The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-09-20

cessities of the Church may require.
And herein, say, lies one of the
reasons of its universally. 1t ia
able externally to adapt itself TO all
the intellectual and spiritual require
ments Of men, while at the same
time it preserves itself pure, sue
cinct and unchanged.
And then again this power of
universality of the gospel lies in the
fact that that gospel is embodied in
llfe-it is identified with a perfect
man. Other religions propounded
theories, enunciated maxims, enjoin
ed rules, but the religion of the
gospel is q life---it was reduced to II
life. Jesus did not say, 81 come TO
teach you the truth" but II am
the truth" Look at me and see
what God is. Look at me and
learn what religion is learn what
that is which alone can ensure you
everlasting life. This religion could
be brought down to the understand
ings of men. They had not to per-
plex their minds with abtruse doc
trinal problems. They had not to
speculate. They had not to philoso-
phize. Al! that they had to do was
to look at the life of Jesus-all that
they had to do was to study man
like themselves. And not only to
their understanding did the life of
Jesus appeal, but to their sympha-
thies. 1t was the life of one like
themselves-one made in their own
image. and how could they help but
drawn out toward it through the
atiirmity which pervades all human
hearts. That beauty of character
that gentleness of disposition, that
intlexibility of principle, that COM
passion, mercy, disinterestedness,
combined with that snblimity of de-
votion-how could they hely but ad-
mire and love. And in admiring
and loving the man, they would come
to admire and love the truth that
was in the man and thus become his
disinterested followers. All this
follows the embodiment of truth in
a life, and it is another feature in the
universality of the gospel.
And still another l find in the pc
culiar method with which the gospel
infuses itself into all--the various
political states and relations of mem
without committing itself to them or
directly and Immediately interfering
with them; other religions, as we
know, have laid down political
systems, they have bound them
selves to ideas of caste, to imperial
ism, democracy or socialism, and the
consequence has been that when
these political or social systems to
which they are bound have perished,
they have perished too.
Now the religion of the gospel
never made such mistake as this.
The religion of the pospel never
mixed itself up with any political
system or any particular phase of
society. 1t held itself perfectly
free. 1t simply entered as spirit
of good into all these without
directly interfering with any. 1t
entered into monarchy, and it en-
tered into Imperialism, and it en-
tered into feudalism, and it entered
into democracy, but it entered into
all these simply as leaven enters
into the meal, gradually infusing
itself into them, gradually exter-
pating this evil from them and gra-
dually assimilating each unto itself.
Hence it can flourish anywhere
under the most diverse nationalities,
in the most strangely constituted
societies, with the most strongly
contrasted professions and pursuits.
And then again, this religion OF
the gospel, as we al know, claims
kindred even with the lowest ranks
in life. 1t was characteristic Of the
ancient religions that they sought
their votaries principally from the
higher classes. They were obse'
quious to the rich, the learned, the
influential. The religion of those
days was proud .ecclesiasticism, {
philosophy that walked with its heae
amidst the clouds, an eclecticisn
that included only the learned, tn
high-born and the high-bred. Blu
the religion of the gospel was il
direct contrast with this, Whel
Jesus came and uttered his soul-in
spring teachings, those to whom h
first of all addressed himself wer
those of the lower class. There wa
; not one that he rejected. Ther
! was not one from whom he abrupt
! turned away. When the Phariset
: exclaimed, "See, how he eateth wit
t Publicans and Sinners" his slmpl
beautiful reply was: 81 cane n,
!. TO call the righteous but sinners
I. repentance.
o And still more, to these poo
:, fOrloln children of men 1t was, tn
almost all his truths were addresse
9 They were not the truths of phylo
q ophy, They were not the fiji
spun theories of the schools, b
!. they were the parallels of the iishil
q boat, of the harvest field, of d
q leavcn in the meal, the lost she,
= and the lost coin. The ideas whi
h he gave were just those that won
/. impress the hearts of the comm
- people. And this impress which,