"JESUS, my Shepherd, Guardian, Friend, My Prophet, Priest, and King, My Lord, my Life, my Way, my End, Accept the praise I bring." THERE are, here and there, in the various re ligious denominations, thoughtful Christians, who cannot, in view of their individual responsibility to God, accept the dictation of any man or any set of men, as to what they shall or shall not believe, — who are not satisfied with the "doctrine of the Trinity," so-called, as generally stated and held by the evangelical denominations. They hold implicitly and unqualifiedly to the great essential truths of the Gospel: namely, - the infinite excellence of the attributes and character of God, the righteousness and binding force of his law, man's sinfulness and lost condition, salvation only through the God-man Jesus Christ, conversion and sanctification by divine agency, a future state of rewards and punishments. But as they do not accept the statement of doctrine referred to, as expressed in the so-called Athanasian creed, and in others of more modern date, they either keep silent for fear of being stigmatized as heretics, and subjected to ecclesiastical discipline as such, or take refuge from persecution among those who do not require, as a condition of fellowship, unqualified assent to creeds. : of the character named, - though not always at home even there. Some, who feel under obligation to accept this "doctrine" as true and essential, because so taught by their religious instructors, and because the Scriptural arguments adduced in its favor seem plausible, live on with a vague undefined feeling that their Redeemer and their Sanctifier are not quite equal to God the Father - not quite infinite. Neither their minds nor their hearts are satisfied; but they see no way to become so. To others still, this doctrine has proved a stumbling-block, preventing their acceptance of the Gospel: their religious teachers assuming and insisting, but not proving to their satisfaction, that it is essential to Christianity; while it seems to them to involve an absurdity, - to be, not a mystery above reason, but a dogma contrary to reason. To aid such, and all other honest seekers after truth, these pages have been written. John Robinson, the pastor of the Pilgrims, held that "the Lord has still much truth to break forth out of his holy word." A more modern writer, well known as an able and intelligent Christian minister, has well said, that "no creed has ever been framed by man, entirely exhaustive of the contents of divine revelation." Rev. J. H. Fairchild, D. D., President of Oberlin College, in an article on "Open Questions of Theology," remarks as follows : "The doctrine 1 Rev. Joseph A. Seiss, D. D., of Philadelphia. |