The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-04-14
TIE UNIYERSALIST CHURCH.
Its Place Among Other Christian Churches
The Necessity of Differing Organizations.


among the Christian Churches and It's Work in
the World" He chose for a text the following
''And He spoke also parable unto them; No man
putteth piece of a new garment upon an old; II
otherwise then both the maketh rent and the
piece that was taken of the new agreeth with
the old. And no man putteth new wine into old bot
ties; else the wine will burst the bottles and be
spilled and the bottles shall perish Luke v.36, 81
Mr.. Ballard said:
AS completeness of system, certainty of pur-
pose, and fervency of zeal were essential
to the life of the early church, so are
those same elements necessary to the
good work of every denomination bear
ing the name of Christ. 1t is not possible
that any sect can successfully bring souls to
Christ, unless it teaches a system embracing
it's conceptions of all the doctrines of Christian
| ty, and the methods of work must be in har
mony with that system. 1t is not proper that
any church should deplore the existence of its
nelghbor, but that each one should use its system
| of belief and methods of work for the good of
humanity, and to the glory of the common
Master. While among all Christian denomina
| tiOns there is a community of interest, and
oneness of purpose, yet it must be conceded
| that where the system of belief is different
| there must be separate organization. A mans
system of belief, in religious work, is his chart
and compass, without which he must wander in
| the wilderness of doubt and uncertainty, and
| die for want of zeal No inspiration so moves
the heart of man as his love for what he con
ceives to be the truth. If his religion is to him
! a great system of truth man naturally be-
! comes imbued with its spirit and his whole
| being becomes consecrated to its service. Mere
| differences of opinion upon collateral matters
may exist in the same household of faith; but,
| concerning God, man, duty and destiny, those
| who labor in the same church must live by the
| same faith 1t is the duty of all denominations
| to love each other, but it does not follow that
they should keep house together and the reason
is, that religious faith is the motive and measure
of religious work, and he who has no particular
| faith will do no particular work. The lecture
rostrum, the forum of disputation and the altar
Of divine worship never become one. If
the only object of the church that the SER
| mon from the pulpit should entertain the
listener in the pew, it would be of little conse-
quence whether it had q faith or not; but if, on
| the other hand, the church is to be workshop,
in which earnest men and women toll to the
end that souls may be saved from their sin and
| freed from sorrow, then how important that its
convictions concerning God, duty and destiny
| be fixed and understood. We may regret that
men and women differ concerning these great
central thoughts of religion; but differ they do,
and differ they will and, while these differences
exist different affairs must bear the name of the
| same God, and different ehurch-Spires must con-
tinue to point to the same heaven. God does not
want any of these affairs torn down, nor any two
| spires blended in one, but He wants each altar
kept warm with the burning love of devoted
people, and each Spire to bear aloft its own
highest convictions of His divine truth. Church
union is not so much needed as church devotion.
In all attempts to blend systems radically diff
ferent there is danger of making rent in that
which is new, and the piece taken out will not
agree with that which is old.
The Universalist Church admits its imper-
fections but it claims to be, and is, system
complete within itself 1t is not a mere denial
of what others believe, but it is the beloved
spiritual home in which we teach cherish and
strive to live what we believe. In it is an altar
whereon the fire which warns our hearts must
burn; and around that altar breathes the Holy
Spirit which we must feel. 1t has a pulpit in
which to preach and pew in which to listen; but
these are subordinate to the altar and obedient
to the Holy Spirit Its system of faith is not
mere criticism upon the creeds of other churches
but is an affirmation of what we conceive the
Bible to teach concerning God, man, duty and
destiny We affirm that the Bible contains Gods
truth revealed to men concerning these great prob
lens of which man himself can learn nothing
We affirm that God is the author, preserver and
ruler OF the entire universe, to whose allSeeing
eye all things good; and that His very ma
ture ever has been, is now and ever shall be
| love We believe that every soul is really the
offspring of this God, created in His image and
designed to be His companion forever; and that
though all men be subjected to the bondage of
sin in this life it is in the hope that they shall
ultimately be delivered into the glorious liberty
of the children of God. " 1t seems to us that
mans highest duty is to love God and do good
unto men, without fear of pain or hope of pleas
ure and we therefore teach that holiness and
| happiness are inseparably connected. One has
wisely said, Give me no guess for dying pill
low, and it does seem to me that if there is one
| question more than another on which the church
should speak with authority and in no uncertain
! sound, it is that of human destiny The Uni
| versalist Church unhesitatingly afirms that God
will finally restore the whole family of man
kind to holiness and happiness" These concep-
| tons of God man, duty and destiny form the
| basis Of a complete system of religion, and they
stand or fall together. If you take from this
! system that with which to patch the defects in
Ofh o1yao IT,
| the piece taken out agreeth not with the old"
This system of belief must move us in our
whole religious life. The man who really be-
| HeveS that the whole universe moves in obedi-
ence to the divine will, and that God is love- will
praise God only because of his projections, con
fide in Him because of His goodness and love
Him because He first loved humanity He who
believes that mans highest conception
Of duty raSts is own realized in doing right
feel himself drawn toward virtue by divine
and irresistible force. That man who feels that
in the life to come all souls will be good and
happy has a foretaste of heaven here. Life to
him is heavens richest blessing, and even the
grave loses its gloom in the blessed hope of the
life forevermore. The place of the Universalist
Church among other Christian churches is to
teach these grand thoughts and help men and
women live them in their daily lives; and by the
influence of these truths convert and save sinners
She will fill her place best when she teaches
these truths from her own pulpit and seals the
fraternal VOWS of her membership in PRAYERS
and songs of devotion around her own altar
1t is not her work to tear down what others have
built, but to rear in their midst grander and
nobler structure. She would not hindera single
saint, who might be leading soul to Christ; but
she would lead other souls by more heavenly
way 1t is not her place to furnish material
with which to patch the defects in other sys-
tens, but to use all that she hath in building
upon the foundation which the Master hath lain
In the fundamental matters of religious be-
lief there is an impossible gulf between the Uni
versalst Church and all those other Christian
denominations which have seen fit to style
themselves evangelical or orthodox They do
not believe that God absolutely governs the
whole universe, for they teach that the devil
sets at defiance the influences CT heaven, makes
great conquests in the EARTH and that in hell he
hath kingdom all to himself They say that
God is love- but they do not really believe it; for
they uniformly affirm that God hates those who