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to Bi due.
Vtut Religion an
A SERMON,
PREACHED AT ST. GEORGE’S HALL, LANGHAM PLACE,
JULY 27th, 1873,
by the
REV. CHARLES VOYSEY.
[From the Eastern Post, August 2nd, 1873.]
On Sunday (July 27th) at St. George’s Hall, the Rev. Charles
Voysey took his text from Psalm xvi., 9, “ I have set God always
before me. He is on my right hand; therefore I shall not fall.”
He said—Our meditations on the supremacy of virtue would
hardly be complete without an effort to discern more clearly the
relation between morality and religion. One of the most important
questions that can be asked is, “ What is the help which Religion
gives to true Virtue ?” I do not say that Religion ought to be
abandoned if it could be proved to be of no value in the promotion
of virtue, because Religion has other functions to fulfil in the
economy of man; but it must be owned that Religion would lose
nine-tenths of its value if it were of no moral use; and our duty
would be to abandon it altogether if it were found to be a hindrance
to morality. I am here forced to stand on the threshold of our
enquiry in order to explain what is meant in this discourse by the
word Religion. One is quite overwhelmed at the mass of different
senses in which this and kindred terms are used, and it is positively
alarming to think of the confusion that must overtake posterity
in trying to understand the theological productions of this age.
One can hardly take up a book or a magazine, or a weekly news
paper, without perceiving the perfect Babel we are in through our
use of ambiguous terms, without any effort at definition. Contro
versy will one day come to a full stop, being choked by its own
jargon. Theological polemic will at length fall into disuse when
the light of day shall reveal every belligerent in the act of “beating
the air,” and thrusting at shadows.
�2
To pass over the long list of senses in which the term religion
is used, I will briefly repeat the definition, or rather the explana
tion, of it which I have often already given. Of course I do not
give this as arbitrary and dogmatic, but only in order to leave no
mistake as to my meaning.
Religion, as I understand and use the term, is the consciousness
of a supreme God and of our relation to Him. It is the conviction
of the heart that there is an invisible One who is Source and
Ruler of the whole universe, and is especially the Lord of our
hearts and lives; whose will is always good and must be obeyed ;
whose purpose is always kind, and may, therefore, be implicitly
trusted; to whom we may turn for guidance, and on whom we
may rest all our hope—in the words of my text, “ I have set God
always before me; He is on my right hand, &c.” To have this
conviction is to be religious. To be destitute of all sense of God,
so as to doubt gravely whether there be a God or not, is to be
irreligious. Again, Religion is not merely an intellectual assent to
the proposition, “ There is a God, and He is good,” for a man may
arrive at this conclusion in various ways, and yet not have any
feeling of loyalty, or trust, or love towards God in his heart.
Religion is intensely, but not exclusively, a matter of emotion.
Observe further, that Religion is much more than mere awe and
reverence. The Pantheist and even the Atheist may feel the
emotions of awe and reverence excited by the contemplation of the
grandeur and beauty of Nature; but while it is regarded as
unconscious, and therefore irresponsive to human aspiration and
devotion, it is impossible to regard it with religious feelings. The
laws of Nature, which is the God of the Pantheist, are regarded
by him as supreme, and nobly loyal to them he endeavours to
become ; but he owns that Nature does not know nor care whether
he obeys her laws or not—that is his own business—nor is she
conscious in the least degree of his loyalty or admiration. The
Pantheist may be ravished with the sight of Nature’s beauty, but
there is no return of his loving gaze, no gratified sense on her part
of having filled her worshipper with bliss. The Pantheist may
also be a very optimist of content and hope, abiding in the immu
tability and certainty of Nature’s operations; but he can never
feel that rest and peace which those souls feel who know what it
�is “to cast their burden on the Lord.” In the Pantheist’s God
there is no consciousness, no individual will, no heart. But
Religion recognises in God all these. It is the characteristic of
religion to attribute to God more than all else—next to righteous
ness—tender sympathy and affection.
