Beckitt, Cath. | Claydon, Caius | Yorke, Sidney. QUESTIONISTS NOT CANDIDATES FOR HONOURS. EXAMINERS. Joseph Pullen, M.A. Corpus Christi | James Goodwin, B.D. Corpus Christi Michael Gibbs, M.A. Caius George John Kennedy, M.A. St. John's The continuation of the notice of Dr. Hook's able exposure of Popery (already in a third edition) is unavoidably postponed till our next. Our Correspondents will observe that our Ecclesiastical and University Intelligence is so unusually long, that our reply to their favours must be excused in the present number. THE CHRISTIAN REMEMBRANCER. MARCH, 1840. REVIEW OF NEW PUBLICATIONS. ART. I.-Wesleyan Methodism, a Revival of Apostolical Christianity. A Sermon, preached by appointment before the Wesleyan Conference, on Monday, August 5, 1839, on occasion of the Celebration of the Centenary of Wesleyan Methodism. Published by request. London: Mason. 1839. Svo. Pp. 62. THOMAS JACKSON. By THE enforcement of the doctrine of apostolical succession in the Church is of the greatest importance in all discussions with dissenters, whether they be Romanists, who admit the propriety and necessity of a succession of rightly constituted men as preachers of the word and dispensers of the sacraments, or whether they be those of the mere sects who, without order, decree what is apostolic, or the reverse, in a tone of confidence which the apostles themselves, highly gifted as they were, never attempted to use. The boldness with which unauthorized men assert their dogmas, is matched, too frequently, only by their ignorance; and that pride of heart is to be regretted, which sets in array, against the wisdom of antiquity and catholic tradition, the opinions of some sectarian teacher, whose opportunities of learning have been few and limited. Such opposition, for the most part, proceeds upon no better ground than the likes or dislikes of some one individual—has no higher authority than the assertion of some one person, to whose opinions a deference is paid. Accordingly, it has been found, that while one man views scripture truth through one medium, and attaches to it his own interpretation, another, with equal confidence, expounds the Bible in a manner totally different. Both teach their doctrines with zeal; neither have any commission or authority further than the plaudits of an approving audience; and, accordingly, both think there is no necessity for a continuous succession of ministerial men. This conclusion was to be expected. It could not be supposed that men who had presumptuously assumed powers should lay them down with meekness, upon being told that they had arrogated what did not belong to them. The same spirit which prompted them to rebel dictated the further crime of denying that allegiance was due. Hence it is found, that various bodies of dissenters are opposed to the doctrine of orders conveyed by an unbroken succession of lawful, chief, and co-ordinate ministers. Among this number are the Wesleyan Methodists, who only began to exist, in any shape, about a hundred years ago, but who latterly, instead of being, as Wesley intended, an assistance to the Church, have assumed an attitude of proud defiance. The Wesleyans do not now-a-days follow their centenary master, in his reverence for the Church of England. He wished to see that Church efficient, and doing the work for which her Lord designed her, and to behold the people of England improved by the general prevalence of true religion. He little thought that, after his ashes had been gathered to the tomb, men, who called themselves after his name, should pursue a course tending to turn men's hearts from that Church to which he himself had endeavoured to lead them; and he would have wept to imagine that his name should be used to denominate a body who are by their actions demonstrating their opposition to his principles. That their proceedings are opposed to the Church of England, and therefore to the gospel itself, will be evident from the fact of the centenary of Wesleyan Methodism. We have before us a Sermon, preached by appointment, and published by request, and entitled, "WESLEYAN METHODISM, A REVIVAL OF APOSTOLICAL CHRISTIANITY." This Sermon was delivered before the Wesleyan Conference, and as they requested the publication, it may be presumed to be a correct view of their opinions. The occasion of its delivery cannot escape notice. The hundredth year of the existence of Wesleyan Methodism is the cause of the gathering and gaudeamus. They consider the system which was organized under the name of Wesley as taking its date from the days of Wesley, and, consequently, unknown before him. If, therefore, the Wesleyans are, as the Sermon before us would lead us to believe, the nearest approximation to the apostolic model, the church of God has been allowed to wander on in error from the time of the apostles to the days of John Wesley! Nay, more; as it is presumed that the system now is much more different from the Church than when Wesley founded his stations for preaching, or, in other words, in language which may seem more adapted to the system of things in the world, it has materially progressed; the light only began to dawn upon the world, and did not fully burst into day until Wesley had slept in the grave. Wesleyanism, according to this statement, is a phoenix of apostolicity on poor Wesley's ashes! With him has been buried the greater part of the respect in which the Church was to be held, as a religious and divine institution, while the little that remained gradually evaporated before the audacious acts of fool-hardy men, who have dared to assume duties belonging only to the rightly-constituted ministers of Christ. Sermon under review is an apology for this. He draws attention to "the ministry that was exercised in the apostolic age." The The ministry in question was weak and contemptible in the world's estimation. The men who were entrusted with it enjoyed no distinction arising from birth, or rank, or learning. They were mostly selected from the humblest classes of mankind. Yet they laboured under the direct sanction of the Almighty, and were instrumental in raising up a people to whom Christ was made of God "wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption."