Short Notices [pp. 759-784]

Short Notices.
reviewer very wicked. He wrote with elevated aims and in an
humble Christian spirit; we, with a low, selfish object, and with
a proud and malicious temper. Although the heart is deceitful above all things, we hope that Dr. Baird has been more
successful in interpreting his own consciousness than in divining
ours. We give him credit for sincerity when he says he wrote
his book with the elevated sentiments to which he lays claim,
will he do us justice when we say our review was written, as far
as we understand ourselves, from a sincere regard to the truth
of God, and with no unkind feeling toward him? If he is
unwilling to believe our word, will he at least admit the evidence of fact? We had known for years that Dr. Baird differed from us on certain theological points; we knew that that
difference was brought out in his book, and that he had honoured us with no little opposition; yet, notwithstanding, the
notice which we wrote and published of his book is the most
eulogistic we have yet seen in print. To every candid man
this is positive proof that we were prepared not only to do him
full justice, but were predisposed, from the very fact of his opposition to us, to go to the extreme limits of truth in commendation. When, on further inspection, we found that his book
was designed to overthrow doctrines which, as we believe, are
clearly revealed in the word of God, which underlie our Confession of Faith, and which enter deeply into religious experience, it was natural and proper that it should be reviewed with
earnestness and feeling. And when, moreover, we found that
the objections against these doctrines were, as we regard them,
very weak, and such as had been presented a thousand times
before, it was impossible not to make it apparent that we so
regarded them. If there was anything wrong in the manner of
doing this, we are sincerely sorry for it, and would gladly make
any amends in our power. But we cannot alter our convictions at will. We still think that Dr. Baird's book is an
assault upon some of the most important doctrines of the Bible,
and we still regard the arguments which he urges as weak, and
we still think that his objections arise, in a great measure, from
want of discrimination. This is perfectly consistent with the
belief of his sincerity and with the admission, freely and fully
made in the review, that his work evinces ability, learning,
activity of mind, and diligence, and that "his volume will prove
eminently suggestive, and take a high rank in the theological
literature of the country." Is not this enough?
It is proverbially hard for us "to see ourselves as others see
us," and we suspect that the animus of this rejoinder appears to
the reader very different from what it does to Dr. Baird him VOL. XXXII.-NO. IV. 97
1860.]
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