I am willing to admit that some of this, which I have called
Religion, may be erroneous, and must be defective. We know how
religion hitherto has been mixed up with errors and falsehood too
patent to remain for ever rooted in men’s minds. But Religion
has outlived all primseval superstitions, and seems to have a
vitality of its own by which it rises from the ashes of burned and
buried creeds. In spite of the thousands who are just now destitute
of all religion whatever, owing to the solemn mockery of maintain
ing a creed no longer credible, and owing in other cases to the
intense disgust at having been so long the dupe of groundless
superstitions; in spite of these, I say, Religion is taking fresh and
stronger root than ever, and is putting forth new leaves, and even
already bearing fresh and wholesome fruit for the healing of the
nations. While morality owes scarcely a single thread of its
binding power to the dying religions of modern Christendom, the
true essence of religion, set free by the destruction of the tissue of
creeds, is filling the air with its fragrance, and making glad the
hearts of those who wept when their idols were shattered.
A modern wit has immortalised himself by describing the present
State of religious feeling—if feeling it may be called—-throughout
orthodox Europe, in these terms : “To believe implicitly what one
knows to be false.” Let us hope that the time will come when it
may be truly described thus : “ To deny openly what one knows
to be false,” and when this stage is reached, “To know certainly what
one believes to be true.” Till this blessed change is consummated,
we have but one duty in regard to, religion. To be utterly true to
the convictions of the hour, and to be honest enough as well as
brave enough to abandon any position proved to be untenable. It
is impossible on this, the deepest and highest of all themes, to
attain the certainty of demonstration ; to have such knowledge of
God as would enable us, or warrant us, to teach with authority, as
if it were scientifically verified, what we feel in our hearts to be
true about God. It is alike impossible for the irreligious to know
�4
that our convictions are false, or our feelings groundless, and it is
unbecoming to dogmatise in the negative, as the orthodox have
dogmatised in the affirmative. Time alone will show who is right
and where lies the truth. Both , of us are on the side of virtue;
both alike regard it as supreme; both of us measure the worth or
the worthlessness of any religion by its influence on the culture of
morals. What better task could we pursue than to investigate to
the very foundation the claim made for religion, that in so far as
it approximates to the truth, or is set free from false admixtures,
it is . a very powerfu laid to virtue1?
Between the orthodox God, whose system is one of bribes and
threats, and the God of Matthew Arnold, who is a “ Power that
makes for righteousness,” and yet has no faculties for knowing
when we are righteous and when we are not; who does not even
know what righteousness is and has no power to think about any
thing—between these two—there is the God of pure Theism, who
“ thinks, and knows, and lovesand is present to the soul as the
most Holy One, the searcher of hearts, the Divine Father who
loves to see His child willingly good—good from choice; a God
who uses no coercion or enticement; who only whispers “ Do this,
because it is right.” “ Do not that, because it is wrong.” Now,
whether this be or be not a delusion of the mind which transfigures
the human conscience into a Divine voice, at all events, it gives a
sanction to the moral sense far more weighty than any other sup
position yet known. It is only natural and human in the highest
degree to attach unspeakable importance to what we believe to be
mandates of the Eternal Will. Every thought, word, or deed,
becomes magnified for good or ill, beyond all calculation, when it
is regarded as conforming to, or rebelling against, the law of the
most Holy One. And this part of religion—our recognition of a
Divine Law-giver, an accuser and a judge—would never fail of its
moral power were we always to 'realise what we profess to believe,
were we “ to set God always before us.” We fail, not because it
is for one instant a matter of indifference to us whether we obey
God or not; but because we cannot, in the presence of temptation,
and under pressure of physical allurements, realize to ourselves
that God Himself is warning us from temptation, or urging us to
perform some arduous duty. Indeed, we are religious in exact
�5
proportion as we do realise His right of control, and in the same
proportion is our religion a help to our virtue.
