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Page065

THE PRACTICAL CHRISTIA- N.


VOL. I.


D C v 0 ted t 0 ~.' 11 t han. 1 Rig h teo 11 S n e s s .


MEND9N, MASS., JANUARY I, 1841. No. 17.


THE PRAOTICAL CHRISTIAN


I s pulolished twice every calendar month - at


One Dollar per annum, puyablealways in advanc e


- no credit beyond No. 2 of each volume. Per­suns


responsible for six copies receive the seventh,


gr atis. No subscription received for less than on e


y oa~ ,


. Regular Contributors to the Worl,,- ADI N


BALLOU, ( Editor and Publishing Agent;) DAVID


R. LAMSON , GEORGE W. STACY, DANI EL S.


\ V HITN EY, \ VILLIAM I- I. FI SH, SAMUEL J .


M~. '


All letters, remitt ances and communications to


be sent ( po st paid) to ADIN llAL LOU, Mendon,


Muss, '


, '. v e love all, but can flatter none. Th erefore


we solicit 110 lterson to subscribe who is not willing


we should utter all our moral convi ctions us freely


as the winds blow and the waters run. ' 1' 0 all


such, of what soever 1I, IlIe or persuasion. we make


our respectful ' salutation, und would say " Collie


and see if allYgood thing can come out of Naza­ruth


, "


EXPOSITION 01' I'AITH.


C HAPT E R V.


Concerning Fr~ e . lfnral JIgency.


I beli eve that man is hy nature a free moral


IIgent, always at perf ect liberty to c hoose ho­liness


and lmpplness; or sin uml mis ery j nml


that God nev er did 0' 1' lOill violate thi s free­dom.


S ECTION I.


1\ 1 nil is hy nature a free 1II0rni ! lgl'ltl , always at


pcrfect liberty to c hoose holill ess and haJl'


pin ess, or ilin and mis ery.


" T hol! hast made hilli iI little lower than the an ·


gr ls , 1111" hast crollllled him wi th glory and


honor." I' sal. 8: 5 .


' Vhat is ufree m'nral a ~ e nt ? An ag ent is


1111 act o... A Illoral acto r is a "" tioll(( l being,


IIIl, tu mere ma chi nc, not II mem illl ima l- onc


c al'ahl ~ of refl eclion...,-- onc having th e S ense of


lilY, A free morlil llA'cnt 01' u ctor is oll e not


1II" I ~ r an . " ." ifll L/ e lI ue.• sity IQ. rll' ei ther righ t


~ r.. wr ollg - oneji" ee to fulfil 0 1' \' iolut; th e ohli ·


gutilln s of dn ty. If man su stains this c llllrllc­tel',


he is a Ii'ee morul agent. . If 1I0t, he is


S" lIIethilig e l ~ e. !\ l Ull is certaillll/ an actor, an


lIgcnt, He is al sll a I1wr'a loagent - not a mere


machine, nor a mere unimul, but n being en­c1llwed


with reaSOll, having naturally th e


Slinse of Duty. But is he a free moral agent?


If he is not su ch a mornlllgent, what i ~ · he? ­Is


IIIl u bond , lIIol'lll ag ent? Is he a rutionul


bein g, so cons tituted alld circumstanced, Ihat


he IIII1 ~ t, or'inevitable nec essity, think, ful ,


3pwk 111111 act precisely as 1! C'does ' J Is th ere a


sccre t, incomprehensihl e illflll ence which, gov­~


rns hi s mind and moulds his character? Is


he hound hy eterual d ecr ees ill myst erious


chain s? Hus he in reality uo flow er to be any


thing differ ent f. · om what h, e actuully is? I I'


