New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1885-05-14
THE CONGRESS OF CHURCHES.
ADDRESSES BY JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE An
PRESIDENTS PORTER AND ROBINSON

ADDRESSES By JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE AND
PRESIDENTS PORTER AND ROBINSON.
HARTFORD, May 13.-The Congress OF
Churches ended to-day Governor Harrison presided
The discussion Of the theme The Historical Christ a.
the True Centre OF Theology" opened by James
Freeman Clarke In the OF his remarks he said
Around this divneiy character Son Of God and
His sublime prayer will be fulfilled AS Thou. Father,
art in Me and IN Thee that they also may be one in us
This unity will not be tame monoony but the consent
be- En- ySss IN o. w1I
Church OF Rome hasdreamed gaining union by sacrificing
freedom; shall remain divided the Protestant
Church has BEEN preserving freedom aad losing union
According to the IMAGE OF the apostle we shall be many
MEMBERS but one body; one denomination being tho
eye another the hand another the foot all working
together to bless and save the human race What evil
could resist such combined action. With snch united
church how long would the outcast heather in ctiea
be left nncared fort How long would Materialisn,
Agnosticsm Pessimsm Atheism the spiritual diseases
OF our tme-Iesis the radiance OF this advent Of
Christ to the world
President Robinson, Of Brown University, followed
He said that the word theology had been used In throe
senses: First alphabetically the science of God:
second, IL q popular sense denoting the teaching Of
popular religon-ths is the newspaper sense; third n
used denote the philosophc and systematic
of all truths pertaining to God and and their
mutual relations. By the historical Christ the speaker
understood to be meant tho Christ OF the New
Testament. He is personal, not mythical vertable
living person, personal as to-day. This per-
sOnal Christ contains TWO natures the divine being and
the human being. He existed elsewhere before He
earth, lie assembled from the grave where lie
had been before. This historical Christ the centre Of
theology, but lie has been hidden from the popular
mind for centuries The evil OF the times has been that
metaphysical PHILOSOPHERS have been the centre OF the
Olosy We mast turn to the Scriptures to learn OF tho
starting with Christ the true centre &c. too, get
conception Of man. what he is capable Of by look
ing at Christ
President Porter, of Yale College, followed He said
In part:
No fact ia more suggestive than that there In the
history OF the Christian Church has been time when
eyes OF all turned TO the question hat think
ye of Christ they do to-day This Is largely due to
the attacks OF the sccptcs upon Christ This work has
been done by the unbeevers Each negative theory has
been reecedand the Church has returned with
new zeal 60 its allegiance. We have looked back upon
the first centuries and the truth anew. We como
than has been possible any time since the first CEN
fury. Never before there time when 50 many
lives of Christ had been written so many attempts 10
the glory of the divine master. Our faith Is more
vivid and satisfying. as we are drawn nearrr Ihe
power Of the Christian system centres in the person OF
Christ We distinctly how, step by step, there was
progressive faith, ending in the acknowledgment or
Christ divine. To trace this history Is the
duty of the Christian theOl0gian. new problem pre-
systematic theology is necessity for all time, not the
less since we have recognized new biblical theology
Also intelligent being. as science teaches
him about other things, must reconcile his faith wIth all
else he believes In.
After brief farewell addresses by Dr. Parker OF Hart
ford and the Rev. w. W. Newton of Pittshed, the Con-
adjourned.