But, passing from the sense of Divine authority we come to the
still higher conviction of the Divine friendliness—God’s will that
we should be good, joined with God’s willingness to help us to
become good; not by miracle, not by invariable answei' to prayer,
not by uniform rescue from temptation; but by the whole and
mingled method of His discipline. Sometimes we are helped to
virtue by being suffered to taste the bitter fruits of disobedience,
oi’ to be stung by the remorse which belongs to it. But to feel
sure from first to last that One above, the most Holy, has devised
all our past, present, and future as a means for the perfecting of
our natures and the reproduction in ourselves of His own spotless
image, must, without doubt, be a tremendous moral force, because
it adds hope and encouragement of the highest order to the sense
of solemn obligation. I know nothing more terrible than the
weight of sin which used to be heaped upon our young heads by
the reiterated falsehood that we had broken the whole of God’s
law if we were guilty in only one point. It was simple agony to
be assured that a Perfect God demanded, and would be satisfied
with, nothing less than a perfect obedience from man, which we
knew could not possibly be rendered; and one only wonders why
more brains did not give way under the never-to-be-forgotten
weight of sin and doom. It made matters worse; resistance of
temptation more difficult; hope of renewal impossible. One’s only
refuge was in atonement and substitution and imputed righteous
ness ; leaving one no better than before and only an ungrateful
slave. But now, what a change ! Over again we can calmly
repeat, but with an infinitely higher meaning, the old orthodox
formula, “ a Perfect God requires perfect obedience from man,”
Yes, indeed! But when? Not until he can render it. Notone
moment sooner than all his faculties and surroundings shall have
made it possible to him. But what does a “Perfect God” mean, but
one perfectly just, and therefore requiring of us no more than we
can render; so that perfect obedience is only doing our very best
under our circumstances. A Perfect God can require no more;
but He can require no less. Here the burdened sinner is pacified
and encouraged; assured that God does not blame him one grain
�mor© than he Must blame himself; and consoled by the hope that
his present exertions, and even failures, shall work in at length
to the purification of his soul. It is something to be virtuous for,
if one knows that virtue in one little thing will lead to being
virtuous in many great things; and that the more one tries the
sooner one will succeed. It is some encouragement to be as
virtuous us we can be now, to beheve that we shall be perfectly
virtuous hereafter. And this hope and encouragement, I say, are
the direct fruits of true religion. Perfect trust in God’s good
purposes does provide this invaluable aid to virtue. Just, in fact,
as the old falsehood paralysed moral effort through utter despair
of success, and then sent conscience to slumber by saying, “ All
your righteousness is as filthy ragsso the new truth stimulates
to an enthusiasm of virtuous effort, and comforts the soul, not only
by assurances of Divine approval, but by promise of entire success.
Moreover, a religion like this which recognises the universal and
impartial love of God for all mankind is a powerful aid to virtue,
by inspiring affection between man and man. It was, perhaps,
excusable under the old creed to hate those whom God was supposed
to hate, and to count them our enemies; but it is impossible to
feel the same animosity towards anyone in v horn at the time we
recognise one who is very dear to God, and who, like ourselves, is
destined to perfect holiness. The mere fact of our common
relationship to one Divine Father, and our common hope of being
thoroughly cleansed from all sin and cured of all defects, must have
its influence in softening down our asperity, and in awakening our
mercy and forbearance. Whatever helps to kindle affection between
man and man is a real help to virtue. It would be an evil day for
mankind, if a mere sense of duty—invaluable as that is—only re
mained as a spur to right conduct; if our motives for doing good
were to be stripped of the lovely adornments of tender feeling and
sympathy, and our lives were only regulated by the cut and dried
rules of mechanical morals. In truth, it seems to me, though I say
it with all diffidence, that love is the real root of all virtue, and
not its tardy fruit. Men have begun by acting from tender
emotions and kind feelings, and then have discovered that their
conduct was beneficial. Even Utilitarianism must fall back on
love and kindness and the desire to do good, as the root of all
�7
morality. For why should it be right to promote the greatest
happiness of the greatest number, instead of promoting the greatest
happiness of the few who are best able to enjoy and appreciate
happiness 1 Because, behind and beneath it lies the native kindli
ness of the human heart, the instinct of generosity, the longing
that all may share in our happiness, which, when wisely directed
and organised, is called morality or virtue. Most true it is that
we need, the help of reason in the discovery of the best method of
showing kindness j and our defective reasoning requires the cor
rection of experience that we may learn how to select, and how to
perform, what is really best for the common good. But, in general,
the impulses of a kind heart go straight to the point, and are, in
nine cases out of ten, infallibly virtuous.