s o, he is not a free moral a gent. He may be


\ vi lllt IIIIlUy term a moralugellt ; lJUt he is only


11 sort of rational machin e, propelled secret ly by


II high er f1owe.....:.. apparentl. 1J Irce, ' yet really the


c re atu re ofrigii fate- the s luve of absolute


necessity- the puppet ofa s how managed hy


11 .7Ifaster Hand behind th e scenes. Not u few


who luldress Ulun as afree mOl'lllagenr, uever ·


th eless hold him to be only a moral machine­somllthin


g far noblm', ind ecll, thltn a mute.. ial


inanitrlute machine, , yet still, uli er all, only a


cul'ious con; plex orgun, invisi!, ly pluy ed upon


by th e Almighty, for th e accollll, lishment of


cc rlain pu .. poses. Irejectull snc h notions, us


alike Ilerogutory hoth to GOll and man. ' God


is not a hypocrite towards his int elligeut crea­tures,


mocking them with th e mere pretence


of a moral governmeut, and Ileluding Ihem


with an int ernal conscionsness ttlllt th ey llI'e


free, while he hold s th em in chuins. He is


" wit llO; tt parliality , an ll withollt hypocri sy.",.


N eitlie r is lllan self- deceived by his own in­nate


COI) SciOllsn ess, that he is free- any more


than he is deceived by h is inn ate COllfoCi ollS­n


ess, that he ex ists as a distinct being frolll ull


otlwrs . That withill man which makes , hilll


know th at he ~ xists , also mak es him know that


IIC is f rce to c hoose betwecn right and wrong.


And ~ v h oev c r IIl1dertakes to reuson h ilClself in ·


to a ma ch in c, Inay just as well reason himself


into a non elliity. For if IHJ can make himself


scem to himself a cr eature of mere necessity,


utterly unable to do otherwise than th at ne ees ·


sity compels him, he mny readily follow out


the SUllie process, till he imagines himself an '


impalpable nothing. Anti when n theologian,


wirh. rlivlne rev elation before him uniformly


addressed in all its part s to man as u free mor­ul


ngent, can gravely reason himself into a be­lief


that man only seems to be free, ' w hile r · eal ·


ly aecessitllted by rlivine decrees to ' be jnst


wh at he is, that th eologian will find no lliffi­culty


in nuributing to his !\ Iaker the 1II0st rc­voltmg


chnmcteri sti cs, as the Sovereign of the,


un iv er se. For if God can dec eive anrl mo ck


mankind with a false eonsciousness of moral


freedom, he cun do a'ny thing with them, how­eve


r abhorrent to REASON and nrnn- r, And


he who can attribute rho f ormer \ 0 Him, may


nurihutc what he will; always s he ltering him­se


lf'he hinrl the impregnable bu iwark, Q:]"' it is


a HOLY MYSTERY. I can look with 110 fellow­ship


0\' complacen cy on any doerrine which


op enly or cov ertly sets aside th e free' 1II01' l11


r geney of rnnn, With me this is th e ehief' cor­ner


- srone of rev eal ed re ligion ; 01' rath er it is


th e rock, the v ~ ry foundation, on which the


whole moral system of God's g~ lVel'lllTlent


rests, ~ shall therefore maintain that man, as


n free morul ag ent, is always at perfe ct liberlll


to choose holiness and happiness, 01' sin and


misery 1' 01' his portion,


In saying thi s, let me he disti ~ ctly under ­stood.


I couple holiness and hnppiness to­geth


er on the one hand, and sin and mis ery


tog ether on the olhel', hecause this is theil' true


co nne l" lion in th e gr eat moral system. When


man chooses holin es~, lie chooses happiness;


wh en ' he chooses sin, he chooses misery. It


is Ihe direct aim of divine revelation, and of


nil prell ehing bllse, 1 011 tlie same, to convinee


Inlln that he cannot he holy anti miserllble­nor


sinful anll happy- that there is an indi~ so ·


luhl o connection lietween holiness and happi ·


ness, anti a · lik e ilHlissoluhle connecti on he ·


tw een si ll ~ l r;; 1 lIIisery; ~;, th ; lt i; 7 cho( i~ i; l g1m.


