Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-01-14
a CREEpLfss RELIGION.
The Doetriue Of Unitarianlsm-How Is DIFF.
fsrs From Other BeIIsfs-ChrisrIau The
ism-Agrsemsnt Among Church Menu


The Doctrine Of Unitarianlsm-How It DIFF.
fsrs From Other BeIIefn-ChristIau The.
ism-Agrsemsnt Among Church Mem-
bers Not Requisite.
To the Editor Of me DIspatch.
IN copy Of your paper which came to my
notice aslfort time ago, saw that move
ment was on foot to form q Unitarian Society
in Pittsburg. and 1 inferred from the tone Of
the article that Unitarianism Is . new thing in
that city. With sin Boston, on the other hand
It Is so familiar, that we hardly realize till we
stop to think about II, how very different Il is
from most other religious beliefs. Perhaps
some Of yourread may be interested to know
what its peculiar characteristics are, and why
Unitarianism asks hearing and believes that
IL has something to say, even in place 90 well
provided with churches as your city already is.
Passing over the claim which Unitarians
make. that their belief is as old as tue Chris
tian era, aha that it has never been without
adherents from that time to this, If We look at
the Unitarianism Of to-day We hnd that it may
We defined simply as Christian theism, which
maintains that man has the power to grow In
wisdom and IN goodness. and that his salvation
Tin any sense Of the word) depends on his
using that power. Unitarians are theists, be-
cause they believe in God, whom they love and
trust and in whom they live and move and
have their being;" and they are Christian, be-
cause they reverence Jesus Christ as the
greatest religious leader the world has ever
known; aud believing thus In God and in
Christ, they base their religion on the two
great commandments which declare love 10
God and love to man 20 be the essentials Of life
fhaU Ia m N
articles OF theological belief, and here lies the
marked difference between them and other
Christians.
They not only see no harm in disagreeing in
opinion with their preachers, their leaders,
each other, and even with their former selves.
but they think that such disagreement' is inc
vitable and desirable among human beings who
think sincerely and Independently, and who
are therefore open at all times to more light
THIS fundamental characteristic, the belief in
the right and duty Of individual opinion, is
unfortunately not expressed in the word Uni
tarianism, which Of itself only defines another
article Of belief common to thesseet; that,
namely, in the Unity Of God. as distinguished
from the Trinity Of the "Godhead." The name
began to be used here in New England
about the beginning Of this century
to denote those preachers who maintained
that as no father and son can possibly
be the same person, Jeses could not be the
same as God, while on the other hand, the
Holy Spirit was identical with God, and there
fore not the ''third person" Of Trinity. The
majority of the congregations in many Of the
places, followed the lead Of the preachers;
those who could not do so left the churches
and formed societies Of their own as different
Trinitarian sects, and Unitarianism continued
as an independent existence.
This idea Of the unity Of God, was to be sure,
no new one, and perhaps it would have become
no more prominent at this time than it had
been before, II Its advocates Just then had not
been men of great zeal and ability, who in sd-
diti on to this point Of the unity, which gave
them their name, proclaimed the right Of pri-
Vate Judgment, and the dignity Of human
nature. This spirit Of independence leading
them to question the grounds Of all their for
mer articles Of belief, soon asked how the
loving Father could doom His children to
everlasting punishment, and the answer was
the rejection Of the commonly accepted idea Of
Hell. This same spirit has gone on question
ing from that day to this, and most Unitarians
undoubtedly now hold opinions differing in
many respects from those held BY the leaders
in those early years.
Iris then plain to see what is meant BY the
statement that Unitarians have no creed. By
the very conditions Of their existence they can
have no fixed creed; no creed that they can re-
quire others to eubscribe to, or that they can
subscribe to themselves, As the ultimatum Of
their belief. Yet this does not mean that they
have no belief, no faith. On the contrary,
they claim that they hold their beliefs the
more fervently because they are so sincerely
their own. But they lay more stress on char
acter than on doctrine, on life than on dogma.
And their firm belief in the right Of private
judgment is founded on their conviction that
man has the power TO become wiser and better.
and that his salvation depends on his using
that power. Unitarians may differ about many
theological points; indeed they do not pretend
to agree; but this Is the popularity that dis
tinguishes them from other sects
And it may well be that in your great and
busy city there are not = few who have at pres
ent no religious home who will gladly join these
seekers for truth, who in freedom, as well as
meet from week TO week to gain
more strength aud more light.
]. N. KNOX.
Pocro1y Taauarv II