Chapter VI: Opposition To His Religious Views

Mr. Spencer was so taken with his new birth that he tried to have all his friends and acquaintances born again after his own fashion. He made no secret, therefore, of his religious leaning; by letter and word of mouth he tried to bring all to his side. We find, from his correspondence at this time, a shower of letters from every point of the clerical compass where there was authority or influence enough to muster a cloud for their discharge. In looking over such of the letters as he has thought well to preserve, one is struck at once with the diversity of opinion. It is better not to give names, perhaps; but a few sentences from each may not be out of place.

Rev. Mr. A.--"I have read your letter through with great care, and I
can say with truth, that it has produced much the same effect upon
the eye of my mind which the full blaze of the meridian sun
sometimes produces upon the natural eye. It has been almost too much
for me." The letter goes on encouraging him in his spirit,
fortifying him against all carnal opposition. This gentleman is of
the same mind as Mr. Spencer, but more glowing in his zeal for the
great cause of Gospel freedom.

Rev. Mr. B.--"I address myself to one who, from that love of Christ
which passeth knowledge, has evinced an anxiety for me, who am less
than the least of all saints, and an unprofitable minister of the
Gospel of God." This gentleman's language is of the right stamp; but
he does not agree so perfectly, and arranges for a meeting, where
they are to have a mutual adjustment of ideas.

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Rev. Mr. C.--"This is very well at the commencement. I trust the
Lord will add more, in the best sense of that expression."

Rev. Mr. D.--".... To this I will never consent [renewing left off
discussions], being satisfied (as I have before stated to you) that
every man who is able and willing and sincerely endeavouring to
learn and practise his duty, ought to be left in the quiet and
undisturbed possession of his own conscience, and not forced from it
against his will by others who happen to form a different judgment.
In our former conversations, you told me, as plainly as language
could well do, though perhaps not entirely at one interview, that
you considered me to be an unconverted sinner, as destitute of the
truth as any heathen could be, and in a state of perdition; and you
seemed to think that I could be recovered from that fearful
condition by that horrid system of indiscriminate condemnation and
terror which prevails (I find) at Northampton in its most odious
form, and which I believe to be essentially opposed to the
principles of the Christian religion, as it is repugnant to those
natural feelings of kindness and benevolence which God has implanted
in the human breast."

It might be fairer to transcribe his entire letter; but then the other letters have the same claim, and that would make a new volume, for some of the letters extend over fifteen pages of foolscap paper, closely written. The sum of the remaining part is this, that he is twenty-one years in holy orders, and that God could not have allowed him to be in error all that time. He says that, "I never can for one moment admit that any one is more anxious for my happiness than I am myself, nor that any person has a greater right to decide than I have by what means that happiness shall be sought. A man's own conscientious judgment is the proper guide in such cases." He then refers Mr. Spencer to others more learned than he for the discussion of those matters, and mentions the Bishop of Chester and John Rose, "whose qualifications for the task are incomparably superior to mine." This gentleman seems to hesitate between Mr. Spencer's opinions and his own, and is rather uneasy lest he might be wrong, yet does not see {136} the use of troubling himself, as it is all the same in the end, when one tries to do what his conscience tells him is right.

Rev. Mr. E. is a doctor, so let us listen to him. After a rhetorical preface, in which he would make excuses but would not, because they were such friends and did not want them, for handling his friend so summarily, he thus launches forth:--

"Although there can be but _one_ line of duty marked out in the
situation of _every_ clergyman, and although, before God, the
humblest and the loftiest in that profession are equally bounden to
_pursue_ the same line of duty, and are, moreover, equally frail and
'found wanting,'--yet I cannot bring myself to consider yours as by
any means an _ordinary_ case."

After thus magnifying the importance of his subject, he neither agrees nor disagrees, but discountenances Mr. Spencer's practices on prudential motives. He staves off the whole matter of doctrine, and talks about discipline.

