the voice of conscience within us; and that by "holding fast to that which is good," and living the best life we can, according to our lights, we need fear no Divine wrath or eternal punishment for passing by that which we cannot comprehend. Judging of the questions discussed in the present chapter, upon the evidence before us, it seems to me that we cannot do better than sum up the foregoing conclusions as follows: I. That there is no special salvation for a few only; and, 2. That those who have not heard of Christ cannot be destined to be punished for their ignorance. 3. That such persons will be judged according to their capacities and inner motives. 4. That even those who have heard the Gospel of Christ and cannot conscientiously believe, are not destined to eternal punishment. CHAPTER VI. The True Christianity of Christ. I PROPOSE in this chapter shortly to review the whole of the teachings of Christ and his apostles as contained in the extracts given in the foregoing chapters; after which, I will endeavour to discover from them what may fairly be considered to be the true and what the false teachings. In support of what I venture to think are the true teachings of Christ I will then give some further extracts from the New Testament, which seem to me to explain much that appears contradictory in other passages. Salvation according to Christ. As the prime object of the Gospels, and the Christian religion generally, is supposed to be to ensure our salvation from a life of eternal punishment hereafter, prepared for those who do not live rightly here, let us commence by summing up what Christ really does require of us as absolutely and indispensably necessary to salvation. In Chapter I., ante (The Practical Teachings of Christ), we find that Christ distinctly stated the qualifications for salvation to be Keeping His Commandments, viz. : Istly, Those against murder, adultery, stealing, defraud ing, and bearing false witness, and those requiring us to honour our parents and love our neighbours as ourselves (ante p. 32). H 2ndly, Love of God and love of neighbour (ante p. 32). 3rdly, Love of one another (ante p. 33). Christ distinctly requires us to do good and not merely worship God; and 4thly, In describing the Day of Judgment in Matthew, he promises eternal life to all who have fed the hungry and thirsty, clothed the naked, and visited the sick and in prison; in short, beneficence is made the test of merit. Those who have failed to do these things (not failed to believe any particular doctrine), together with "them which do iniquity," are alone relegated to eternal punishment (ante p. 40). 5thly, The same chapter also contains numerous injunctions by Christ to do and not to do certain things, which, although not distinctly stated to be necessary to salvation, may certainly be taken as practical illustrations of the previously named commandments -the love of one another and the love of our neighbours. In this sense, therefore, they are necessary to salvation. They may be enumerated as follows: To be Cultivated: Non-resistance; love of enemies; almsgiving; humility; forgiveness; mercy; unselfishness; self-denial; righteousness; martyrdom; faith in God's providing; prayer; doing good; and finally, behaving towards others as we would they should do to us (ante pp. 34-39), To be Avoided: Worldly cares; covetousness; hypocrisy; self-glorification and ambition; judging and condemning others; surfeiting and drunkenness (ante p. 34-39). On turning to Chapter III., ante (The Doctrinal Teachings of Christ), in order to see what doctrines Christ requires us to believe if we wish to inherit eternal life, we find one passage in Mark,* and eight or nine in John (but not one in Matthew and Luke), which emphatically require, as necessary to salvation 6thly. Belief in Christ and belief in God (ante pp. 59-61). It is true, it cannot be denied that Christ teaches certain other doctrines in passages from the Gospels, which I have, in Chapter III., divided under the following heads, viz. : The atonement; Christ's power to forgive sins; repentance and remission of sins; the resurrection of the dead; everlasting punishment; salvation for the elect; the Lord's Supper; baptism; and Christ's divinity (ante p. 58, et seq.). But, strange to say, no where does he require any belief in these doctrines or sacraments as necessary to salvation! + Again and again does St. John tell us (and St. Mark only once) that Christ required, as an indispensable requisite to salvation, that we should believe in him, but no where does he say that belief in Christ is to mean belief in his divinity, or his atonement, or in original sin, everlasting *The passage which is admitted to be unauthentic. + Since expressing the above conclusions, I am pleased to find the following passage in Mr. J. S. Mill's Essay on "The Utility of Religion," which corroborates my view:-"It may be doubted,” says he, "whether Christianity is really responsible for atonement and redemption, original sin and vicarious punishment: and the same may be said respecting the doctrine which makes belief in the divine mission of Christ a necessary condition of salvation. It is nowhere represented that Christ himself made this statement, except in a hud· dled-up account of the Resurrection contained in the concluding verses of St. Mark, which some critics (I believe the best) consider to be an interpolation." I have also searched Bishop Burnet's "Exposition of the Thirty-nine Articles" in vain for any words of Jesus relied on by him to prove that it is necessary to believe in Christ's divinity or atonement in order that we may be saved. I have quoted two texts in a note (ante p. 61) from John 17:3 and 8: 24, which rather favour the opposite view; but as no similar expressions occur in the other Gospels, and as they are also much in the minority even in John, besides as I have elsewhere endeavoured to show-being so contrary to reason and mercy, I do not think we need hesitate to dispute the Church's interpretation of Christ's meaning. punishment, or any other of the dogmas of modern theology! Indeed, we are not even left entirely in doubt about the meaning of the words, belief in Christ; for Christ himself distinctly tells us that his sheep are they which not only hear his voice, but also follow him (ante p. 60). "Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you, My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." "He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." "He that taketh not his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me." See also the important texts quoted, ante p. 33, chiefly from John, to the effect that those who love Christ keep his commandments. What better proof that belief in Christ is not intended to mean mere worship or passive faith in Christ can we have, than the important quotations from Matthew, Mark, and Luke (ante p. 66), where Christ rebukes the woman who praises him, and tells her— "Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Or the quotation under the head of Good Works (ante p. 39), where he says:— "Why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I Or this: "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." (Matt. 7:21.) Now, the will of the Father cannot be different from the will of Christ, and is undoubtedly contained in the commandments and teachings of Jesus which I have just epitomised under the five heads on ante p. 98; since Christ tells us also (see ante p. 61):— "He that believeth on me, believeth not on me but on him that sent me." "For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which |