Morning journal and courier., 1882-02-10
Yale Theological School.

Ad1c 1ucO1OS1Cdl SCuOO1s
President Robinson of Brown University
Lyman Beecher Lectures.
President Robinson, of Brown University,
delivered another in his course of lectures at
Yale Divinity School yesterday afternoon at
three O'Clock. Many ministers were present
beside the students of the seminary The
lecture was another brilliant effort, and was
heard with deep interest. The basis. of the
lecture was the necessity of bringing the
broadest requirements attainable to the work
of the Christian ministry. The minister
must grapple with questions of the time, must
be abreast of the times. Every day OF his
life he must work like a day laborer, accumu-
lating his resources. He must read and
read understandingly. 1t is a great art to be
able to read successfully, to skip what is
commonplace and gather the new and valua-
BILE. 1t is an art to know how to accumulate
and how to investigate.
Religion and knowledge stand or fall in
this day together. There is an earnest at
tempt to divorce religion and science in our
day. The religion of the Bible being from
God, then God never contradicts himself,
and what he teaches here in any department
of knowledge will stand. What science has
made indisputably clear is just as much a
revelation as anything in the sacred book,
and as such cannot be put in contradiction
of the scriptures. I take it Chalmers did not
accomplish much by his astronomical discov-
cries.
Nature furnishes grand basis. Christian
ity completes the structure. Does the Bible
teach ''penalty for sin ?'' So does nature
Md. &c
all Greek tragedies knew-there was an eter-
nal justice in this universe. Wherever an
indisputable truth comes from-God au-
thorizes to take that truth and hurl it forth
to men.
Then there is a second reason that wider
range of knowledge is Important in the work
of the ministry. What natural religion
teaches us and revealed truth teaches are
one and harmonious, and point to the lesson
in the life and death of Jesus Christ. Each
should be intently eager on the acquisition of
knowledge. Read the history of the Chris
tian church. read it as the life, the organic
life of the church.
In the study of the church doctrines, what
its origin, what the controversies through
which it came, I have referred to the doc
trine of the atonement. Take that also of
justification and that of regeneration. All
theologies have been seized by the enemies
against the Christian religion. The Bible is
not intended to teach science. Science and
the Bible are counterparts one with the 9TH
err. Science does not contradict the scriptures
when science has reached it's best conclusion.
A mans faith demands the help of his scien-
tifc knowledge. If on sea-going
steamer you want all the compartments
seaworthy.
The second reason given for the demand
for wild breadth
edge on the part of the modern preacher is
that science is making clear the teachings of
natural religion. Some affirm there is no
such thing as natural theology; man is part
of nature. With the workings of the law of
the material universe in conjunc-
ton with mans nature you get
the materials for natural the
ology, and just in proportion as science
advances an increased accuracy of knowl-
edge of the laws of nature is obtained. AS
science advances step by step we learn the
fact that it makes clear the great truths that
underlie she Christian religion. The Chris
tian religion completes what nature teaches
US. I know that since Lord Herbert wrote
it is common to put nature and religion in an
tithesis But they do not antagonize. They
are not supplementary, but complementary.
You must feel the energizing, vitalizing
force of these doctrines. You can never I'M
derstand it till you have felt in your soul the
agonizing cry what does it mean. So to un-
derstand other great things you must know
It's history.
AS a second great requisite there must be a
carefully, thoroughly formed character.
There is a vitalizing force in Christian char
acter. The organize principle in it is
mans Christian experience-a character
which takes rounded form in the eyes of
men when analysed man whose character
can be looked through and believed in is a
man whose source of growth comes from
Christ, loving fidelity to Christ. These
are attributes of character that manifest
themselves in a man in daily and hourly con-
tact with him. Note his words, some subtle
influence will escape revealing the man.
Character is of silent growth. A French
skeptic said the motto of literary man
should be liberty, truth and poverty, and
that he who is afraid of the last will never
possess the first two. The Christian should
maintain his loyalty to truth and Christ
most rigidly, and then he may not have pow
erty, but he will be Indifferent to poverty.
He will resolve that by the strength of God
he will stand fast in that liberty with which
Christ has endowed him individually, liberty
from slavish fear, liberty from the dictation
of men.
A danger arises from undue regard for
mems opinion. The remedy is answering
devotion to Christ. The next danger to the
preacher is too much thought of self as to
what he does and says.
The speaker related an incident which he
came across thirty years ago when pastor.
He asked man who had been noted as an
eloquent preacher to preach for him. The
preacher had retired from preaching. He
could not be induced to come out from re-
tirement and preach again for fear he would
spoil the prestige of his past reputation.
ssOh, no. was the reply, II have made
good impression, and do not want to i'm
pair it,
So men who have the incense of hattery
burning on every side are often Influenced to
an undue regard for self, the last thing
which should control d Christian minister.
Personality is the last resort of extremely
weak and feeble ministers. He whose mind
is filled with the majesty and grandeur Of
the truth, such man will preach
with power. The impression is some
what abroad that the ministry lacks man
illness, is afraid of the people and the congre-
cations. The preacher must remember that
there is only one who is his master.
The speaker related an incident relative to
preacher who had man of great promi-
hence in his congregation and very wealthy,
but whose character was not only hollow, but
thoroughly rotten-corrupt to the last de-
gree. The preacher never tackled him for
long time, but at last lost self control and
one day wrote discourse, every one of the
texts in which was aimed at this great sinner.
The effect was wholly unexpected. On
the following week the preacher received
a polite note, from the. big sinner:
1t was an invitation to- step out and
be measured for new suit of clothes.
(Laughter) His effort was an utter failure.
It was his duty week by week to hold up the
purity and sweetness of the Christian relig
ion before that man, SO that the moral at
mosphere would have been too sweet and full
of light for him to stand it. The preacher
must guard his self-respect. Nothing on this
earth is SO much entitled to demand your
reverence and respect as your own manhood.
The preacher with many eloquent passages
further illustrated this branch of his topic,
and closed with an eloquent summing up.
The next lecture occurs this afternoon at
O'Clock ,
College Items.
The last writing of DR.. Leonard Bacon,
on the Mormon question written