nominations.-Appropriated all as part of my patrimony.-Results.--Suspi-

cions and fears among my brethren.-Mutterings: Backbitings: Controversy.

Bad feeling,.........

CHAPTER VIII.

My style of preaching.-Decidedly practical.-Using Christianity as a means for

making bad people into good ones, and good ones always better.-Reasons for

this method.-A family trait.-Hereditary.-Great need of practical preach-

ing. Folly of other kinds of Preaching.-Littleness of great Preachers.-Worth-

lessness of great sermons.-The Truly Great are the Greatly Good and Greatly

Useful. My Models.-The Bible.-Jesus.-My Favorite Preachers.-Billy Daw-

son, David Stoner, James Parsons.-My Favorite Books.-The Bible.-Nature.-

Simple Common Sense, instructive, earnest, moving books.-How my preaching

was received by the people.-Its effects on churches and congregations.-Un-

easiness of my colleagues.-Fresh mutterings; tale bearings; controversies;

and more bad feeling,.

CHAPTER IX.

Extracts from my Diary.-A strange preacher.-Horrible sermons.-Lights of the

world that give no light.-Theological mist and smoke.-Narrow-mindedness.-

Intolerance.-T. Allin,-Great preaching great folly.-A. Scott,—A good preach-

er.-Sanctification.-Keep to Scripture.-R. Watson: theological madness.-Big

Books on the way of salvation; puzzling folks.-Antinomian utterances about

Christ's work and man's salvation.-Preachers taking the devil's side; and

doing his work.-Scarcity of common sense in priesthoods, and of uncommon

sense.-The great abundance of nonsense and bad sense.-Common religious

expressions that are false.-Favorite Hymns that are not Scriptural.-Baxter's

good sense,............................................... .................

...............

65

82

CHAPTER X.

Reforming tendencies.-Corruptions in the Church.-Bad trades.-Faults in the
ministry. Toleration of vice.-Drinking habits.-Intemperance.-The Con-
nexion.-Faulty rules.-Bad customs.-Defective institutions.-All encouraged
to suggest reforms and punished for doing so.-Original principles of the Con-
nexion set aside, and persecution substituted for freedom.-My simplicity.-
My reward. The Ministry.-Drunkenness.-Teetotalism.-Advocacy of Tem-
perance.-Outery of preachers.-My Evangelical Reformer.-Articles on the
prevailing vices of the Church: On Toleration and Human Creeds;-On Chan-
ning's Works; On Anti-Christian trading, &c., get me into trouble.-Conference
interference.-Conference trials.-The state of things critical.-No remedy.—
Matters get worse and worse.-Exciting events: too many to be named here.-
Envy, jealousy, rage, strife, confusion, and many evil works.-Conspiracies:
Fierce conflicts.-Expulsion,.......

98

117

CHAPTER XI.

Explanations about the different Methodist Bodies.-Grounds of my reformatory

proceedings.-About immoralities.-Christianity not to blame for the faults

of professors and preachers.-My own defects,.........

153

CHAPTER XII.

Story of my life continued.-Results of my expulsion.-Fierce fighting.-Des-
peration of my persecutors.-Great excitement on my part.-Rank crop of
slanders.-Monstrous ones.-And silly ones.-Bad deeds as well as wicked
words. Hard work.-Exhaustion.-Powerlessness.-Three days' rest.-Long
sleep.-Wonderful,-delightful,-result.-Public debates.-Remarkable occur-

CONTENTS.

rences; seemed Providential.-A lying opponent unexpectedly confronted and
confounded.-New Body,-Christian Brethren.-My church at Newcastle.-
Change in my views, and fresh troubles.-Losses.-Poverty.-Learn the Print-
ing business.-Follow it under difficulties.-Want of funds.-Generous friends.
Family on the verge of want.-Pray.-An unlooked-for cart-load of provisions.
-Trust in Providence.-False friends.-True ones.-A mad utterance.-A worse
deed.-Theological Conventions.-Free investigations and public discussions.-
Change of views,...........

CHAPTER XIII.

Approach to Unitarianism.-Kindness of Unitarians.-Preaching and lecturing in
their pulpits.-Ten nights' public discussion with Rev. W. Cooke.-Subjects.-
Results.-Publications.-New periodicals.-Unitarian invitation to London.-
Public reception.-Liberal contributions to Steam Press Fund.-Press pre-
sentation.-Dr. Bateman; Dr.-Sir-John Bowring.-Pleasurable change from in-
tolerance and persecution to friendship and favor.-Discoveries.-Unitarianism
has many phases.-Channingism.-Anti-supernaturalism.-Deism.-Atheism.-
Gradually slid down to the lower,..

