The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1877-11-26
STANDARD HALL.

THE RELIGION OF HUMANITY AND THE LIB
ERAL Observation-Disclosures By PRO-
FEssoR FELIX ADLER.
Professor Adler lectured again Yesterday morning At
Standard Hall, Forty second street and Broadway.
Professor Adler began In y low, sepulchra whisper
which would scarcely have been hoard in ordinary
drawing room, with picture of the present low con-
dition Of humanity, tho false teaching imposed upon
mankind, which no characterized as tho s'reigicn OF
blood," the betrayal OF high and solemn trusts and
other signs OF the times which rendered the
work OF higher and purer faith and
more vigorous morality imperative 1t was
liberalism which to humanity
from superstition, hypocrisy and fasehood. But how
were the religious convictions OF mankind to DO
chapged9 Professor Adler claimed that the work OF
conversion was be accomplished no. much by
gument and logic by the presence OF emotion, for
II was the latter which the wcspring Of religion
and not the power Of abstract thought
rHE THE FUTURE.
Let the past index of ure, let how
men have formed their religions in the past that
may know how to change them in the future. The
ligions of mankind have boon threcfOd, fetichism,
polytheis and monothesm. First, fetichism. How
was that formedY In the early ages OF history man
but hunter or lived the io0d offered him by the
AT night when no lay down his rude couch
Of in rude hut when no heard tho boughs OF
the trees that bent over him signing and whispering
when the gioaming filled the iorost With mysterious
shadow and Darkness when no was thrilled by tho
roar OF feroclous animals his soul was naturally filed
pie phenomena OF nature. In later age, when men
became moro civilized and these causes OF supernatu.
raj passed away another feeling took It's place,
and that was-awe Tor the mighty. The ceaseicss
wars which had engendercd Idoas OF heroic valor
produced race OF kingy rulers, and men taking
their ideas OF Heaven from the realities of tho
up great and mighty figures their gods
high Some people MAINTAIN that those later genera
tons marked unity in the design Of nature which
finally led from tho many detics oi pagan Greece and
P FU%s Adler oombaled this theory Il
was only this phila5n nlp abstract
when led to monothcism, why did the ancient
Greeks, who were the most philosophical nation
among the ancients not adopt itG Professor Alder.
argued that II was ernoon-Lne necessity OF moral
revival from the awful depravlty OF tho Roman En-
pre- "where the vlctors axe WAS triumphanty borno
before murder'-which led to the great change. The
Hebrews themselves, among whom Christ arose,
not q thoughtful or scientific people So un.
skilled were they that whcu they had 10 build their
temple at Jerusalem they had to call In the aid OF
foreign architects. They had not contributed one i'm
porant discovery 10 the science or philosophy Of that
time. Why had they not become pagans, ike the
tons that surrounded lhemY The speaker drew poet
icai pictures OF the worship OF Moiocn and Venus
and daughters and to which tho Ho-
Drews in whom the domestic instinct was
God that would project their sons and daughters-a
pure, chaste God And II was when tho Romans heard
that man Of gentle and tender words had risen At
jerusalem who taught the religion OF unseshness tho
evangcl OF love, that their souls reused from
their torp0r by higher and noblcr morality.
TIN CHOSEN LIBERALS
Having thus established that emotion, md not In
tellect, was TO accomplish the liberal reformation,
Professor Adler far denying the val
liable rendered by science and CRITICISM.
They had oosened stone after stone from The fortress
OF superstition mad dsintegratcd the foundations OF
the great tower of misrue and followed out the
mighty rock OF hypocrisy and falsehood But science
ana criticism could only destroy-not build up To
accomplish the latter work the emotion OF . higher
and oftier morality must appeal to the people. Pro-
Adler warned his hearers that tho liberal propa
ganda would ut first make most oil It's among
the lower classes who, indeed, IN England we'll
In the Continent were those most favor OF lib
eral policy In religion ana government. He knew
that Roman Catholicism and Protestant revivaiism
would live yet for many century; but no also knew
that daily they were wrestling from their churches
men who sought this higher and nooler humanity.
This chosen band Of liberals would teach the reopio
finally to cry out against their also teachers their
churches and temples, aud to know the korno from
the shell: for II the kernel that was tho truth,
and not the she'll (Applause) There was an isle
far away In the seattle ise oil tho Holy Grail, Of
that blessed cup which conferred peace and happi-
moss, aud from this cup, stored with the wine Of I'M
mortality, let them quail. II was onion OF higher
clinical culture that they must all work tor and set
the example tho rest OF the worid-oi higher and
purer morality aud innermost clean lives Les such
DO oil ethical culture In the better years 10