gs of Jesus and the conclusions of the
Apostles. The writers of the Scriptures were not infallible, though they
did not often err. Revelation is continued in the history of the church,
which is the third principle of development. Augustine stood higher and
went further than Paul, Luther than Augustine. If our development be
partial and imperfect we must go back and begin anew.

The Groningen School is distinguished for its ethical system. How does
Christ live in us? This is the question it proposes to answer. There is
a distinction between the nature of man, which is divine, and his
condition, which is sinful. Sin is the point where man, misusing his
liberty, surrenders himself to his sensuous nature, which is not sinful
in itself. God educates man by Jesus Christ in three ways; _first_, by
revelation of truth; _second_, by manifestation of love; _third_, by
education of the church. The high aim of the Church is to lead man to a
consciousness of the unity of his origin and destiny, and to bring all
to a knowledge and love of Christ, and of God in Christ. Christ was
educated before his life on earth for the work designed for him, and he
established the church by leaving his glory and leading a life full of
love and truth. His death was the highest manifestation of his love and
truth, for by it he showed God to man, and man to himself. His
resurrection makes our hope of eternal life a certainty.

In the Groningen system there is no place for the doctrine of the
Trinity. The influence of the sacraments is merely external, while
Calvinism and the "blood-theology," are subjects of abhorrence. It would
be unjust to place the Groningens beside the German Rationalists, though
the influence of both has been similar. The former class, like the
latter, have one fatal defect; they consider sin a mere inconvenience.
They hold that man needs a Teacher but not a Redeemer, since all sinners
will be eventually holy and happy. The Groningen tendency, as related to
Dutch theology, is similar to that applied by Channing to the orthodoxy
of the American church. Human nature is declared worthy of our attention
and development. True humanity is pure piety. God can be found
everywhere, even in the heart of man. The philosophical theology of
Schleiermacher has stamped the Groningen system with its own signet.
They both proceed from the same starting-point,--not reason, but the
heart. Theirs is the religion of feeling.

The Groningens have don