The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1867-07-29
LIE nosroN uxITARIANs.
Harvard oonege Tneoiogieal sehOoI

Harvard College Theological SCHOOL,.
what Sort OF Views are Taught
there - Ralph waldo EmersOn's
school OF ReIIEIOnists.
The Boston correspondent of the Chi
cago Tribune, who is apparently well
informed as to the radical movement
in the Unitarian body, writes under
date of July 18th:
II is not a little remarkable that rad
icalisLn, political and religious, seems
TO have secured a good standing at the
old seat of Massachusetts conservatism
Harvard University. Yesterday
Ralph Waldo Emerson the ltefaIS
leader oil the religious radicals, oe nv
cred the Phi Beta Kappa Grafton. me
/ Phi Beta Kappa poet, a son OF JOSIAH
/ onincy- Jr.. touched most effectively
6oiut on which Harvard conservatives
are specially sore just now, that OF tue
freedom which young preachers, es-
pecially in Unitarian pulplts, are gem
orally taking of urging their new radi-
cal convictions. Mr.. quincy made Dis
poem a sketch of ''a graduate" who
became a preacher, and sacrificed pop
uIar favor TO the uncompromislng ut
terapce of new truths. Political radt-
calism gave special sign of triumph
Yesterday in the election OF Rev. Sam
uel J, NAV, of Syracuse, New York, to
Kappa fraternity. Mr.. May has been
formerly black balled as an Abolition
list.
Your readers are aware that Harvard
University belongs substantially TO the
Unitarians, The President, DIR. Hill,
and the preacher, DIR. Peabody, are
Unitarians. In the Divinity School,
connected with the University, Unita-
rian theology alone is taught although
now and then there are one or two or
thodox students in attendance. DR..
Moves, the senior professor, is modef-
aIely conservative Unitarian. DR..
Stearns, who teaches dogmatic theo-
logy, is thoroughly conservative in his
views, but extremely liberal in feeling
and practice. DR.. Hedge is speculative.
ly a radical, but practically, and as
churchman, conservative. or the 70
students in the school, nearly al are
more or less radical, quite NUMBER
extremely SO. Or, as DR.. Noyes chooses
u put it, the prevailing view among the
students is, 'disbelief in miracles"
Quite recently two retired merchants,
DR.. r. Stebbins and Mr.. MuZZey,
have undertaken, in private and
through the press, to spread the report
bad condition, both theologically and
morally. The charges OF the small
Stebbins and MuZZey faction were
thoroughly overhauled at large
gathering of Unitarian ministers
in Boston. On Monday Mr.. Muzzey
read the report of conser-
vntive student, and gave also his
own gleanings. DIR. Hedge, of the
school, expressed strong contempt for
the MuZzey report, and generally the
feeling seemed TO be that the crusade
WAS anything but honorable. DR..
Stearns. also of the school, reviews the
charges at great length, and branded
them as falBehoods and grievous SLIM
ders. The radicalism Of the students,
DR.. Stearns admitted, but, though he
deeply regretted it, he denied strenu-
uusly that this lowered the tone o:
either religious or moral feeling in the
| school.
Rev. DR.. Bartol, who is, theologically,
the leader of radicalism in this, its
more Christian aspect, preached "a pow
erIul sermon before the graduating
class of the Divinity School, Sunday
evening last, expounding and vindica-
ting his favorite doctrine OF 1.-THE Pres
ent God" In his illusions to Jesus
and to the Bible, DR.. Bartol would be
understood by orthodox hearers to
quite throw away both Christ and
| Scripture. IN fact, he only sets them
aside as dlUinc objects of faith; their hu-
manity being fully recognized, he gives
them large measure of reverence and
fuiIh, while reserving all alteration and
all strictly religious trust for the Divine
Father.
Not long since, Rev. DIR. Dewey, who
has been one of the eminent orators of
the liberal pulpit, delivered, at large
meeting in Boston, OF liberal ministers,
| AN address in review of the state OF re-
ligion and theology in our country and
in the world. He took many steps in
advance OF the position which he
occupied while yet in active
service in the pulpit and, in
most particulars, fully indicated
the radicAlism of the time. Even DR..
Cannot, who fills the pulpit of Chan
ming, and is among the most anxious
| of conservatives, illustrated, in his
semi-centennial address, this week, be-
| fore the Cambridge Divinity School,
that noble patience with, and generous
| appreciation OF, the radical movement,
| which is so sadly lacking in most con-
servative quarters. Altogether the
voting radicals are jnbilant over the
signs of the times.
Mr.. Emerson and the Parker school
of Unitarian ministers are the present
leaders of radicalism in religion. The
sufIiciency of the moral sentiment is
much urged by Mr.. Emerson, in high
disregard of the orthodox sense ofman's
need. Natural religion, the simple
sentiment of trust in the Divine Author
of all, expels, with him, all regard for
the doCmas which are so precious in all
negative criticism in the teaching OF
Mr.. Emerson. but with most of the
| radical preachers it Is rife. Some OF
them go further than Theodore Parker
| did, denying the human perfection as
well as the express divinity of the
founder of Christianity.
| Yet even more Btrenuously than Mr..
Parker did they insist that they are
Christians, because they accept the gen
eral principles of the inward life of Je-
sus, and have faith in God, prOviden-
TALLY and spiritually present with all
souls, as he was present in christening
power, with the son of Joseph and
Mary. They make it part of Gospel
faith to assert, by implication at least,
that Jesus was burdened with deticien-
cy and imperfectiOn; for otherwise,
they declare his life would be no in
stance of God with us. Some adhere to
the name and ordinance ofthe Chris
tian Church; others reject the cOninu-
Mon, at least, If not all distinct affinity
with Christian Churches. The times
have changed since the Music Hall here.
starch left our shores, and the Alumni
of the Cam bridge Divinity School re-
! fused to pass resolution of sympathy
with the broken down hero of free re-
Iigion. Upon the death of Mr.. Parker,
Dr.. Bellows declared that he had
not complied with the conditions
OF salvation. Now DR.. Bel
lows, in the Christian Examiner,
names Parker with Claiming as one
ofthe two most illustrious representa-
tives of "our denomination" DIR. Bel
lows was never, known, however, to be
on but one side. That he is honestly
on all sides an instance will show. In
the Unitarian National Conference, last
fall, DIR. Bellows as good as said to the
layman of that body, "On no account
Countenance or tolerate such radicalism