456

CONCLUSION.

disgusting licentiousness was not only openly practised, butpublicly encouraged, excited, sanctioned, and facilitated, by thecustoms and institutions of heathenism, — that the heathen wereaccustomed to justify themselves in their abominations, by theexample of their divinities, as is shown by the writings of theancients, — that the moral and educated heathen well understood,that their religion was vastly more efficacious in calling forth sin,than in subduing its power, — that heathenism almost inevitablyled to the grossest superstition on the part of the common people,and to unbelief, contempt, and disgust on the part of the educat-ed, — that the number of the gods in Greece and Rome, up tothe coming of Christianity, was continually increasing, and thesuperstitious worship of them, the multitude of their priests, tem-ples, and rites had increased beyond measure, —■ that, the moreabominable vice and licentiousness became, on the one hand, themore did men yield themselves up, on the other, to superstition,in order to quiet conscience and appease their divinities, —■ and,finally, that heathenism was absolutely without power to elevatemankind to a condition of freedom, purity, and happiness, —■ onthe contrary, that during its sway, the vices and sufferings of thehuman race were continually increasing.* Such, too, is a cor-rect picture of modern heathenism, as testified to by those whohave been within the sphere of its influence, and witnessed itsabominations, f

Moreover, wherever the influence of Christianity has been castaside, wherever infidelity has gained the ascendency, it is matterof history , that the desecration of every thing pure in morals, aswell as sacred in religion, has been the consequence. And, inconcluding this part of my argument, I again avail myself of theaid of Professor Tholuck, who has skilfully and forcibly com-pared the effects of infidelity and heathenism on the morals ofmankind.

“In the French revolution,” says he, “when the peoplemade a public renunciation of the God that had created and re-deemed them, all the vices became prevalent of which human

* See Robinson’s Biblical Repository for 1832, especially pp. 81, 82, 107, 250,251, 263, 264, 284, 285, 443, 444, 459, 462, 463, 465, 467.

t See the Missionary Herald, 'passim.