Morning journal and courier., 1884-12-29
ooNeRRGArIoNALTar1.

CONGREGATIONAL The Opinions or The Rev. Joseph
 COOk-He Makes A Strong Plea For
 His Favorfte DenOm1natiOn-Wha
 His Travels About This Country
 Have Shown Him.
 The First Congregational church in Fair Haven held crowded congregation and great preacher yesterday forenoon. The an- nouncement that no less parsonage than the Rev. Joseph Cook, of Boston, was to preach on Misleading New Departures, Sound and Unsound Congregationalisn, called out many people from the city as well as Fair Haven. The preacher read from the first chapter of Galatians for his text and at once launched out into the sea of doctrinal discus sion. He has just returned from an exten- siye tour of this country, and has studied Congregationalism everywhere. He has also kept track of the critics. He said:
 tI am sure that Congregationalism has
 been maligned and misunderstood. Congre- gational doctrines are substantially sound. I suppose am making myself 8 fool by
 glorying over the history of Congregation
 alism in the past. But am here to repudi-
 ate the false notions that have got abroad and to eulogize sound Congregationalism
 Congregationalism ruled England under Oliver Cromwell and John Milton. It be-
 headed Charles I. It started the
 springs of liberty that led to one American revolt. It had an inn portant share in forming the Westminster catechism and confession of faith It came over in the Mayhower and landed on Ply TG system and founded many of our colleges. The sound of it's college bells is now heard from sea to sea- It established our oldest theological schools and has maintained in them the standards of soundness of doctrine and piety. It has been among the foremost in missions at home and abroad. It
 has had great succession of great theologi-
 ans. speak within sight of the graves of
 Taylor and Beecher and Dwight. I speak
 within sight of the college that owes so much
 to JonathanEdwards. No evangelical body has greater theologians than the Congregational body. It has been the peculiar glory of that doctrine that it has been taught to be preach ed. It has been practical and not scholastic in it's origin and history. Its course has
 been marked by a series of great religious awakenings It has been sharpened and clarified by conflict with the most acute forms of liberalism.
 Especially is this true of New England Congregationalism. In England it has been different. Some one has said that we need
 something warm and nebulous in our theolo-
 gy. We may have something warm and vital but not nebulous at all. We need clear ideas. The trouble is, Christianity is too vast for us. Let us not war with one anoth- CT, nor create schisms by being fragments of and tHaf departure would lead us back into the twi-
 light E5.o ,,u.o,,na | Congregationalism is that the one maintains evangelical unity while the other breaks it. Unitarianism is a form of unsound Congrega- l tionalism. Universalism is another form, although it is not the result of emigration from the Congregational body. But there are signs of decadence in Unitarianism. These are @ lack of interest in missions, 8 1 diminution in the number of persons admit I ted into the church on profession of faith, and lack of brilliant and talented young 1 men coming forward to preach the gospel.
 "When we are told by a distin- | guished professor, lately removed from l wonder eollegeto be president of g l western university that the churches in 1 New England are tending toward modified Universalism it should put us on our guard. l If the New England church is to repeat it's l history and depart from the old faith, It will be alone. The West, the frontier, the Pacific slope is not tending toward any such departure. And I believe that the rank and
 file of New England Congregationalists are
 sonnd. The church in England is trying to
 keep in it's fold all the doubters. | So surely as Congregationalism drifts toward modified Universalism, the
 people who want to join churches | will join one of the other four forms of the evangelical churches. It should never be
 come scrap bag for odds and ends. The
 history of England, Germany and every oth CT Protestant country shows that every at 1 tempt to make 8 catch-all of the church | weakens it.
 tsThere are two kinds of Congregational | ists; those who stand on Plymouth Rock and
 those who float in the marshes about it. The fundamental point is whether any new de parture makes any change in the answer tc
 the question, tfWhat must I do to be
 saved?" The new creed does make change
 in that point. It has been condemned by
 many theologians. Congregationalism if
 both creed and polity."
 Mir. Cook closed his sermon by reading
 from copy of creed which he said he had picked up in the streets of Boston where | they were being distributed.