tw een these opposil{' s, Ire nlllY alwnys know


thut Ire tak es with eue lr elllise its . own pr op er


consequence. This position is hy no means


wenk cn ed hy th e filet tlrat complete happiness


( illlnws holiness at u di slalwe, ' IlIld that com ·


plel e misery doeil not immeiliately seize on th e


sinne l · . Eve.. y kiml of Iruit mu st have tilll e to


.. ipcn , a l1ll every e ffect to be consummated. ­Wllllt


ifin contracting th e smld l pox I do not


feel the effcct s ulltilnfter u fortn i~! ll? Sri II I


huve to feel them . WlllIt if the bite OfR I'IIhid


I I ,. •


do d se em IllIrmless fm' s ix months? If th e lu-till


poison is withi~ l me I mu st ut length cn ·


dure th e agony. 01' on the other hund, whut


if a certain wholesome diet dn es not instantly


I( ive me health and vigor ? Is it the lcl's


wllOleso'mc, Lecause it prOlluces the effect ut


tire expiration ~ f u momh, of' a year? ' Vllat


if the habit or rising with the sun be fOI'a time


disagreeable, yet ifit gru lhrully gi\' es me heultll,


competence and cheerfulness, is the ben efit


tire less c'ertain? Or if a medicine dit not af ·


ford me prel'ent rel ief, yet ( loes80 in the course


ofa le~ hours, days, or weelis, shall I douht its


sa lutary properties? So if Ii man sin, and


does not immediately reup his recompen se, it


is tievertlieless certain . The wheel of time


will bring it round to him. 01' if a man work


righteousness, und seem for the present ' iinly


pla guell ami chast en ed, his harvest ofjoy is


su .. e to him; And as tire conse q uences ofsin are


none tire les s drelulful hecansedeferred a while,


so the conseqnences of holiness a.. e none the


Icss desirable because the harvest co ines at a


distance from seed time.


!\ lan, then, as afree moral agent, is presented


with holiness ami its fl'Uits on one sille, and


\ vith sin and its fruits on the other. Now is


he at liberty to muk e his own choice? I uf­firm


that he is ut perfect liberty. nut says


one, " is he not the s uhJec t of conflicting mo ·


tiv es und influ ellces ?" Cerlainly he is, or he


co nld not be a choosel · . ' VIIO cun choose


wh e .. eth ere ' is neith er vari ety nor diffe ren ce?


" n ut is he not th e cr eature of circnmstances?"


I f he conse nt to he so he is j otherwise he is


th e lord of circnlllstan ccs j no man, in th e ex­CI'cise


of Reason and th e 1\ 101' 111 S en sc, need he


th e mer e c reatu re of circumstance. It is th e


mer e an imal, uot th e ratioual mun, thut is ne -


cessal'ily the creature of circumstances. It is


the powel' of struggling against, ov errnling,


and mensglng circumstun ees, that distinguish.


es man from IIIe brute, and the vegetuhle. ­God


guve him Reason and the Sense of DUly,


that he i1 light he u free moral agent, ' and fill


his pla~ e ns lord ofthi s low er creation. That


thouslllids and millions of mankind consunrto


be the slaves of c irc umstance, : 1111\ of animal


uppetite , is mournfully tru e, But that thous­unrls


of tho holy and wise have mastered cir­c


umstances ; is also most gloriously tru e. And


what the j ew hav e done, (( llmay do. But ~ ays


the hearer, " is not man always controlled hy


th e stronger of two opposing influences ?" ­Yes;


bu t it dep ends on man which shall be


th e stronger of two confficring influences. If


he follow tire iustinctive suggestions of his


Sense of< Duty, and ofthnt holy Spirit which


ucts through th at se nse, if he use ~ is reuso n ;


if he ex ert himself in the various ways e ve r


practicahle to nil men j of course he will


strengthen from c1ny io tluy the influen ces


which mov e to holiness . If, on th e COUII'III'y,


he resist , violute, grieve and quench th e im­pulses


of Reason and th e JUorlil S en se, he ne­eessa


ri1y strengthen s th ose carnal inflnences


which make hi III th e more a hrute lind a fiend.


