The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1891-05-11
"Unrest in Religious Circles .

Editor Morning Nel0S: Your article in
Sundays issue is full of thought, and sug-
gestive There is no effect without cause,
and the question is very natural and ra-
tional one: What has got into the doctors
Of dlvinity9 What is wrong in the church9
This is day of thought, of critical invests
cation, of practical Interpretation. an
earnest and real seeking after truth" and
not slavlsh fear of authority" The peo-
pie, who are always a long ways ahead of
partisans and politicians, are equally long
ways ahead Of bishops, priest, preachers
and doctors OF divinity. The people are
reading and thinking, and there Is far more
of brains in the pews than in the pulpit.
The ministers are opening their eyes to
that great truth. The people take no oaths
or obligations to believe aud preach secta-
rian faiths, creeds, dogmas and tenets. The
people have taken the bit out of their
mouths, and question many things they
have been taught to believe as unquestioned
and unquestionable truths. The maya
zines Of to-day are free, able
moral political and theological, are
discussed with freedom that is really re-
freshing to thinking minds. Church au-
thority is growing small by degrees and
beautifully less, and it is well that it Is so;
for the doctors Of divinity have caught up
| with the spirit of the people, and are grow
| ing FESTIVE under too much church govern
| ment. A few bold, able, daring men, hav-
| ing the courage Of their honest convictions,
| are preaching what they really think to be
truth-truth to themselves at least. They
| are walking in the light of their own rea-
| son, the only light worth following at any
| time and in any place.
Thanks, many thanks to such brave
thinkers as Drs. Briggs Newton, Bridge
1 Ar,oA
| is amid the clash OF argument. the conflict
of reason, the force of logic, and the truth
OF fact and history, that truth rises to the
surface and says: "Here l am at your
bidding" The dry rot of the brain is where
there is no thought, no investigation, no
questioning, and the word authority is
| hurled at the head Of the seeker after truth.
what ia truthah asked Plate of Jesus.
Jesus said: Truth is from heaven" Plate
says: as not truth upon the earthP' Jesus
says: Thou seest now those who speak the
| truth are judged by these that have the
| power upon the earth.n PLATE went out to
the Jews and said: 81 find no fault in him"
Jesus was abiding TO the priests in the
temple who denounced him as a hereto, a
| schlsmatic, corruptor of the people be-
cause he taught the truth as he understood
it, and not as the Jewish priests would have
the truth taught. The priests were after
enforcing authority" as truth, while Jesus
said that every man was an authority In
| himself. That truth was from heaven, and
not thing belonging to priests to dole out
or assert upon their individual or collective
authority.
The religion Of Jesus is at last beginning
to be really understood. He taught the
religion OF humanity, the brotherhood of
man, mans relation to his fellow man as
social being and his relation to God as
spiritual being. Jesus had no creeds,
dogmas or confessions of faith. None can
be found in his teachings if
without form, ceremony, show or display.
be appealed to mans reason and his better
| nature. That is the way have read him,
! and believe in him, and if minister would
preach him. Church authority has made
| and will make infide!s and atheists of think
ing men. A broad professionalism opens
wide the door for the individual thinker,
and if shut to him, he would naturally turn
to infdelIty and atheism as more rational,
more sensible, and more in accordance with
his innate feelings and self-respect.
individually your writer would cheer
fully embrace atheism before he would en-
brace the teaching of any church which
gave one man power and authority over
| the soul OF another. He would embrace
atheism before he would embrace the teach
ings Of Calyin's God, as taught fifty years
| ago. he would embrace atheism be-
fore he would embrace the idea that
| the God OF all the earth ever
had chosen people whom he
| loved more than all the rest
OF living and an enlightened world. He
would Dc an atheist II he was not allowed
the full play Of his own thoughts. IDEAS and
feelings about the God OF the universe. |
! do not stand in need Of any middleman be-
tween me and my God, and that is tie
/ growing feeling and sentiment Of the pres.
ent so-calied heresy and sehism Ia AL the
/ churches. OF course l am speaking OF ths
common and general Interpretation Of
/ scripture, not the esoteric, but tna exOterie
teaching. as believed
The church, ASA church, s growing weaker,