This will involve a discussion of the _philosophical theories_ which it is believed have obscured and diminished the influence of the great Atoning Sacrifice of "the Great God our Savior Jesus Christ."
The work will conclude with the practical application of the views set forth to the greatest of all human interests, the _right_ training of the human mind in infancy and childhood.
Before offering to the public the topics to be embraced in the last volume, it is deemed expedient to present the _great principles_ on which all the discussions are to rest, and also a fair illustration of the mode in which these principles will be applied.
The following is the illustrative example:
_Theological Dogma of a Depraved Mental Constitution._
In the preceding pages we have seen the evidence that the mind of man is _perfect_ in its _constitutional powers_, and is thus the chief and highest evidence of the wisdom, justice, and benevolence of its Creator.
But the systems of theology in all the Christian sects, excepting a small fraction, teach that the mind of man comes into existence in this world with "_a depraved nature_;" meaning by this a mental constitution more or less depraved.
That this is the ordinary dogma of theological teachings is clear from this statement of the case. A thing can be wrong in only two conceivable ways: one is by its nature or original construction, and the other is by its action. The mind of man, therefore, if it is not perfect every way, is either wrong in _construction_ or wrong in _action_. Now no person ever claimed that the mind of man was not depraved in action, and therefore all who teach that it is depraved any other way must teach that it is depraved in its constitution, or in that nature it received from its Maker, for there are only these two modes of depravity conceivable.
It being granted, then, that the mind of our race is depraved in its nature, of course the Author of this nature is responsible for this inconceivable and wholesale wrong. This forces us to the inevitable conclusion that the Creator of mind is a being guilty of the highest conceivable folly, injustice, and malignity. For reason and common sense teach that "the nature of a contrivance is proof of the character and intention of its author." Therefore, if mind is depraved in construction, the Author of it is a depraved being, and totally unworthy of our trust, respect, or love.