuming the office of public instructors. Let religious persons learn wisdom by the conduct of men in relation to other subjects. It is found by experience, for instance, that children at school never learn so fast, as when employed in instructing their schoolmates. The great secret of the Lancasterian improvement consists in making children teach each other. Stu dents at college never gain knowledge so fast as when their leisure hours are employed in conversing on their studies. Soldiers never learn the art of war so rapidly as when alternately engaged in drilling each other. It is said, that Bonaparte has always encouraged his soldiers not only to instruct each other, but to form and express their opinions, in all the variety of circumstances which a campaign produces, as to the best course of future operations. The advantage which he derives from such a practice is immense; as every soldier feels the value of his own exertions, understands what is intended by each movement, and thus performs his duty with amazing celerity. If "The legate of the skies arm'd himself in panoply complete Of heav'nly temper, furnishes with arms Bright as his oyn, and trains, by ev'ry rule Of holy discipline, to glorious war, The sacramental host of God's elect;" We may certainly urge the individuals, who compose this "host," to exercise themselves in the use of those arms with which they are furnished, and to profit by the attainments and experience of each other. They who represent religious conference as an unsuitable and injurious thing, are either ignorant of the most common principles of human nature, or utterly hostile to the progress of religious knowledge. What would be thought of a person at the head of a literary institution, who should thus address his pupils: "Young gentlemen, I, and your other instructors, will take care to instruct you in the studies which you are pursuing. Be careful to say nothing to each other in relation to them, as you may fall into mistakes. Above all, abstain from meddling with those societies, in which your studies are made the subjects of discussion, and each one is expected to take a part. You must not form such societies; and, if you already belong to any, you must abandon them." What would be thought of a general, who should caution his soldiers against encouraging each other to the battle, or perfecting each other in military discipline? Who should tell them that he would take all the care of the campaign upon himself, and that he did not wish to have them stimulate each other to heroic deeds? Would not the soldiers, if they followed this advice, soon be transformed into moving statues, and become as stupid as their commander? How is it, then, that a mutual interchange of thoughts and motives, should be forbidden in reference to religion, while it is so exceedingly beneficial in relation to every other branch of knowledge? 3. Men, who are deeply intent upon the subject, make more rapid advances in religious knowledge, than in any other attainment whatever. This is a powerful reason, considering the natural aversion of man to religion, why every facility should be afforded to all who are desirous of obtaining an acquaintance with the Bible, with their own hearts, with their spiritual wants, and with their duties. Among the reasons why religious knowledge is more rapidly gained than any other, I mention the four following: First, religion is a more inter esting subject than any other, to every human being. It is felt to be such, usually, by those who attend religious conferences Every individual has a personal concern in it; a concern of incónceivable value. His all is at stake; and that all is the unalterable destiny of an immortal being. Secondly, the first principles of religion are simpler and more intelligible than the first principles of any other kind of knowledge. The Bible is a book more universally intelligible to all classes of persons, in every part of the world, than any other book ever published. The instructions which it gives are abundantly various and explicit, in all that concerns the present and future moral character of man. Thirdly, the experience of every man will, if his conscience be truly enlightened, bear witness to the accuracy of the scriptural representations of human wickédness. Every man will see, that the sacred penmen have accurately described his character; and this will powerfully assist him in understanding the scheme of salvation. Fourthly, the history of the world, the history of God's providence in relation to families and individuals, indeed every thing, which we behold around us, confirms the Bible, and assists in acquiring religious knowledge. It will be objected, perhaps, to these statements, that mankind are generally ignorant of religion. The fact is admitted. Men are most wonderfully ignorant on this subject, even in a Christian country. The grand reason of this ignorance is human depravity. Men naturally dislike to retain God in their knowledge. God is not in all their thoughts. But when they are excited to inquire what they shall do to be saved; when they feel their sinfulness and danger; above all, when they are made partakers of a title to the heav enly inheritance, they acquire religious knowledge with amazing rapidity. 4. I argue in favor of conferences, that experience has proved them to be eminently useful, in very many parts of our country. The writer of these remarks has attended 'meetings of this kind in six different towns, some of them several hundred miles from each other, and in three different New England States, during a period of twelve years past. These meetings have been of all the different kinds, so far as respects the condition and advantages of those who have attended them, which are to be found in our country, Some have been composed of students at college; some, of students with resident graduates; some, of persons eminent in the three learned professions with others; some, of plain farmers in retired country places; some, of persons of particular ages; some, of persons of all ages and both sexes; some, of ministers and people; some, of private Christians and othersy without ministers. In no one of these meetings has the writer witnessed a single instance of improper conduct. On the contrary, more delicacy of deportment, more deference to superiors in the Church, more caution in respect to every thing which might wound the feelings of each other, a more complete abstinence from |