The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-06-03
a Ne,r RelIE1ous nIorement.

ing there'last Friday. The Association
isbased ON the idea of religions free
dom, and seeks to solve the religious
problem of lineage on the ground of
intellectual liberty. Some of the lead
ing minds OF Boston and New England
sympathize with the objects of the As
ISOLATION.
Rev. o. B. Rockingham, of New
York, occupied the chair of the Asso-
citation. A portion of his remarks will
serve to give our readers the drift of
the ideas on which the Association is
based.
The object of the Society, he said,
was to promote the interests of pure re-
ligion, and to increase fellowship in the
spirit. This was a broad statement.
We are n religious association, not
political, not social primarily, not phi
iapthropic necessarily, not reformatory
In the ordinary sense of the word, nor
yet are we Christian. In the middle
ages, when the world was very small,
what Reno says might have been true,
that Christianity and religion were
SYNONYMOUS terms. But in this new
world, with its developing resources
and march of progress, this cannot Ion.
a sect. II is only one of several Chris
tian religions. 1t is only one portion
of humanity. There are vast conn
munities OF people in the world who
are not included in Christianity, and
never can be. The Jews are not Chris
tians; the Mussulmen are not. Multi
tuds of the SpiFitualists are not Chris.
tians. Vastnumbers of reformers will
not call themselves Christians. The
speaker, In pressing this point, said he
had been told by young Englishman
that in London ninety-nine out OF
every one hundred OF the people OF
that city are not to be included in any
Christian Church. The term religion
cannot be made sectarian. That Is as
wide as humanity-thati is man. We
merely assume that all men are relig-
ious, or have the possibility of becom-
ing so. Therefore we call ourselves a
religious association. Christianity is a
complex term. What is the Unitarian,
Congregationalist, Episcopal and Ar
menian? But when you say religious
yon utter simple torn. IL Is harder
TO say what a religious man Is, than to
say what Christianity is. Upin the
North of England an instructor
asked one OF his pupils how many
Commandments there were. The
pupil did not know for q GER
tainty-he thought there We're one
SA LID way lac AASb
a fellow-student, and told him that his
instructor would ask him how many
there We're. 81 told
him there were one hundred, but he
was not satisfied. If he asks you, tell
him there are only ton" The Free
Religious Association is contented with
a few commandments. We impose no
to be at liberty to follow the laws of
thought. We admit that freedom is a
condition of all progress. Our Ameri-
can civilization turns entirely upon this
one pivot of liberty. AL the power
there is is in man. There is no power
outside of man. Freedom OF thought
becomes power when. it becomes incar-
nate in man. The only condition upon
which human power can be developed
and applied is on the condition OF alb
soIute INSTRUMENTATION of discussion
and freedom of contribution. Polemics
are of no account; controversy is at an
end. We are all friends. We take up
the opinions of those who differ with
us, aud say you have as much right to
but no more. 1t had been said
that the objects of the Associa-
ton are vague and undecided. Onr
purpose is to open the doors and WIN
dows, and to offer a home where all can
come and sit together. We stand aside.
We say we will not intrude ourselves
upon anybody. We have been doing
too much in this respect. We leaveall
at liberty to think and speak and do as
they will. OF course our work is
slowly going on. During the past
twelve months we have been trying to
get rid of all these excuses and com
plants against US, and have endeav-
ored not TO compromise ourselves nor
anybody else, or overthrow the build
ing we are engaged in erecting. When
the world was a very small place and
the earth was little platform, 1t was
very easy to believe that God made the
earth In six days. But when we I'M
derstand what the world is; whom we
have got an insight into the hrma-
ment above US, and have some
comprehension of His handiwork; and
now that we have science. &C., we are
beginning TO see what vast cosmos II
is, and we know that IL must have
taken hundreds of thousands of years
to bring IL into the shape IL has thus far
attained. Such a universe as we hive
got never dropped ready made, as from
the hands of u carpenter. 1t must have
been evolved out of the mist, as nil Co.'S
mos begins in mist. And We are salts
fed with our broad Hopes, ideas, feel
ings and aspirations, believing that
our cosmos will be evolved from all
those things that animate us. Our
purpose to-day is more concentrated
than it was a year ago. We assume
this, that the age is u thinking one.
The people are asking questions. The
world is full OF unrest and feeling
about after the guide leading to the
blessed life. We would have answers
to this feeling of unrest.