The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-09-05
EMERSON AND DIR. BURCHETT.

To THE EDITOR: Will DIR. Burchett give us
his authority for calling Emerson an enemy OF
Christ, and for the letter from which he quoted?
I have read three lives of Emerson, several
sketches, and am fairly well acquainted with
his works, and / have not found anything to
warrant such statement. To any one ac-
quainted with his life, leaving his writings out
of the question, such statement seems a mis-
representation. An enemy is one who hates
another - who would do him an
injury - an opponent. An enemy OF
Christ is one hostile to Him - one opposed
to His teachings; not one who eonformed his
life to His-who followed in His footsteps.
"The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long
suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness,
temperance,"-all conspicuous characteristics
of Emerson.
When he was reviled, he reviled not again
a Chrst-like trait
Once, after leaving the ministry he reluct-
antly consented to occupy certain pulpit
After his sermon the pastor OF the church
prayed that they might be delivered from listen
ing to any more "transcendental nonsense
such as they had just heard. A friend spoke to
Emerson about it, expecting, of course, that he
would resent the insult. Did he? No, with the
"charity that suffereth long, and Is kind" he
replied: ale seems to be q conscientious,
plain-spoken man."
Emerson may not have believed Christ divine,
but whether he believed in His divine origin or
not, he believed in and followed His divine ut
terances. An eminent English clergyman and
author has said: 81 count any belief In Christ,
however small, better than any belief about
Him, however great. The one is VITAL and will
control the life of the believer; the other is
merely Intellectual, and may leave the believer
cold and dead SO far as any spiritual life is con-
cerned." Exactly what Emerson believed about
Christ, do not know. That he believed in Him
is evident to one who has studied his life or
writings.
Had Christ been on earth with Emerson,
would He have ked him whether he believed
in the trinity, the resurrection of the body, or
foreordination, or the second advent? MOL He
would have said then, as He said eighteen hun
dred years ago, "Follow me-"
Christs mission on earth was not to establish
his position in the Godhead. 1t is true he asked
his disciples, "Who say We that am?' But he
did not add that upon their answer depended
their right to be called His followers, or their
hope of eternal life. On the contrary, He did
say, "Not everyone that saith unto me Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom OF heaven,
but he that doeth the will of my Father which
is in heaven" And also, "Whosoever shall do
the will of my Father which is in Heaven, the
same is my brother, and sister, and mother
not my enemy. Right conduct, the endeavor to
do the will of the Father, was the evidence of
discipleship. 'If ye love me, We will keep my
commandments" Jesus said, and "This is the
first and great commandment, Thou shall love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. And the
second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." Emersons writings show
that he kept the first; his life was the exponent
OF the second. HELEN p. SCRoPE.