n bears them record, to their immortal honor; that 'though Christ had
done so many miracles among them, yet believed they not.' John xii. 37.
And the same divine authority assures us that 'neither did his brethren
believe in him.' John vii. 5. Which then is 'the safe side.' Sirs, on
the showing of the record itself? On the unbelieving side, the Infidel
stands in the glorious company of the Apostles, in the immediate family
of Christ, and hath no fear; while the believer doth as well and no
better than the devils in hell, who believe and tremble."

"I."

JOSEPH BARKER.

In any work, purporting to be a true record of Freethinkers, the name of
Joseph Barker cannot be omitted. We find in him, from the commencement
of his public life till the present time, an ardent desire for, and
a determination to achieve, freedom of thought and ex-pression on all
subjects appertaining to theology, politics, and sociology. Possessing
a vigorous intellect, a constitution naturally strong, great oratorical
ability, and an unrivalled command oi the Saxon language, he has made
himself a power among each party with whom the transitory state of his
mind has brought him in contact. It is seldom we find men with equal
boldness, when once connected with Wesleyan Methodism, rising superior
in thought to its narrow, selfish, dogmatic, unnatural, and humiliating
views, and claiming for human nature a more dignified and exalted
position; gradually advancing to Unitarianism; ultimately to land safely
on the shore of Materialism. Joseph Barker has passed, amid persecution
and privation, through these different phases of theology, to arrive at
"Infidelity," to be, he states, a better, wiser, and happier man. In his
autobiography, we read that he was born in Bramley, an old country town
in the West Riding of Yorkshire, in 1806, the _day_ of his birth being
forgotten. His parents, and his ancestors, so far as is known of them,
were of humble means. His grandfather was addicted to drinking freely
of those beverages which meet with so much opposition from Mr. Barker
himself. His aunt also was unfortunate, having married a man who was
a minister, a drunkard, and a cock-fighter. His parents appear to have
been uneducated and pious; belonging to the old school of Methodists,
those who look on this life merely as a state of trial and probation;
always looking forward to enjoy their mansion in the skies--the house
not made with hands eternal in the heaven