The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-08-25
CHANGE OF THOUGHT.
Eloquent Lecture by Rev. Minot
j. Savage.
PROGRESS OF MODERN IDEAS.
How Conceptions of the Universe, God,
Revelation, Man and His saliva
tion Have Broadened.

Rev. Minot J. Savage. OF Boston, delivered an
| eloquent lecture in the First Methodist Epis-
copal church last night on the Change OF
! Front of the Universe Mr.. Savage, though
famous from one end OF the country to the other
leader OF the most liberal UDitarians, began
| his work as a Congregationalist. Born in
| No.ridgewock, Ne, in 1871, he was educated at
| Bowdo!n college and the Bangor theological
| seminary In 1854 he became congregational
| missionary in California. He was d pastor in
| Pennington, Mass, in 1867, and at Hannibal,
Mo-. in 1863. shortly after that he became q
Unitarian and took charge OF a church of that
denomination in Chicago. Since 1874 he has
been pastor of the Church OF the Unity in Bos
ton. During the last twenty years he has been
a constant writer for periodical Literature, and
he has published a dozen or more books
In his lecture last night he spoke of the great
changes which human thought has undergone
during the last two or three hundred years. He
hr't discussed the alteration III the conception
OF the universe. Milton in writing the "Psra-
disc Lost had held The Ptolemaic theory This
had placed the earth in the center of nine con-
centric, crystal, transparent hollow spheres. In
one OF them was set the moon, in another the
sun. IN Others the planets, and in the outer ones
the fixed stars. The revolutions OF these spheres
was supposed 10 give motion to the heavenly
bodies. The largest sphere supposed TO be
less than the orbit OF the moon is now known to
be. Today men have discovered that the uni
verse is infinite, with millions OF suns, each the
center OF planetary system like our own.
Mr.. Savage went on to say that the change in
the conception of the universe had resulted in a
change in the idea Of God. Men used to imagine
a large and powerful man who stood outside
and apart from the world, aud made it rs man
makes house or a watch-a God who repaired
the world or altered its workings a man re-
pairs watch But with the universe known as
1t is, such conception of God is impossible.
He pervades the universe man pcrvades his
own body. The universe is the body OF Cod
who lives in every part OF it and acts i'll every
one of its laws.
Still another change was in the view OF divine
revelation. Thinking men have ceased to be-
lieye that God started book, wrote for while
and then stopped some eighteen hundred years
ago. Every new truth that comes to men is a
revelation of Gods nature and revelation from
God. Each nation has its Bible, and that Bible
has contained some truth. The Hebrew Bible
contains the religious literature OF a people,
who, for their age. were remarkably gifted with
religious insight. That Bible shows distinctly
the growth from IA savage p0lytheism to higher,
pUrer. kinder monOtheism. Revelation will not
close till the human race is at an end.
More than this. man was known to have existed
on earth for at least 100000 years. The race be-
gan, not in perfect Adam, but in a halfbrutal
savage in the jungle. From that point there
has been a steady progression--not fall, but an
ascent, aud man today does not have TO atone
for the fall from grace of first father, Adam;
his salvation is not wrought in twinkiing, but
prayer; but he reaches salvation when he
stands ruler of his lusts and passions, crowned
king OF himself.
Mr.. Savage closed by saying that religion it
self would not suffer by these changes in belief.
AS the stars were not changed when the Ptole-
male theory gave way to the Copernican, so the
eternal truth will exist no matter how men may
change their view of il.