Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1878-05-27
Ntl,o ARE Nor lpERALx
d Pastor Of the MetAsaisf Churchi
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- Faster ef the MetAoaisf CAurcl
MakeS ssHs CosrseasSHs. u
EEaAiters Press and lakotaian: so -
There ID . statement in your issue Of Fri
day which does great injustice TO some goo
people who are mot ksrs 70 dehad them
selves and which 10 20 we'll calculated I
create q false impression in the minds .
some Of your many readers, that I cannc
permitit to pas unchallsnged.
It occurs in your notice Of the re openin
of Unity church and 10 to the effect that th
10 called) liberal movsnent includes mem
bers Of AL sect, lchu,ches I supposed, an
is supported b. such men n Profssso
Swing aAdtDf. Thomas. OF Prof Swing
can speak only from ny ispre.aion Of hi
sermons and such of his writings ~ hay
fallen under my notice. But Of DR.. Thoma,
whom I know personally and with who's
ministry and standing in his church I an
familiar, I may speak authoritativsly
That Prof. Swing and DR.. Thomas are
among their kind-their kind being the or
thodox christian ministry Of our land, NOR,
liberal in their views, or are more given to
indulge in the theological speculation from
the palpit than rome othsrs, j.. ~ is knowr
BY all who have observed their ministry
true. But that either of these men, and es
pecially the ~last-belong to that class O
public teachers Of which o. B. Frothing.
ham and Robt. Collier are representatives.
that they accept the ra~tionalistic and semi
in6del views Of these men, much less by
any word or act associate themselves with
them in their mad and profane attack upon
the Bible and the cardinal truths of the
christian religion is BY no means true,
nor would it be necessary for me to state
this, 80 we'll il it known BY all who know
these men, nor should I take the pains to
do 70, were it not 30 plainly the tendency,
if the aim of that statement to create = false
The words Universalism, Uni
tarianism and even Liberalism-though
doubt and uncertainty are the main features
Of the theories they represent-are yet pos
sessed of q sufficiently distinctive meaning
to enable people to know what is meant by
Them when fairly and properly used. But
,uch is their tendency to vagueness and un-
certainty that unless SO used, and especially
fin this use they are coupled with the names
# prominent orthodox ministers whom the
,eople are wont to follow, or are connecte'
With such general statements as includes
members of all sects," they. are certain to
cave many people in doubt as to what their
is if not to wholly mislead and
onfound. Trusting that such was not the
Intention of the author of that statement,
nd believing that he wants his cause to
land on its own merits, l beg leave to sug-
cot that the liberal movement of which
[r. Frotl ingham is the representative is
Of = movement Of generous minds within
.e church away from the rigidness of ny
erorthodo1y, but is the sane old influence
lat has a~ntagonized the gospel frou the
ays of the Saducees to the present, and
hich has been v~arioualy known as athe-
m, infidelity, rationalism and liberal
,risiianity, and that such liberal movement
oes not include members Of all sects, and
not supported BY Prot. Swing and Dr..
nor by any other ministers in any
the orthodox churches of the land.
j. A. POTTER.