Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-06-24
Mr.. Beeeher's Views ON Fans. the New
Birth and Robert G. IngerSOll.

Mr.. Beecher spoke in regard to the use of fans
in church yesterday morning before his SER
mon, telling the women in his congregation to
fan themselves as far possible and not their
neighbors. To this end he said the fans should
not be too large and the nervous motion should
not be too violent. man in front might get
the air on the back of his head or neck where it
was unprotected by collar or hair, or an invalid
alongside might get what he did not need. A
small fan would answer for a handsome face
and it would be more graceful to fan in a quiet
and lady-like manner than violently. With
this Mr.. Beecher illustrated the violent man.
ner with his notes to the amusement of the
congregation.
In the sermon he considered the subject of
regeneration in relation to evolution. The
Heretid says: In the course of 1t Mr.. Beecher
emphatically stated his theological position as
follows: The four doctrines Of sin, of regenera-
ton, of the help OF the Holy Spirit and of holt
ness of life are the executive doctrines of chris
tianity. Any one who faithfully breaches them
will not fail of fruit They are the formulation
of all my practical preaching. Those sublime the
oogians. the newspapers. ask why do not go out
Mr.. Robert Ingersoll. 1 believe he is gentle
man, and worthy of anything but ridicule. He
Is as good as many men in the pulpit but one
does not need to be very good for that They
say i do not believe in the Bible or in religion,
but that L believe in science. / believe that
man was animal before he became social;
that he animal and social as to rise
to the civic plane; that he was animal and
social and civic, as so many stages to climb to
the animal lost his animality by unfolding:
that he can rise by evolution and by the
Divine Spirit SO as to meet God and be beaten
upon by the means of Gods influence. My
theology is working theology. i believe many
things besides and suspect many more which
don't believe. My theology is practical, ana
look back upon forty years among you. The
fruit is not as large as if you had had a better
fruiterer. but / am not unwilling to compare
the men and women here for cheerfulness, and
hope. and courage, and kindness, for love and
loveableness and selfdenial, with those any
har Vnr1S I hayn JItta hay hpp m
blest TO the evolution to higher life to winning
souls.
DEVELOPMENT.
In another part of the sermon Mr..
Beecher said: "Christ began by telling all men
to repent and to be born again. Regeneration,
the being born again, fits in with the system of
nature which evolution unfOlds to our knowl-
edge and apprehension. Christ called men
from gross and animal life to spirituality,
which is the direct result of the divine in
f1uence, of the impact of the divine MIND upon
men. This brings forth experiences emotions,
Joys and visions which are not In morality
and the secular life. Men ascend through the
stages of being animal, social, esthetic and in
tellectual, until at last they see God and i'm
mortality in community with the invisible. A
state of receptivity to the divine influence de-
velops new fife in the soul. Development pre-
figures and prepares for that life OF transCendcnt
conditions beyond this terraqueous globe. Men
can ascend steadily by the force Of Instructions
that hovers in the spiritual, and they can
work what almost appear like miracles.
possible for men to be lifted out of animal con-
ditions so as to become part and parcel of a
great spiritual province. The Roman idea of
infant baptism is that ii washes away the Origi
nal sin transmitted by Adam This is an limo.
cent delusion. Then thousand million power of
microscopic magnifying would not discover in
the child Il solitary speck of anything Adam
did or did not do. Nothing is easier than to
wash it all away in baptism. and it does the
Child no harm. So, too, adults are not regener-
ated in baptism, but man may begin a new
life at that time. AS priestly office baptism
has no power whatever. 1t is as innocent as
from lower to higher stage of spiritual in
stincts that is regeneration-the rising up in
the ascending scale.
THE RIDICULE OF SCIENCE.
''Science has no right to ridicule revivals Of
religion. They are founded in n natural phi
losOphy. Children are trained to spiritual
truth easily and naturally, and this is the nor
NAL method and the best. But adults are re-
generated slowly and imperfectly. Influences
must be brought to bear upon them to enable
them to rise as il by atmospheric pressure to an
exalted life. Unity of feeling in companies is
favorable to the development of individual
feelings. This is recognized in business when
prosperity is called n BOOM and it is recog-
niZed IN fashion, in art, in revivals of learning,
and, most of all, in moral feeling. The incre-
ment of moral purpose by the concurrent pur-
poses of thousands develops the highest and
the noblest. hundred men can easily do
what it is almost impossible for one. There is a
normal philosophy in the law of REVEALS
The executive doctrines of christianity are
confirmed by all the revelations OF science.
They are the doctrines which stir and develop
human nature. They are not fundamental
doctrines to fit in system, but tend to save
men. The infirmity and sinfuness of man are
Implied in all that Christ taught and are as
sumed as the basis of His teachings to repent.
Men can rise to a higher life-not absolute per-
fiction, but state of holiness. Any one who
believes that men are sinful and that Christ
came to save them and the Holy Spirit will
help them is orthodox. He is equipped for the
Lords work. and no church has q right to exist
with rules that keep out true Christians The
church must be constructed after the mind
and will of God that all who love God and men
are undisturbed in it,