National Republican., 1883-01-29
CONSTRUCTIVE nArtoNAI1sNf.

/ rev. lDr. savage, OF Boston, yesterday morn.
, ing preached sermon at All Souls church
ON Constructive Rationalsm," tho doctor
taking his text from Hebrews xii, ~ and 2S
| And this word yet once moro signheth th,
removing Of those things that are shaken a!
! of things that. have been made that thos,
! things which arc not shaken may remain
! Wherefore, receiving u kingdom that cannot
be shaken let us have thankfulnoss whereby
! wei may offer service well pleasing to God
| with reverence aud ave. q ta,. ....,....
! That we do not know who wrote this an.
cicnt letter to the Hebrews is no reason why
! we should not dig out and use the truth that
| is embodied IN its sand. and stripped of
sophistry, subtcty, and allegory. truth is
gold; and gold needs no image or super
scrtption' Of authority to give It value.
I Truth is itself authority, and the only author
/ ity that Is lawful and divine, IL can receive
no increase from man, but only recognition,
! What is this truth,tliat we will take as ouI
startingpoint2 This Anything whose fopnda-
tions can be shaken is iu danger. of over
throw, and is liable to pass away. But "the
kingdom that cannot be shaken will still re-
main. - if
Butcanuot all things be shaken9 What is
there that some one docs not claim to have
! toppled DOWN. One man asserts that he has
destroyed all ground for belief i'm God.
Another has brushed away the future life us
the old woman with her broom brushed the
"cobwebs from the sky" Another thinks he
has upset the foundations of morals and logi-
cally turned society into anarchy. Another
still plumes himself on having made all ra-
tional religion impossible Is there, then,
anything that cannot bo shaken that
| therefore will "remain?n .
1t is " matter of first rate importance then
for US, 50 far as we eau, to distinguish between
the things that can and that cannot be
I l,s.1r Al
! ing away, and the othor things that may be
expected to remain. To do this is the work
of constructive rationalism. To agitate one
self until common sense is dizzy and the whole
universe reels Is the work of that pseudo RAJ
| tionalism that is only destructive.
The word man is derived from u root that
means to think. Only he who thinks and
dares to think freely on all subjects is COM
plcte man. To think freely on all subjects Is
to be a nationalist 1t follows, then, that, in
| the true sense of the word, u man will and
must he u nationalist. .ps ..
Now there are three possible attitudes
toward reason eXcmplifcd in the actual con-
dition of the religious world, and one or other
of which all of US must hold. First we may
deny it any place whatever in religion, and
put ourselves in the hands of absolute au-
thority. This is TO 90 to Rome. Second, we
may admit its right and usG up to y certain
point, but claim that IL must be supplemented
by revelation. This is to be an orthodox
ProtcstanJ. This is to build house half on
II rock and half on sand. III is "a house
divided against ITSELF b..
Logically the protestant is all nationalist,
for If reason does not decide ubou5 the revela-
tiOn, then there is no reason for 10, and 10
accept is Onlycrcdulity. If reason does decide
then the reason is above the revelation. The
protestant then must be either rational or
irrational. The nationalist on the other
gtV.H IL
the Bible and Jesus overheard lie only treats
them nationally and assigns them their place
rs he does all the other materials of religious
knowledge and life,
Third. The third altitude toward reason is
that of the consistent nationalist. lie stauds
by the validity of reason everywhere. aud
accepts ii as what il is--the only organ of
knowledge lie may believe: he may hope
he may trust but he claims to klOU only what
he does know, l. c. those things which reason
demonstrate and verify.
Now, it is undoubtedly true that RATIONAL
ism always has been and will always continue
TO be destructive. 1t has always fulfilled the
office of removing those things that are
shaken d" but il has only been for the sake of
finding out "those things which are not
shaken that they may remain"
The churches pray every day III the year
that Gods Kingdom may come. Now, il is
either here already or else a-change must take
place as it comes. Man, By praying for it,
Coniessos ii is not here, and yet fights against
every change Us though ii must be the work
of the devil.
This sentiment of love for the old and the
accustomed is perfectly natural in its place (;
IL is only beautiful We cling to that which
association has made us familiar. Every true
man says home. And have no admiration
for him to whom all places are alike.
To leave home, thgn, means hpmc-sickness,
"A, \ Il 4.
above the feeling. And 10 makes little differ.
enoe that che new home IL better Only time
and new ass0cLati ion can make it take the old
place in the heart ,firhe old ivy, that c0yer
and make green the gray walls of old English
tathedrals did not grow in day. But ii the
new house is bctter-Tbetter for the parents,
better for the ohildrcn-rwth promisc OF a
larger and better life for the future, then to
let thg sentiment ovorwhelm the Judgment
and stand IN the way of athe development of
our own and our children's lives, this is q sin
lnda crime. The sentiment that was tender,
the poetry that was beautiful, is changed into
weakness and a folly that are dfuel.
But now that mtionalism has destroyed the
old universe, tho old gods, tile old humanity,
the old sin, the old hell, and the old heaven,
what il ii that has really been dcstroyedY
The answer may seem strange to you, and yet
only one answer calf be made. What has been
destoyedY Nothing. No thing. Absolutely
no real thing il gone. 1t has destroyed nothing,
for it has only been one. long process of dis
covering things as they are, and SO Of diss-
pating amtiquatcd crude, and ignorant thro.
ries. 10 find ont tho truth is ioI destroy
nothing but illusions. a.. ..lFr .a.yrr 4
THE METHOD oFrHE CoMEoRTER.
WHAT RI!Y. DIR. RANKIN PREACHED An THE
10. l.uH CONGREuATIoNAL CHURCH. le Hu. l.
Rcv, DR.. Rankin, at the First Congrega-