John Quincy Adams Digital Diary

28. IV.30. Sunday.

Heard Mr Lunt this morning from John 1.17.—“Grace and Truth came by Jesus Christ.” A parallel between the Christian Religion and others— A forcible remark in this Discourse was the simplicity of the Christian system as it appears in the new Testament compared with the complication and casuistry of the Sectarians called the Fathers of the Church, and of Calvinism— He noted especially the small number of precepts of which the gospel consists— This is true— The Mission of Christ had two objects—Glory to God—Good will to Man— It brought Life and immortality to light— It taught the immortality of the Soul, and the responsibility of man to a future state of existence, as articles of Faith—and assuming that as a Foundation, it taught Love to God, and Love to his fellow creature, as comprizing the whole duty of Man— It said to the human being—God is your Father—Man is your brother—Your duty to God, is filial affection and obedience—your duty to man is brotherly Love— This is simple, comprehensive and sublime— There is no metaphysical mystification in this— But in St. Paul’s argumentative Epistles, and in St. John’s Platonic musings, there is the foundation of all the metaphysical subtleties of subsequent ages. There has also been great misapprehension of the figurative language of Christ— Transubstantiation, is the mere taking in a literal sense, that which was spoken as a metaphor. So is regeneration—so is the doctrine of the atonement— The divinity of Christ is more directly asserted by St. John and St. Paul, than by Jesus himself— He claimed to be the Son of God—but this too was a metaphor— He said, before Abraham was “I am”— His language concerning himself was not so clear or so simple as his precepts— His religion is all divine— Mr Whitney preached in the afternoon, from 1. Timothy 1.17. “Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen[”]— A unitarian Sermon—composed apparently with more meditation than Mr Whitney has been accustomed to bestow upon his Pulpit exercises— He divided the discourse into the consideration of the several attributes of God, as enumerated in the text, and the consolations to be derived from them in the conduct of human life—dwelling impressively upon the words “the only wise God,” as decisive of the divine Unity— The morning was lowering, but the Sky cleared up, and I took Fanny to Meeting with me after dinner— I read the 13th. Sermon of the 6th Volume of Saurin—upon the affliction of the righteous, occasioned by the Sins of the wicked— The preacher sets out by stating that People generally understand the obligation of Sinners, to mourn for their own transgressions; but that very few are aware of the duty of suffering affliction for the Sins of others, and he presents David, as having furnished the most illustrious example of both these kinds of affliction— He says that in contemplation of human reason it is liable to much controversy, whether a virtuous man enjoys more happiness in the present life, than the wicked; but that the Holy Spirit has decided that godliness has the promises of this life, and that if there are exceptions to this principle, they are 28not in the conscience of the virtuous— In considering the fate which awaits the wicked in the future world, and the affliction which this might shed upon the upright, he is met with the objection, how the felicity of the virtuous can be perfect, if they must witness the sufferings of the wicked whom they loved, and with whom they had ties of consanguinity upon Earth— His answer to this difficulty is not satisfactory— He says that the happiness of the next world, will be the result of order, and will therefore not be disturbed by any punishment of the wicked for disorderly guilt— I hope there is better warrant for the future happiness of the good than this— I read also some pages of Milman’s History of the Jews;—paid an Evening visit to Mr Lunt, who I found with Mrs Lunt, at home. On my return I found Mr Beale, and his daughter— Coll. and Mrs Quincy, and Miss Abigail Quincy had also been here.