rded Christ as "the sinless and spotless son of God,
distinguished from all men by that infinite peculiarity--freedom from
moral evil." He believed in the pre-existence of Jesus, and that it
differed from the pre-existence of other souls in that Jesus was
actually conscious of such pre-existence, and he reckoned him one with
God the Father in the sense of spiritual union (and not metaphysical
mystery) in the same way that Jesus bade his disciples "Be ye one, even
as I am one." Bunsen called him "the prophet in the United States for
the presence of God in mankind." Channing believed in historic
Christianity and in the story of the resurrection, "a fact which comes
to me with a certainty I find in few ancient histories." He also
believed in the miracles of the Gospels, but held that the Scriptures
were not inspired, but merely records of inspiration, and so saw the
possibility of error in the construction put upon miracles by the
ignorant disciples. But in only a few instances did he refuse full
credence of the plain gospel narrative of miracles. He held, however,
that the miracles were facts and not "evidences" of Christianity, and he
considered that belief in them followed and did not lead up to belief in
Christianity. His character was absolutely averse from controversy of
any sort, and in controversies into which he was forced he was free from
any theological odium and continually displayed the greatest breadth and
catholicity of view. The differences in New England churches he
considered were largely verbal, and he said that "would Trinitarians
tell us what they mean, their system would generally be found little
else than a mystical form of the Unitarian doctrine."

His opposition to Calvinism was so great that even in 1812 he declared
"existence a curse" if Calvinism be true. Possibly his boldest and most
elaborate defence of Unitarianism was his sermon on _Unitarianism most
favourable to Piety_, preached in 1826, criticizing as it did the
doctrine of atonement by the sacrifice of an "infinite substitute"; and
the Election Sermon of 1830 was his greatest plea for spiritual and
intellectual freedom.

Channing's reputation as an author was probably based largely on his
publication in _The Christian Examiner_ of _Remarks on the Character and
Writings of John Milton_ (1826), _Remarks on the Life and Character of
Napoleon Bonaparte_ (1827-1828), and an _Essay on the Character and
Writings of Fenelon_ (1829). An _Essay o