It depends 011 the murmer in which a man acts


ill smull thlrigs , how he will act in great things,


lind whut will hcoome th e helll of his mind on


tile whoie. rr e'i, thou811nd little incidents 11111' ­pen


to e very man which requil'e to be turlled


to a rigllt account, or th ey will in sen ~ ihly


sw en'e him to a bad c nd. · A tnan is always


doing llight or \ Vrong j there is lIO neutral


gl'Oulld. Bnt because men ' a re 100 dull sight­e,


i to , inti ce these little rights and wrongs, rill


Ihcy stu lllhie upon a mountain, th ey are relllly


to conclrpe that th ey reached the latter by some


unuccQun'lable fatality; and having sold th orn­se,


l ve~ ' i! i! 1, in sma ll matl ers, pl ~ all sto lll ly


thut tfley , c'hnnot resist g.. ent telllptaii m~ miC


the henrer, will perhaps allege thut I heg th e


qn estion j that I on ght to go back [ 0 the poiut


wh ere th e two opposin g influences commen ce


acting on , the human heart, and th eu So" y


wll eth er it dep euds oil lIIan which influ ence


s ha ll be the strongest. Well, I will go back


to that Ilistant and almost impe.. ceptible point.


Wllllt then? Why; my friend will sily- thut


two children 01 lliffer ent cOllstitutions / l1Il1 in


differellt circum'stallces, without any lilllit of


theirs, are pr edi sp osed, the one to obey, the


other to resist th e divine influence- so that


th eil' first actsllI'e almost ' necessarily contrary


to each other in mOllll chamc" Thr. An sw el · .


I admit th e fiwt, llIIt deny Ihe inferen ce. Ever


sin clJ the o.. iginull rllnsgrcssion ofmllll, human


liatu re Ims undouhredly heen more 01' lessl! pro ·


disposed to surrender to carnal influences.....!


It s illtegrity having once been shal, en, remains


weakened, The curt'ent of exumple hns ac­cordillgly


set in an evil di .. ection- and so all


men have'fallen itllo sili hy n kind of cOllla­gion.


The first grn'nd apostacy was ccrtaiuly


thnt offree moral agents, and it drew / lfter it


all the sin lind miscry which has ovenvillilmed


our world: ~ A s' l\ 1 i lto n expresses it, tltat apos ·


ta cy " brought death into our ", o'rld and all its


wo es." And all hUllllin nnllire suffel's tog eth­er


; , Becanse e ni ire hum/ in nature swerved


li'o, lIo recti lillie in its co'millon fountuill- the


flrst puir. No man lIlay now cu .. se Ad am and


Eve, as the authors df t \ lis mischief; sillcc ev­el'y


mall W8S th en present in the actors, virtu­ally


conse nting to th eir trunsgression. Or to


make myself better understood: None of the


posterity of oni' common parents may hOllst


of th eir OWIl inn ocence llIul denounce the first


transgessors ; becuuse, if p-' aced ill th e Ilame


position, / III wOllld certuinly have made the


same choice. Adum and Eve ivere lhe perfect


representutives o f human nuture, however that


nature hns since been spreud / lbroad anll diver­sified.


But whllt I um coming to is thi s.- The


pronene8s of human nature in geneml to sin


is not in itselfllow th efault ofindividulllman.


It is th e fault of uuiversul hlIlllnn naturc, IIllII


is tr eat ed as suc h. Neithc r is an e xc ess ive


pr op en sity to any pcculiar lOickedness the fault


01 aniudividual human heing, furth er ihan


lillCh prop en sity is th e c reatu re of th at individ-unl's


own choice. No doubt many children


are horn into th e world with inordinate pro.


pensitles to ce rta in great vices, and sometimes


to all mann er ofsin. Wllo is i~ fault in such


cases? Not th e child certainly. Who tlien?


