The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-02-18
EDITORIAL BRIEFS.
BY REV, I, N. ATWOOD, D. D,
Canton, N. Y.


of its own sect are alluded to as "baptiz ID
| persons" and the sect itself is Wanted as
established Christianity" and "the Chris
! tian church" The clrcumlo 3ution used
| to describe members of other churches.
so as not to admit, even by implicR-
ton, their title to church fellowship is
"persons who have had mem mbership in
some one of the denominations" All
the twistings and turninRs Of speech that
an arid imagination is equal to are en-
ployed to avoid recognizing members of
other communions as valiI church mem
bers. The grace of humility ornaments
our esteemed contemporary from head to
foot
1t is generally believed abroad that
Americans are the most self satisfied of
peoples; that they are so vain of their land,
climate productions, government and in
| stitutions as to be beyond the reach of
counsel and impervious to criticism.
They are sufficiently sensitive, it is said,
but, like egotists all the world over, their
sensitiveness springs not from conscious
demerit but from wounded vanity. But
any one who lives in this favored land.
mingles with this proud people. reads
their books and papers and listens to
their sermons, will have occasion to revise
that Judgment. Our literature, our re-
ligion, our society, our politics, our dress.
our manners and our morals, along with
our institutions and enterprises are reeu.
larly and we may say daily subjected to a
/ volley of criticism from our own peonIe.
II We are bit self-satisfed it is plain
enough that we are not satisfied with
ourselves.
The wealth of human nature is not
comprised in eny favored few; nor is it to
be found alone with those known TO fame.
If we could have truthful biography of
all the people OF any average town we
should find the best qualities of distin-
/ gulshed men and women abundantly rep
resented among them. Who ever heard
of Fleeming Jenkins? yet Robert Louis
Stevenson writes his biography and con-
vinces us that he was one OF the elect
a man of letters, rare scholar, a great
teacher, and literally endowed with ge-
MUS. Ii fools are abundant, wise men,
happily, are not rare.
,l..7.A, subtle fasn of temptation Is shat
which we feel when duty points one way
and inclination draws the other. The in
clnatlon absent and we should have no
question as to the duty. But when we
find ourselves desiring to do something
we begin at once to debate whether it is
not our duty to lott; or, at least, whether
it is our duty to do the other thing. Most
of the parleyings over questions of duty
have their spring n some opposing in
clination; and parleying over a matter of
duty ends, in the greater number of cases.
IN a weak surrender to inclination.
The author Of the epistle to the He
brews says that Moses preferred rather
to suffer reproaeh with the people Of God
than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a
season. Here was a type of principle
much more heroic than that required OF
us when we are asked to prefer duty to
inclination. We are not under the ne.
cessity, always SO hard a cross, OF ineur-
ring reproach IN order to be true to our
sense of duty. All we have to show is
the courage of consistency. We know
our d1ty. We are expected to perform it
noU IN the face of great opposition. but
against desire to do something else.
So small and so reasonable d demand
ought to be met without wayering or
Whispering.
But If we examine ourselves, shall
We not find that thus sacrifice of duty to
inclination is one of our most common
sins? Inclination, 1t should be noted. is
not always Synonymous with ease. The
thing We prefer to do may not be less
hard. 1t may take more time, more labor,
L ere energy, for a man to do what he
pie e4ses-to devote Sunday to business
rather than rest and religion; but that
does not make the preference less wroag
nor the evasion of duty less clear. We
call 1t subtle form Of te nptauon." 1t
beguiles us often with the delusioa that
we re- doing right because we are work
ing hard.
/ The Rev. Edwin Hatch continues ia
his recent work, The q 'owsh of Church
Institutions" the line Of inquiry taken
up with SO much ,iorOugLnsss in his
volume on The Organization of the
Early Christian Churches" Tne proofs
for the positions assumed by Stanley in
his " CHRISTIAN Institutions" are supplied
with ample completeness and the most
paiustakmg accuracy in Mr.. Hatch's
volumes. 10 the last work he gives the
genesis Of the ofii 'es, orders, eustom7
and ceremonies u the Anglican Clurch,
and disposes effeetually OF the pretsn-
slons that they are, in their present form,
or apostolic origiu. But a great many
Episcopal elergymen, who make up in
assurance what they lack iu learning, viii
90 on pratmg about their church as
catholic and apOs olic, and viii continue
to describe caurcte5 much uesre- the
t,Ie Of he early church than their own
es aects."