The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1891-10-21
THE BROTHERHOOD or MEN.
Lecture by United states Minister
stevens in Y. M. &. a. Han,

Lecture by United states Mtnister
stevens in Y. M. &. "A. Hail,
His Excellency j. l.. Stevens,
United States Minister Plenipoten-
tiary and Envoy Extraordinary, held
a large audience enthralled by his
eloquence in Y. NJ. c. A. hall Mon
day evening, as he diseoursed on
"The Brotherhood of Men. ;"
Mr.. Stevens said he was gratifed
to have the opportunity to address
the Young Mems Christian Associa-
tlon. There were many things about
which difference of opinion was
inevitable, yet compatible with the
true progress of mankind. ''But a
substantial agreement as to certain
primary and central truths seems
necessary to a successful organiza-
tion whose object is the moral welfare
of men and the Improvement of
human society. Long experience and
much earnest thought, on the sub
limest and most interesting of themes,
has brought me to the conclusion
that among the few central truths of
the best religion that the ages have
ever known, are the Fatherhood of
God and the Brotherhood of Men"
Because their organization seemed so
strongly TO hold fast TO those tunda-
mental truths, the speaker could not
otherwise than feel deep interest in
their prosperity. when the great
TEACHER, whose name we should ever
pronounce with profound reverence,
said the words-'Our Father who art
in heaven, and supplemented this
beautiful utterance with the Sermon
on the Mount, he spoke the sweetest
words ever heard by human ears
words, in whatever language printed
or uttered, which never fail to stir
the souls of men and to uplift the
nations to q better life. Philosophy
never gave birth to these ideas.
Kings, princes and aristocrats, by
the logic of egotistic selfshness, are
led to scott at these simple truths
and their implications" The speaker
went on 10 refer to scientists, seated
on their icy SUBMITS of speculation,
who glibly talk TO us of the survival
of the fittest,' as though there were
no paternal love in the universe.
And to theologians in the past, who
by their cold, bloodless, pitiless de-
ductions were led to look on a vast
majority of mankind as the ancient
Jews looked on the Gcntile world,
outside of the pale of divine love,
more than orphans in the universe of
God. He regarded with equal horror
the views of Hume and Huxley, of
Augustine and Calvin.
The necessary and certain coral
larry of the Divine Fatherhood is the
sublime truth, God is love. The
Christians Bible never says God is
hate, God is wrath, God is anger.
1t does say God is love. Love lies
underneath and pervades all His
plans, appertains to all his children,
never lessons, never weakens nor
varies, but it is the mightiest force
in the universe. There are pain,
and Affections, and sin, but under
meath all, more powerful than all
else, is the supreme power of divine
love. Scientists, theologians, states
men, are prone to forget the superior
power of love. They too often
seem also to think that religion is
distinct from science, from morals,
from business, from politics. Reli-
gion is vital to every interest of man.
Somehow the strange idea had got
abroad and into the minds of men,
that religion is a kind of bridge for
the passage into the other world.
The speaker argued that this was a
low estimate of religion = that if reli-
gion was not good for this world it
would be very little good for the
next. True righteousness IS does not
take dividends into account. 1t is
a necessary law of the soul. Reli-
gion was not against nature, but was
sunny, hopeful, joyful. Mr.. Stevens
denounced the idea that religion was
gloomy. Gloom and terrorism befit
heathenism and atheism. These were
tried by prosecutors of the past
whom he named. The Gar of Rus.
sia is trying terror throughout his
vast empire to the horror of the
civilized world. Repeating, it was a
fearful error to regard the Christian
religion as q system of gloom and
terror, the lecturer concluded as
follows:
There are scarcely any moral or
political evils in the world that these
great truths-the Fatherhood of God
and the Brotherhood of will
not obviate or remove. How effect
lively they interpose in the bitter
hostility and struggle going on in
many countries between labor and
capital. Governed by them the man
of wealth would consider that he had
no right to use his riches merely for
his own benefit, regardless of the
welfare of his brother laboring in his
field, his workshop, his plantation,
and his mine. For him to so use his
gold, his bonds, and his factories, as
to starve men, brutalize men, is to
scorn his brother, is to outrage Gods
child, whie II Jishonors labor, which
should ever he regarded honorable to
all men al ! which should never he