-P. 4. So far very well. The apostles, as we all know, had a direct commission from God, and the effects of their preaching were of the most blessed character. They were sent by the Lord of the harvest himself, to gather in his vineyard, and all their labours were conducive to his glory. All this is matter of history. Many of the most important results of the apostles' exertions are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles; the account of their commission is given in the Gospels. Thus both the results and cause are proved. But, according to this Sermon, the Wesleyan system is "identical" with that of the apostles in its effects, for it thus proceeds Such has been the character of the Wesleyan ministry since its commencement; and its direct effects we conceive to be perfectly identical with those which were produced by the preaching of the apostles, and that of their fellowhelpers to the truth.-P. 4. Here is mere assertion, but not a shadow of a proof. The claim is not so much that they are the inheritors of the communion of the apostles, as that the effects of Wesleyan preaching are identical with those which followed on apostolical preaching. The chief attempt at reason for this assumption is the alleged resemblance between the apostles and their followers, and the Methodist preachers and their people. The only idea, however, which is conveyed is, that the Methodist preachers are ignorant, illiterate, foolish men; that they know little beyond their own trade or craft; but they are able, however, to discuss the deepest mysteries of religion, and to teach its truths more effectually than if they had devoted a lifetime to the study of theology. These weak men are to confound the mighty; these foolish men to confound the wise. The idea is very self-complacent. They must know that such instruments are unlikely to succeed, and knowing this, they immediately claim for all their preachers-inspiration! As Now, that the apostles were men who had little or no secular education is abundantly evident. One reason for this is sufficient. plain men, unbiassed by philosophic theories, they were eye-witnesses to many important events, and the value of their testimony is greater Had they been when it was not supposed in any way to be biassed. men deeply versed in the literature of their time, the infidel would have questioned the fulfilment of prophecy to which they were witness. And so on in a thousand other ways. But as it is, their testimony is not to be shaken; and when our Lord was about to leave the earth, and the apostles were to carry forth the gospel to the world, the Holy Ghost was promised them. Here we are to notice, first, that our Saviour gave to his apostles direct authority to go and to teach-to proselytize all nations; and, moreover, promised to be with them always, even to the end of the world. Thus they were commissioned; but who sends forth the preachers of Wesleyanism? The Conference. And when did the Conference commence its labours? Just one hundred years ago. The commission of the apostles conveyed a promise that Christ would be with them; lo! always. And this promise has been fulfilled hitherto in the preservation of a succession of ministers, from the time of Christ himself: this line has been preserved amidst many troubles, in a miraculous manner. For eighteen hundred years and more has this ministry existed, through good report and bad report, while, we are informed, that the assumption of the ministerial office by the Wesleyans is not a century old. But in this Sermon the vulgar prejudice seems to find place, that, because when the apostles first followed the Lord Jesus, they were not men of learning, that human learning is by no means necessary to a minister of the gospel; in short, Mr. Jackson considers the ignorance of Wesleyan preachers as a proof of their likeness to the apostles. By the way the new college which caused the Warren schism is rather inconsistent with this. As the apostles had an arduous duty to perform, they required strength equal to the task. They were commanded to preach to all nations, while they were illiterate Jews. To enable them to perform their Lord's will they were gifted with tongues and the power of working miracles, which event the Church commemorates at the feast of Whitsuntide. These extraordinary powers, which seem to have been confined to the apostolic age, were necessary for the promulgation of Christianity through the world. But when the gospel had been once spread, men in each country were taught, each in his own tongue, the true faith; and each was bound, when called to the ministry, to exert his talents in acquiring by study such measure of human learning as might enable him to fulfil his office aright. Indeed, the example of St. Paul's call proves that for which we contend; for, after Jesus had ascended, and there was no need for more eye-witnesses of the great events connected with his life and death, the person selected as the apostle of the Gentiles was a man of learning and eloquence. These qualifications were useful in the great work in which he engaged them. The example of his dispute at Athens is enough for our case, |