l\ iost lik ely Ih ~ imre llts- pe rhul' s thegr/ llld­parents-


pedlaps th e gre at- grund- pa re nts - c­and


perhaps othe rs co tempornry with some or


all these progenitors. lI ere is a fearful field


of thought, Fnthers, mothers, grand- parents,


uncles, aunts, br oth ers, sisters, neighbors, ac­qu


aintnncea, do yon know that you are in va ­rious


ways mak ing or marring the dispoainons


ofthe unborn, hy the manner in which you


are tr eating yourselv es nnd those under your


influence? And do you knowthat ifthrough


your misconduct, you cause another gene'ra' ­tion


10 come into the world inordinately pro­pense


to any grent evil, the sin will lie at your


door in the s ight of Gill I ? ' It is even so. if


by reasou of what I volm; tarily do, my ch illi


entersthe world so prone · to strong Ilrin k, or


to licentiousness o f uny sort, that in his weak­ness


. heisunalile to cope with temptation, let


me pr epare inan swer for making him in uny


degree such u moral invalid,


Now I admit that by reason ofa great fault


somewhere, either' hefore or after hirth, r ~ any


child ren at the cOI; lIuenceinent of their c~ reet~


- at tbe point where th ey are first sensible of


opposite moral inlluences. ure placed under


. vast disadvantnges ill the cOll~ ict: the cnemy


gets prior poss ession of the fiel~ 1. ~ i ri t u a l


influences are tOtak; carnal ones strong. Hut


nfter all, God hns so ordered ' things, that 6y"


one menns or llnother ev ery man comes to a


point \ vhere he Iletermines freely wi, ic/; mas­.


tel' he will, se rve. God has arrallged a multitude


ofcounteral'ting springs, "'; Iich sooner or later


put it in every men's power to choose, Wheth­er


he will he sinful alid tniseruble: o ~ holy and


happy. ' And no ch i1d' can he ~ aid to Illive at ­tnin


eltm]' l" e'e" mornrngellcy;- untlf - brougllt4to


this point: All pr ec edi llg silis a re si ,; s of · ig­nOl'ance,


which Gnd eithc l' winks at, 01: c hlir­ges


justly to the / lCCOllut of those by whom


they were cau~ ed. .'


Ttius I maintain my ground. l\ Ian is not


passive j he is active in the momI system. ­He


is nota mere sen8itive th inkillg lIIachine,


nrunuged by a lill'eign will ; hnt a ~ e1f- rleler~


mining ag ent- ll f1' ee mornlugent- the e\' er­lasting


suhj cct of II moral governmimt- a cren­ttlre


10' he lIIovell by consider: lIiOIlS of Right,


of Truth, and of Ben evolence j u bl, il ig to be


rea soned with, comlllllnde, f, pe .. suadcd, atl ;


monished, rewanled and punishe,";' an/ iin­mortalmilld,


whit: h th e Futher of Splrits"/ ms


eOI'lnti esS way s of iiulLicing to Ilrefer good to


, evil , but which he will never force out of its


inhel'entliberty.


And what is my proof tha't m: in is sucll n


fre e mornl agent us this? What would , be


, my proofthut the sun shines at noon day?-'


What would be my proof that I am myself­thut


I aClually exi st- thut I am not a' tree, or a


stone, or a phantom? What is so Iiurd 10


pr ove, as that which is self · evident? The


Free morul agency of man is' s elf- evident.-:'


Everyone. se es it and feels it~ Everyone


treats his fellows on the presumption thut they


are such ngents. Even those ,\ vho dream them­selves


out ofcommon sense into meluphysi­calnonesense


on this s ubj ect, come to them­selv


es \ v hen fairly a wake, and address mun ' ­kind


as free mornl ngimts. Fatalists and semi­fatalists,


of ev ery description, ' give the lie


prnctically to all th eir fine spun theories; end


when tltey can lint offer allY other reuson for


their own wret ch el\ inconsistency, tuke refuge


in ihe plea; that tllal ; too, w~ sdecreed. " Hut


where is your S cripture? Can yOll notlluote


yOUl' teXis, us on otlllir points !" No; but I


can qnote th e wh dle BiIJle enmalle. What


part ofthut snc.. e, 1 Book docs not take this


troth for grante d ? ' Vhat part ofit can be un­d


erstood or explained without · p t'es ~ l p p." s i n g


man a free moralugem? What I'urt of it


wOlild not be a mo cllery on any other pre­s


ump tion ? T o whollla.. e its law s, its coun­sels,


its consolations, its promises, its threaten ·


iugs, its prophecies, its arguments, its exhor­tations


addresscd ? Arc, th ey adth'essed to

Page 65 of Volume 1 from The Practical Christian 1840-1841

Ballou, Adin

1840