It is through his affections chiefly that man has ever attained a
true morality, and it is by his’affections mainly that the standard
of morals is kept steadily rising, Love deepens and widens
sympathy, sympathy thus enlarged reveals to us wants and wrongs
and sorrows of others to which we had before been blind, and this
revelation is followed instantly by fresh calls upon our sense of
duty, by new demands of the conscience. If I am my brother’s
keeper, and try to behave accordingly, the longer I keep him, the
more faithfully I watch over'his needs and perils, the morel shall
have to do for him, and the greater will be the claims made upon
my love and sympathy. It is notorious how we grow to love
more those to whom we have shown kindness. In this sense also
it is true that “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” The
love born out of bounty is far greater than the love born of
gratitude.
If love then be rightly regarded as the proper root of virtue,
and a religion be found which tends to inspire love between man
and man, that religion must be a powerful auxiliary in promoting
virtue. It is on this ground that we must admire those precepts
of Christianity, and of all other religions, which inculcate “love to
the brethren,” and also detest and abjure those principles, beliefs,
and precepts which inculcate first exclusiveness, and then hatred,
malice and all uneharitableness towards those who are not theolo
gically “ brethren.” As a religion, Christianity—as developed in
Europe and America—has been nearly as much a source of strife
�8
and hatred and selfish ambition, as a source of peace, charity, and
good-will. It has hitherto, therefore, been nearly as great a
hindrance to true virtue as a help to it. By its fruits it can be
known; and by its fruits it must be judged. And in so far as it
has taught what is true, it has blessed mankind; in so far as it has
taught what is false, Christianity has been its bane.
The same sifting will be applied to the Religion of which I have
spoken to-day. Its faults will show its truth and its falsehood ;
will disclose its weakness while declaring its power. Meanwhile, it
is a comfort to know that in the long run truth alone is friend to
mankind, while every falsehood is its foe.
*
EASTERN
Post
Steam Printing Works, 89, Worship Street, Finsbury E.CJ
�
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Victorian Blogging
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A collection of digitised nineteenth-century pamphlets from Conway Hall Library & Archives. This includes the Conway Tracts, Moncure Conway's personal pamphlet library; the Morris Tracts, donated to the library by Miss Morris in 1904; the National Secular Society's pamphlet library and others. The Conway Tracts were bound with additional ephemera, such as lecture programmes and handwritten notes.<br /><br />Please note that these digitised pamphlets have been edited to maximise the accuracy of the OCR, ensuring they are text searchable. If you would like to view un-edited, full-colour versions of any of our pamphlets, please email librarian@conwayhall.org.uk.<br /><br /><span><img src="http://www.heritagefund.org.uk/sites/default/files/media/attachments/TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" width="238" height="91" alt="TNLHLF_Colour_Logo_English_RGB_0_0.jpg" /></span>
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Conway Hall Library & Archives
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2018
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Conway Hall Ethical Society
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True religion an aid to virtue: a sermon, preached at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, July 27th 1873
Creator
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Voysey, Charles [1828-1912]
Description
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Place of publication: [London]
Collation: 8 p. ; 19 cm.
Notes: Part of Morris Miscellaneous Tracts 6. Printed by Eastern Post: August 2nd 1873.
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[Eastern Post]
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[1873]
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G3419
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Sermons
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<a href="http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/"><img src="http://i.creativecommons.org/p/mark/1.0/88x31.png" alt="Public Domain Mark" /></a><span> </span><br /><span>This work (True religion an aid to virtue: a sermon, preached at St. George's Hall, Langham Place, July 27th 1873), identified by </span><a href="https://conwayhallcollections.omeka.net/items/show/www.conwayhall.org.uk"><span>Humanist Library and Archives</span></a><span>, is free of known copyright restrictions.</span>
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Text
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English
Conduct of life
Morris Tracts
Virtue