The next quotation will be from a bishop. He very wisely and keenly observes:--

"Amidst a great deal that is excellent and of right spirit in your
observations, there is a presumption and self-confident tone, which
is altogether new in _you_, and in my opinion not very consistent
with real humility. In fact, I almost wonder that this symptom, if
you have ever recalled to mind your conversations, or read over your
letters when written, has not made you doubt the reality of what you
call your conversion; for I remember perfectly well your having
observed to me, that the extreme confidence of those who hold
Calvinistic opinions as to their own case, and their extreme
uncharitableness towards, or rather _concerning_ others, were strong
indications of some radical error in their notions, and so they will
ever be considered by those who take the same view with St. Paul of
Christian charity."

The Bishop then states the case very clearly at issue between them, and points how far they agree and disagree upon the point of _assurance_ and reliance on the merits of Christ, and proves his side of the question by Scripture, Anglican divines, and common sense.

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It is a very singular thing that this bishop, when he first heard of the manifestations of Mr. Spencers Calvinistic spirit, concludes a short letter to him thus:--

"I recommend to your perusal a most interesting tract, which Blanco
White has just published, 'The Poor Man's Preservative against
Popery.'

"Ever yours affectionately,
*****"

These specimens are picked at random from a heap of letters. It looks incomprehensible to a Catholic how such a state of things could be possible in a system calling itself a Church. Not one of these, who were the clergy working with him in the same field and in the same way, dared to say, or knew how to say, "You have uttered a heresy." Some agreed with him, some applauded him, some wanted to be left alone in their old doctrines, and some begged leave very politely to differ from him, and gave their reasons for so doing. The Bishop argued warmly against him, but Mr. Spencer took up his lordship, and argued quite as warmly for the other side of the question. If he did not put them among the reprobate, they should very likely have let him alone. Such was the state of _dogma_ in the Establishment in the beginning of 1826; it is scarcely improved, except in its own way, in 1865. No definite teaching, nothing positive, nothing precise, all mist, doubt, uncertainty, except that Popery is anti-Christian and subversive of human liberty.

It is very hard to imagine, much less to realize, how these lukewarm expressions of assent and dissent turned, in a few months, into a tempest of opposition. Perhaps the following guess would nearly account for it. We may conclude from the letter of Lady Spencer to Dr. Blomfield (given in his life, page 70), on his being appointed to the see of Chester, that she and Lord Spencer knew something about the making of bishops and the mode of their _translation_. If she took such an interest in a stranger, but a friend, it is not wonderful that she should take a similar, if not a greater, interest in seeing a mitre on the head of her own son. Lord Liverpool had not yet retired from the head of the ministry, {138} and if his politics and Lord Spencer's were sufficiently of accord to promote the man whom the Earl patronized, they would be able to do a like service to the Earl's own son in due course. Extreme Low Church views would never do for the Episcopal Bench in those days, though many were raised to that dignity with little High Church views. Whether Mr. Spencer's opinions clouded this bright future, or that the noble family would feel it a disgrace to have a son so methodistical, or whether real anxiety for his spiritual welfare, or an endeavour to prevent a future that the Bishop's ken seemed to have forecasted, troubled his parents, it is difficult to say. At all events, Mr. Spencer's religious notions caused a great commotion in the family, whilst those who abetted and encouraged him went on preaching their sermons and reading their services in their position, with one exception, and nobody seemed to mind them.

Lady Spencer took her son to London, in the beginning of the year 1826, to have his new notions rectified by Dr. Blomfield. This good doctor immediately prescribed for his patient, for he did not need much feeling of his spiritual pulse after their correspondence. The interview is thus described:--

"Jan. 24.--My mother allowed me her carriage after breakfast, to go
and see the Bishop of Chester. I did not find him at home, and so
came directly back again. He was so good as to call on me
afterwards, and sat talking with me a considerable time. His
conversation was most pleasing to me, though I could see that we did
not fully agree in our view of Christian doctrine (_sic_). He
desired me to read Sumner's 'Apostolical Preaching,' which I sent
out for and began doing before dinner."