CHAPTER XIV.

The Bible.-My earliest views of its origin and authority.-Changed as I grew up.

-Further changes.-Important facts about the Bible.-False theories of its

Divine inspiration.-The true-the Bible's own,-doctrine on the subject.—

Needful to keep inside of this.-No defence outside either for the Bible or for

Bible men.-Explanations: illustrations: testimonies of celebrated writers.-

The PERFECTION of the Bible-in what does it consist.-Foolish and impossible

notions of perfection.-No absolute perfection in any thing.-No need for it.-

Foolish talk about infallibility.-Other important testimonies,..................... 202

CHAPTER XV.

Enters politics.-Advocates extreme political views.-Republicanism.-Foretells

the French Revolution of 1848.-Great political excitement in England.-Go-

vernment alarmed.-Get arrested.-Lodged in prison.-Trial.-Triumph over

Government.-Great rejoicings.-Elected member of Parliament for Bolton, and

Town Councillor for Leeds.-Exhaustion from excess of labor.-Health fails.-

Terrible Pains.-Voyage to America and back.-Removes to America.-Objects

in doing so.-Settles on a farm.-Gets into fresh excitement.-The Abolition-

ists.-Women's Rights.-All kinds of wild revolutionary theories.-Go farther

into unbelief instead of getting back to Christ.-A mad world, with strange un-

written histories, and awful, nameless mysteries,....

241

............. 191

CHAPTER XVI.

Story of my descent from the faith of my childhood, to doubt and unbelief.-Bad

theological teaching in my early days.-Dreadful results.-Perplexity.-Mad-

ness. Survive all, and get over it.-The first arguments I heard for the Bible.

-True basis of religious belief.-Reading on the evidences.-Effects.-Unsound

arguments. Their effect.-Internal evidences best.-Negative criticism, long

continued, ruinous both to faith and virtue.-Moving ever downwards.-The

devil as a theologian, a poet and a philosopher.-Bible Conventions.-W. L.

Garrison, A. J. Davis.-Public discussions in Philadelphia with Dr. McCalla.-

The Doctor's disgraceful failure.-Great,-mad,-excitement.-Narrow escape

from murder.-Eight nights' debate with Dr. Berg.-The good cause suffered

through bad management.-The Doctor took an untenable position.-Under-

took to prove too much and failed.-Substantially right, but logically wrong.-

Other debates in Ohio, Indiana, England and Scotland.-Mean and mischievous

opponents.-Honorable and useful ones.-Bad advocates of a good cause, its

worst enemies,..........................

........................................................ 269

CHAPTER XVII.

Continuation of my Story.-Lectures on the Bible in Ohio.-Trouble.-Riot.-Rot-

ten eggs.-Midnight mischief.-Had to move.-Settlement among Liberals,

Comeouters.-Too fond of liberty.-Would have my share as well as their own.-

Fresh trouble.-Another forced move.-Settlement in the wilds of Nebraska,

among Indians, wolves, and rattlesnakes.-Experience there.-A change for the

better.-How brought about.-Quiet of mind.-Reflection.-Horrors of Atheism.

-Destroys the value of life.-Deceives you; mocks you; makes you intolera-

bly miserable. Suggests suicide.-Prosperity not good for much without reli-

gion adversity, sickness, pain, loss, bereavement intolerable.-Strange adven-

tures in the wilderness; terrible dangers; wonderful deliverances.-Solemn

thoughts and feelings in the boundless desert.-Solitude and silence preach.-

Religious feelings revive.-Recourse to old religious books.-Demoralizing ten-

dency of unbelief.-Lecture in Philadelphia.-Cases of infidel depravity.-You

can't make people good, nor even decent, without religion.-Infidelity means

utter debasement.-A good, a loving, and a faithful wife, who never ceases to

pray. Return to England.-Experience there.-Unbounded licentiousness of

Secularism. Total separation from the infidel party.-My new Periodical.-Re-

solution to re-read the Bible, to do justice to Christianity, &c.—A sight of Jesus.

-Happy results.-Change both of head and heart.-Happy transformation of

character.-A new life.-New work.-New lot.-From darkness to light,-From

death to life, from purgatory to paradise,—from hell to heaven,................. 310

CHAPTER XVIII.

Parties whose Christian sympathy, and wise words, and generous deeds, helped

me back to Christ,........

345

CHAPTER XIX.

