The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1888-06-23

OF UOo, Dotn py nature and character,
ideally and actually. In him the ideal
and the real were one. He realized the
divine idea of sonship.
Hence he become the type not only
of mans actual sonship, of his sonship
by nature, but of his ideal sonship, of
his sonship by character, of that SON.
ship which man is yet to realize, for he
lis to be conformed unto his image"
The destiny of man, therefore, is to be
| like Christ, and he can realize his des-
tiny only in becoming like Christ. Christ
is the door and there is no other door.
| He is the way, the truth, and the life,
and there is no salvation without him.
| But Christ is not only the type of hui
man destiny, he is the power of God
unto salvation. By realizing the di-
vine life he became the great life-giv-
ing force of the world. By realizing the
divine sonship, by living the life of God
among men, he projected into human
ity new and saving force. He intro
duced into the world saving and perfect
ing grace, which, by virtue Of the organ
ic unity of our race, must work on and
on to the saving and perfecting of that
race. The leaven must leaven the whole
lump. The universal sonship of Christ
is another postulate, therefore, Of uni
versal salvation. These, then, may be
regarded as the five points of Univer-
salism. The Universal Immortality of
Man, the Universal Fatherhood of God
and Brotherhood of Man, the Universal
Sonship of Christ and the Universal
Salvation or Perfection of Mankind, an
improvement we think on the five
points of Calvinism.
Now it is along the lines of these
postulates or affirmations of our faith
that the recent movement in religious
thought obtains. This movement con-
Germs these fundamental principles and
not directly the conclusion we derive
therefrom. Indeed this is the pecul-
iarity of this movement, that it is to-
ward the acceptance Of the fundamental
principles of our faith, but not of the
faith itself. Acceptance of the prem
ises, but not the conclusion.
In fact, there is no movement to
speak Of toward positive Universalism;
toward the acceptance Of the distinct
i've doctrine of our faith, the worlds
salvation. 1 doubt very much whether
this doctrine is growing any faster to-
day than it was twenty-five years ago.
question whether men are coming to
a positive faith in the worlds salvation
to-day any faster than they were then.
1t is no easier, imagine, to make con-
verts to this faith now than its was
then. The attitude of the popular
mind at present is not favorable to pos
tive convictions in this direction, if it
is to such convictions in any direction.
That attitude is toward denial and
] agnosticism. Anti-hellists are album
dant. They swarm in the church and
out, in the pulpit and pew. No trouble to
find men who will swear with all their
might that there ''haint" any hell.
The old fire has about all gone out.
Nobody wants to believe that any long
er, and many pulpits fight shy of affirm
ing anything positive about the condi-
ton of the impenitent dead. But while
there is any amount of denial on this
side, there is little or no tendency to-
wards positive affirmation on the other.
| OF all these multitudes who deny the
old horror, very few are ready to affirm
the new hope.
Here the popular attitude is that of
agnosticism. They don't know. They
hardly think it is safe to affirm univer-
sal salvation. 1t is better to leave all
this matter of human destiny in doubt.
1t is well to try and save your own
soul and all other souls you can, but
it is not we'll to affirm the salvation Of
all souls. To have any conviction upon
this point is going too far. Better
leave that in doubt. Indeed they seem
to think that there is something very
wise and pious about this attitude of
uncertainty; that it indicates very
praiseworthy state of mind and heart
They seem to imagine that they honor
God by saying that they do not know
what God is going to do with his NOR
al universe.
They profess to believe in a God
from whose character for wisdom and
goodness very definite conclusions can
be drawn upon this point, but it will
not do to draw those conclusions. 1t
is very wise and pious to say two and
two; two and two; but it is very dog
matte to say two and two make four.
Such use of the logical faculty is very
presumptious. 1t borders closely on
the objectionable sin.
So we find all these come cutters, or
liberal thinkers in the other churches
strongly protesting that they are not
Universalists. Canon Farrar takes
the same position and goes over the
same ground that we did fifty years
ago, and yet he solemnly tells US again
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