Rational Creation, Rev. James Brodie

An intelligent study of the philosophy of the human mind, and a sincere belief in the doctrines of revelation, have by many been looked on as directly opposed to each other, and by many more have been regarded as distinct and dissimilar. On the one hand, those who have treated of the science of the human mind have seldom referred to the statements of Scripture in support or illustration of their views, and some of them seem to look on the Christian religion as a vain superstition; on the other hand, the expounders of Holy Writ make but few appeals to the conclusions of philosophers, and some of them seem to shrink from the speculations of science, as if the taint of infidelity adhered to all who ventured to intermeddle with them.

In the following treatise, we purpose to pursue a course equally distant from either extreme. We shall begin by inquiring into the nature and constitution of man, the only member of the rational creation with which natural science is conversant, as they are made known to us by reason and observation; we shall, in the next place, examine the account which Revelation gives us, not only of man but of other classes of intelligent creatures, and shall then proceed to consider the nature and work of the Redeemer, who is man in union with God, and the influence which He exerts on the whole intelligent creation as the instructor and governor of all.

Our object is to determine the peculiar characteristics of rational creatures, their various classes and conditions, the laws by which they are governed, and the destiny that is before them.

No lengthened argument is needed to prove that the inquiry on which we propose to enter is at once one of the most interesting and one of the most difficult that can occupy our thoughts; the variety of speculations in regard to these subjects which have from time to time engaged the attention of reflecting minds, and the strange contrariety of opinion to which these speculations have given rise, are sufficient evidence both of its difficulty and of its importance.

This inquiry seems, moreover, to be peculiarly appropriate at a time like the present, in which we find so many of the prevailing forms of scepticism originating, in a great measure at least, in a misunderstanding of those subjects to which we propose drawing the attention of our readers.

The infidel phrenologist and other materialists, for example, bring forward their shallow but plausible speculations on the constitution of man, as a substitute for the doctrines of the gospel; and the confidence of their assertions, and the difficulties with which the study of the human mind is surrounded, have given them a measure of success which is far greater than many are apt to imagine. An inquiry, therefore, into the characteristics that distinguish the rational mind seems to be imperatively called for. This is the object which we set before us in the first part of the following work.

Another class of sceptics, including some who are possessed of the highest talent, are led to doubt, and even to reject, the peculiar tenets of revelation, in consequence of the apparent incongruity which they find between the doctrines of Scripture and the discoveries of modern science. "I am no bigot," says Lord Byron in one of his letters, "to infidelity, and did not expect that, because I doubted the immortality of man, I should be charged with denying the being of a God. It was the comparative insignificance of ourselves and our world, when placed in comparison of the mighty whole of which it is an atom, that first led me to imagine that our pretension to immortality might be overrated." His Lordship does not deny the existence of the Deity; but he rejects the peculiar doctrines of revelation, because he cannot bring himself to believe that a Being, so great and glorious as the universe declares its author to be, could ever have taken that peculiar interest in the welfare of the human race which the Scriptures ascribe to the God of Redemption. A tendency to this species of scepticism is not confined, we must also remark, to men like Lord Byron, of dark and bold imagination, who are naturally inclined to shake off the restraints of religious belief; it influences others of a very different character and disposition of mind. The late Daniel Webster, one of the most distinguished of American statesmen when he found his latter end approaching, dictated the following inscription, which he directed to be put on his tomb:— "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Philosophical argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the universe in comparison with the insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken my reason for the faith that is in me; but my heart has always assured me, and reassured me, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality. The sermon on the mount cannot be a merely human production. The belief enters into the very depth of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it. Daniel Webster."

In the case of the poet, we see philosophical speculation leading him to reject the doctrine of man's immortality; in that of the statesman, we see it inducing a spirit of doubt and suspicion, which "shook the faith that was in him," and seems, at times, to have altogether hidden from his eye the Sun of Righteousness.

To remove doubts like these, always dangerous and often fatal, it is not enough to denounce them as evil, we must endeavour to dissipate the errors and ignorance in which they originate: and no method promises to be more effectual than an inquiry into the ultimate design of the work of redemption, and the relation in which it stands to the government of God over the intelligent creation. This is the object which we set before in the concluding part of our work, and we shall rejoice if we succeed so far as to draw the attention of reflecting minds towards it.

One of the principal difficulties in the way of our proposed investigation is the strangely complicated nature of man's constitution. In the faculties and aspirations of his rational soul, he claims alliance with the angels before the throne; in his bodily appetites, he ranks with the beasts of the field; in the composition and properties of his material frame, he must be classed with the inanimate substances which compose the earth from which he was taken, and to which he must return.

All the varied parts, moreover, of this complicated nature are so closely combined, their mutual relations are so involved, and the influence which they exert upon each other is so great, that the utmost difficulty is often found in drawing the boundaries between them, and in determining to which of them all the varied phenomena of the human constitution should be referred.

An investigation into those particulars, in which man is allied to the lower orders of creation, may at first sight appear foreign to the subject now before us; but a moment's reflection is sufficient to shew us, that some reference must be made to them, in order to render our inquiry complete. We shall begin our investigation, therefore, with a few remarks on the inferior parts of our nature.