The steps by which I gradually returned to Christ.-Lectures and sermons on
the road.-Answers to objections against the Bible and Christianity.-Spiritual-
ism. Strange phenomena.-Answers to objections advanced by myself in the
Berg debate. The position to be taken by advocates of the Bible and Christi-
anity. Additional remarks on Divine inspiration.—What it implies, and what it
does not imply.-Overdoing is undoing.-Genesis and Geology.—The Bible and
Science. Public discussions,-explanation.-At Home in the Church.-Sorrow-
ful, yet always rejoicing.-Joy unspeakable,................

CHAPTER XX.

Lessons I have learned.-1. Men slow to learn wisdom by the experience of

others.-2. Danger of bad feeling.-3. Of a controversial spirit.-4. Old ministers

should deal tenderly with their younger brethren.-5. Young thinkers should

be prayerful, humble, watchful; yet faithful to conscience and to truth, trust-

ing in God.-6. With Christian faith goes Christian virtue.-The tendency of

unbelief is ever downwards.-7. Unbelievers are not irreclaimable.-We should

not pass them by unpitied or unhelped.-8. Converts from infidelity must look

for trials. They must not expect too much from churches and ministers.

Paul's case.-9. They must risk all for Christ, and bear their losses and troubles

patiently.-10. They should join the Church, right away.-Not look for a perfect

Church.-Keep inside.-Bear unpleasantnesses meekly.-Stones made smooth

and round in the stream, by the rubbing they get from other stones.-Reformers

should move gently, and have long patience.-The more haste the worst speed.

-Killing rats.-12. Unbelief, when not a sin, is a terrible calamity: a world of

calamities in one,.............................................................................................................................

CONCLUDING REMARKS,...............................................................

406

437

355

PREFACE.

THE object of this Book is, First, to explain a portion of my own history, and, Secondly, to check the spread of infidelity, and promote the interests of Christianity. How far it is calculated to answer these ends I do not pretend to know. I have no very high opinion of the work myself. I fear it has great defects. On some points I may have said too much, and on others too little. I cannot tell. I have however done my best, and I would fain hope, that my labors will not prove to have been altogether in

vain.

I have spent considerable time with a view to bring my readers to distinguish between the doctrines of Christ, and the theological fictions which are so extensively propagated in His name. It is exceedingly desirable that nothing should pass for Christianity, but Christianity itself. And it is equally desirable that Christianity should be seen in its true light, as presented in the teachings and character, in the life and death of its great Author. A correct exposition of Christianity is its best defence. A true, a plain, a faithful and just exhibition of its spirit and teachings, and of its adaptation to the wants of man, and of its tendency to promote his highest welfare, is the best answer to all objections, and the most convincing proof of its truth and divinity. And the truth, the reasonableness, the consistency, the purifying and ennobling tendency, and the unequalled consoling power of Christianity, can be proved, and proved with comparative ease; but to defend the nonsense, the contradictions, the antinomianism and the blasphemies of theology is impossible.

I have taken special pains to explain my views on the 7

Divine Inspiration of the Scriptures. I am satisfied that no attempts to answer the objections of infidels against the Bible will prove satisfactory, so long as men's views on this subject go beyond the teachings of the Scriptures themselves. To the fanciful theories of a large number of Theologians the sacred writings do not answer, and you must therefore, either set aside those theories, and put a more moderate one in their place, or give up the defence of the Bible in despair. I therefore leave the extravagant theories to their fate, and content myself with what the Scriptures themselves say; and I feel at rest and secure.

The views I have given on the subject in this work, and in my pamphlet on the Bible, are not new. You may find them in the works of quite a number of Evangelical Authors. The only credit to which I am entitled is, that I state them with great plainness, and without reserve, and that I do not, after having given them on one page, take them back again on the next.

How far my friends will be able to receive or tolerate my views on these points, I do not know. I hope they will ponder them with all the candor and charity they can. I have kept as near to orthodox standards as I could, without doing violence to my conscience, and injustice to the truth. I would never be singular, if I could honestly help it. It is nothing but a regard to God, and duty, and the interests of humanity, that prevents me going with the multitude. It would be gratifying in the extreme to see truth and the majority on one side, and to be permitted to take my place with them: but if the majority take sides with error, I must take my place with the minority, and look for my comfort in a good conscience, and in the sweet assurance of God's love and favor.

A Dream.

In looking over some manuscripts some time ago, belonging to a relation of my wife's father-in-law, I found the following story of a dream. Some have no regard for dreams, but I have. I have both read of dreams, and had dreams myself, that answered marvellously to great realities; and this may be one of that kind. In any case,