His obedience to directors of all kinds was remarkable; but the results were invariably contrary to their expectations. He began this book at once, and be it remembered, he had read it twice before. Next day he read on, and "marked many passages which he thought decidedly wrong." He goes out a little, sees an old friend, and delights in reading Cowper's "Task," exclaiming, "It is a great thing to be a true Christian." He visits the Bishop in a day or two; they hold a discussion, but part in charity; and the result was, {139} that Mr. Spencer wrote him "the memorable letter" which scarcely left his lordship a hope of salvation if he did not at once get assured of his election.

A correspondence ensues now, which terminates in a promise given and accepted of a longer stay in London, where matters may be settled in conversation to their mutual satisfaction. In the mean time, Mr. Spencer returns to his parish, and begins reading the New Testament in Greek (another of Dr. Blomfield's prescriptions). As he lays down the volume one day he exclaims, "How do I want the milk of God's word!"

An old lady whom he visits, in illness, dozes into a stupor, and awakens unto Gospel faith. One evening he says:--"I spent this evening with a mixture of scrupulosities and comforts, but trust soon to find out what is the true Gospel freedom." There seem still some relics of the old asceticism left in him, for on having to go to Peterborough on some business, he says:--"I started in a chaise for Peterborough. I had scruples about the heavy expense of this mode instead of coaches; but I was consoled by the opportunity I had on the way of calling at Titchmarsh, and having half an hour's conversation with Lyttelton Powys. I got to Peterborough at 4½, dined with the dean and his lady at 6, and spent the evening in hearing extracts from his intended life of Bentley. I found myself in a land, alas! of spiritual barrenness; but water-springs may rise in dry ground."

It was about this time, March, 1826, that he seems to have given up reading anything in the way of theology, except the Bible. He gives an odd dip into Cowper's poems, by way of recreation. He came across a book called "The Convent," but immediately "discovered it to be anti-Christian." This apparent quiet is, however, disturbed by the play of the clerical artillery around him. The tone of one or two extracts from the letters he received now will give an idea of the vantage-ground these good champions of orthodoxy thought proper to take. One writes:--

"I know you did think it un-Christian-like to converse or employ the
mind much on any subject but religion. To this almost entire
exclusion of all other topics I decidedly object, {140} on the
ground of its having a strong tendency to engender a pharisaical
spirit, and of its being inconsistent with the common duties and
occupations of life marked out for us by Providence, and contrary to
the true interests of genuine Christianity. And my opinion in this
respect has the sanction of some of the most excellent characters I
have ever known--persons eminent alike for sound wisdom and
discretion, and for a quiet and unostentatious, but sincere and
fervent piety.

"I cannot conclude this letter without remarking, that all your
conversations with me, since you adopted your present views, have
convinced me more and more that my own religious opinions are sound
and yours erroneous; and that every day's experience confirms and
strengthens me in the conviction, that the religious system which
your friends at Northampton are pursuing (whatever charm it may have
for enthusiastic minds) _is not the religion of the Bible_."

This is from the grumbler quoted above, as may be seen by the style and sentiment.

Our friend the doctor calls him to task in this manner:--

".... You are endeavouring to make up for past deficiencies, or to
atone for past errors, by renewed activity or rather extraordinary
efforts. This you do in perfect sincerity; and, I believe, heartily.
In consequence, instead of _one_ sermon on a Sunday there are _two_;
instead of a _quarterly_ there is a _monthly_ sacrament; and, in
addition, an evening lecture, with prayers, is pronounced every
Wednesday evening. Now, supposing you had not taken this
unfavourable opinion of your past feelings and views, would you have
adopted such regulations? I think you would _not_; and yet, be it
observed, the necessity for them was and is a matter totally
irrelevant to your own private feelings."

The rest of this letter, the doctor's second, is to sober down Mr. Spencer's fervour, and make him go on quietly, hoping thus to slacken his enthusiasm and bring him to his former frame of mind.

It is sad to see a clergyman called to task for not being more worldly and less zealous. He is, in fact, too much like a Catholic Saint to be endured in the Establishment. {141} He must eventually abandon it, or be stoned to death with hard words in it. We see the chink now through which the first alternative gleamed on the Bishop; and we see the disposition of Providence in moving him to confine himself to the Bible, when some plausible Anglican work might have burnished up what he had of Catholic instinct, and made it seem gold.

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