The Leavenworth weekly times., 1875-03-18


particularly hostile TO creed and dogma and
the letter which kiIieth, and peculiarly sus-
| captible 10 the spirit which giyeth life.
! Certain IT i that all petty doctrines and &C.
| cIesiastical formula ere apt to be sunk in
| the consideration OF the more important
questions OF every dav work and intercourse
OF man with man. There is a tendency to
lose creed in lie, preaching in practice.
| Our somewhat cold and intellectual East
ern Unitarianism suffers "a sca-change into
something rich and strange" at the hands
OF our Western brethren. They seem TO
breathe larger, clearer air than ours they
take long strides and cannot pause TO puz-
zle their heads over nice metaphysical
questions which SO often engage our undi-
vided attention.
These give Sermons bv Mr.. Sanborn
cover a wide range Of theological questions.
Their subjects will give an idea OF the i'm
pOrtance OF the themes with which he Crap
pies: The Ministry Outside tie Church :;
Darwinism: it Suggestion OF Immortality !;
Morality and Religion Faith in Christ !;
What Shall We do 10 be saved Not one of
these discussions IL weak or trivial. They
deal openly and fearlessly with topics which
have raked and tormented the churches
since the beginning OF the Christian dispen-
sation, but are utterly free from eclesiastic-
al cant and the tendency toward looking at
things from the exclusively ministerial
standpoint. The clergyman does not speak
down to the pews, but together with his
congregation seeks to find out the truth w.
ing in these great and much-agitated ques-
tionE.
loo. l..
claim that the church, sO-called, can no
longer claim sole possession of all Christi
anity. Outside the pale OF the sanctuary
are the waitirg millions our brothers and
sisters-who must come in to US or We must
go out to them. we ought to feel driven"
he saws, ''tO make the church as broad a. the
world, and 10 adopt all ministries OF life as
ministries of the church. We ought. none
of us, to claim any superior holiness, but -
say, The world is Gods and Gods world is
Gods church. We are all men alike. You
may be more fortunate than / /; give me
hand and lift me up TO You. / may be
cleaner than you, let me help you out of
your mire let me help you to walk up
right and honorable We ought never to
ask, DO you believe in the Trinity? Do
you believe some men will be eternalIy
damned? Do you regard immersion as
necessary TO salvation, or do YOU prefer
sprinkling" These are not the tests OF
Gods church. We ought rather 10 saw,
What can i do for you? You are starving
here is bread. You are sick let me nurse
you. You are sinking in the quicksands of
infamy give me your hand and confidence,
and | will pull you out. Don't be afraid
of Us ; you are one Of our church-members
Whether You own up to it or not You are
one OF Gods children; YOU are one of our
relations you must let me help you That
is all We need TO say, and surely that is
enough"
In his sermon upon Morality and Reli-
gion, Mr.. Sanbom insists that the evidence
of good deeds is the only evidence of a re-
ligion worth having. The "mere moral
ity," about which evangelical Christians
make 50 many sorrowful utterances becomes
the grand test OF truly Christian life "a
man may be religious and never enter
church, nor know aught of symbols or cere-
monies. The man who dwells in the will
derness may tell his love in the unspoken
thoughts of his soul, which utter only the
silent love and trust. But his God hears
him as clearly as though on bended knees,
III liilaiSu ttiilIt- ut snouttl dlDul his
praise and thanks. All moral men wor-
ship, all moral men pray 1t NAV not be
an utterance aloud, but j; is uttered to God.
and to God it is neither sounding brass nor
tinkling cymbal"
The sermons on Faith in Christ and
What shall we do TO be saved d? are full of
vigorous, earnest, yet truly reverend thought
The living up to the highest ideal-the i'm
portance OF actual work instead of a misty
intellectual belief falsely labelled faith
the constant endeavor TO be saved and to
save Others from the torment OF wrong-do-
ing-these great realities that are urged in
i truly eloquent and stirring fashion. We
turn from the old creeds and myths to the
new revelation. sWe cannot but feel with
in us that 4 life of real purity, of unspotted
excellence, is more marvellous, more wor-
shipful than all scaPe-goats and vicarious
crosses OF the world. We cannot help but
know that the hells we feel around MS and
their woes, which sting our souls, and the
bells within Us when We cruelty our better
natures, will still exist and 90 with US
where We go, while We let the condition re-
main unchanged. Though we set up the
cross at every corner, though
We wear the crucitix about all our necks
until we wash lis of our selfshness and
greed misery will stare us in the face, SUI
fering will glare on Us from every alley, and
the storms of hell will beat unseen within
all our souls. s."-Bot0R Conference.-The