				Introduction. An intelligent study of the philosophy of the human mind, and a sincere belief in the doctrines of revelation, have by many been looked on as directly opposed to each other, and by many more have been regarded as distinct and dissimilar. On the one hand, those who have treated of the science of the human mind have seldom referred to the statements of Scripture in support or illustration of their views, and some of them seem to look on the Christian religion as a vain superstition; on the other hand, the expounders of Holy Writ make but few appeals to the conclusions of philosophers, and some of them seem to shrink from the speculations of science, as if the taint of infidelity adhered to all who ventured to intermeddle with them. In the following treatise, we purpose to pursue a course equally distant from either extreme. We shall begin by inquiring into the nature and constitution of man, the only member of the rational creation with which natural science is conversant, as they are made known to us by reason and observation; we shall, in the next place, examine the account which Revelation gives us, not only of man but of other classes of intelligent creatures, and shall then proceed to consider the nature and work of the Redeemer, who is man in union with God, and the influence which He exerts on the whole intelligent creation as the instructor and governor of all. Our object is to determine the peculiar characteristics of rational creatures, their various classes and conditions, the laws by which they are governed, and the destiny that is before them. No lengthened argument is needed to prove that the inquiry on which we propose to enter is at once one of the most interesting and one of the most difficult that can occupy our thoughts; the variety of speculations in regard to these subjects which have from time to time engaged the attention of reflecting minds, and the strange contrariety of opinion to which these speculations have given rise, are sufficient evidence both of its difficulty and of its importance. This inquiry seems, moreover, to be peculiarly appropriate at a time like the present, in which we find so many of the prevailing forms of scepticism originating, in a great measure at least, in a misunderstanding of those subjects to which we propose drawing the attention of our readers. The infidel phrenologist and other materialists, for example, bring forward their shallow but plausible speculations on the constitution of man, as a substitute for the doctrines of the gospel; and the confidence of their assertions, and the difficulties with which the study of the human mind is surrounded, have given them a measure of success which is far greater than many are apt to imagine. An inquiry, therefore, into the characteristics that distinguish the rational mind seems to be imperatively called for. This is the object which we set before us in the first part of the following work. Another class of sceptics, including some who are possessed of the highest talent, are led to doubt, and even to reject, the peculiar tenets of revelation, in consequence of the apparent incongruity which they find between the doctrines of Scripture and the discoveries of modern science. "I am no bigot," says Lord Byron in one of his letters, "to infidelity, and did not expect that, because I doubted the immortality of man, I should be charged with denying the being of a God. It was the comparative insignificance of ourselves and our world, when placed in comparison of the mighty whole of which it is an atom, that first led me to imagine that our pretension to immortality might be overrated." His Lordship does not deny the existence of the Deity; but he rejects the peculiar doctrines of revelation, because he cannot bring himself to believe that a Being, so great and glorious as the universe declares its author to be, could ever have taken that peculiar interest in the welfare of the human race which the Scriptures ascribe to the God of Redemption. A tendency to this species of scepticism is not confined, we must also remark, to men like Lord Byron, of dark and bold imagination, who are naturally inclined to shake off the restraints of religious belief; it influences others of a very different character and disposition of mind. The late Daniel Webster, one of the most distinguished of American statesmen when he found his latter end approaching, dictated the following inscription, which he directed to be put on his tomb:— "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief. Philosophical argument, especially that drawn from the vastness of the universe in comparison with the insignificance of this globe, has sometimes shaken my reason for the faith that is in me; but my heart has always assured me, and reassured me, that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be a divine reality. The sermon on the mount cannot be a merely human production. The belief enters into the very depth of my conscience. The whole history of man proves it. Daniel Webster." In the case of the poet, we see philosophical speculation leading him to reject the doctrine of man's immortality; in that of the statesman, we see it inducing a spirit of doubt and suspicion, which "shook the faith that was in him," and seems, at times, to have altogether hidden from his eye the Sun of Righteousness. To remove doubts like these, always dangerous and often fatal, it is not enough to denounce them as evil, we must endeavour to dissipate the errors and ignorance in which they originate: and no method promises to be more effectual than an inquiry into the ultimate design of the work of redemption, and the relation in which it stands to the government of God over the intelligent creation. This is the object which we set before in the concluding part of our work, and we shall rejoice if we succeed so far as to draw the attention of reflecting minds towards it. One of the principal difficulties in the way of our proposed investigation is the strangely complicated nature of man's constitution. In the faculties and aspirations of his rational soul, he claims alliance with the angels before the throne; in his bodily appetites, he ranks with the beasts of the field; in the composition and properties of his material frame, he must be classed with the inanimate substances which compose the earth from which he was taken, and to which he must return. All the varied parts, moreover, of this complicated nature are so closely combined, their mutual relations are so involved, and the influence which they exert upon each other is so great, that the utmost difficulty is often found in drawing the boundaries between them, and in determining to which of them all the varied phenomena of the human constitution should be referred. An investigation into those particulars, in which man is allied to the lower orders of creation, may at first sight appear foreign to the subject now before us; but a moment's reflection is sufficient to shew us, that some reference must be made to them, in order to render our inquiry complete. We shall begin our investigation, therefore, with a few remarks on the inferior parts of our nature.
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