St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1891-12-28
The Rev. Gentleman Gives
Another Side to the Char
acter of Christ.
How He Would Have Us Look
Upon the Savior's
Sacrifice.
The Black Pictures Painted
Of the Wrath Of
God.

| ali sermon yesterday morning al the
| Grand opera house before the First Uni
versalist society. The subject was
taken by Mr.. Vail as bearing on the re-
cent sermon of DR.. Thomas, of Chicago,
delivered at the Peoples church week
ago Sunday. DR.. Thomas was taken as
the representative of the new theology,
and Mr.. Vail began by saying that the
ideas of Dr. Thomas were his ideas.
| Lyman Abbott and DIR. Thomas had
both said: I'VE believe that Christ was
| God in man." This was the theme of
the sermon. 1t begins with man. The
| preacher Sketched the life of Christ. He
said the overture of the angels was eX-
aggerated i'll the statements we have
now; but as long as the legend Peace
on earth and good will to men" is writ
| ten under that picture we shall all claim
| that 1T is the essence of the spirit of
| Christ. His childhood was like that of
other children. His DOyhoOd was
| touched by his local surroundings, and
| while he was not appreciated in his ma
tive town-the prophet never iS-he was
still known TO his neighbors as the son
| OF the family whose name he bore, and
they called the other children or this
| family his brethren and sisters. In his
| social life he was man,
Judged of as other Men.
He associated with all. He was loved
| by all because there WAS within him a
the spirit of humane consideration.
But in saying all this of Him as a
man do we leave any room for the idea
| of God to come? Yes; for in the sense
OF the new theology God has entrance
into human life at any point. We may.
| OH this ground, finish the prayer of
| Christ that God may come into the life
of all His people. Does this differ from
any other theory? 1t differs from the
| theory that there must be all entire
| change of nature. 1t makes man a mu-
! steal instrument, out of tune, but capa-
| bic of the rareSt music when once put
| in harmony with the ideal. 1t makes
| Christ man also, with a special en-
j dowment of affection and special abil-
| lty to see the ideal of life and to realize
/ it in His own experience. His affection
| was His distinguishing character
! iStic. He is not thought of as a
speculative mind, as we think of Plato
nor as an argumentative mind as we
| think of Aristotle or Socrates; but we
think of HIM as religious teacher who
so moved the world that time is dated
from his birth in civilized lands, and
| one whose claims have covered every
| made HIS morality an enthusiasm, for
| His inward look revealed a character
built for time and eternity He saw
within Himself.a within humanity as
we'll, the ideal man, and iG became to
| Him the dominant idea of His later
| years. 1t did not change, but only de-
| veloped that which existed already in
| them. Then His lite was filed with
sacrifice, because this is the
Logic of Affection.
Help is a pleasure, not hardship,
| where we love. Then, too, love trans
! figured all his consciousness of duty, of
| all those higher feelings of honor and
| righteousness became enthusiasm. His
| religion was the religion of communion,
| and His life with God was exactly in
! kind like that any man is capabable of
| experiencing; but the wide difference
| was in degree. That was a difference
| never yet equaled. And In this same
| connection let me state the matter from
another side. We may imagine an
orange, in tropical jungle of thorny
oranges, that takes EN- the perfection
| that a cultivation Of a hundred years
| might give. This is not probable. but
is an illustration. 1t does not happen
| in nature. No orange tree was ever
| found that did it so far as l know: but in
| mind this is true. In music masters
leaped centuries ahead OF the age. In
| art the same is true. 1t is leap i'll the
| evolution of an idea. So may we be-
lieve that this teacher leaped TO the per-
| lection of character. And may He not
be master where we grope? In us is
| the undying hope of immortality; in
| Him it was what will come to us when
we have reached His life, for in Him
| there seemed TO be a vision of truth
| touched with certainty born out of the
! most powerful conviction. In US there
is mixed and vacillating love for
| righteousness, touched and tempered
by stronger selfshneSs; with Him there
was neger-yarying condition, an adj
miration that never faltered, hope
that developed hope III every human
| breast when
Wien Touched His Life.
In q word, His developed life had in
it all there is in ours, and besides al
! that there is in our possibilities. There
| fore he becomes our leader, guide and
teacher, aDd this is the sense in which
the new theology teaches that He is
God in Himself
But there is another fact that does not
| disappear.
We are plainly making in all this a
| theory that is in direct opposition to all
| that we know of, the theory of sacrt
fetal substitution. Modern theology. as
we'll as ancient theology, says: Christ
died to take upon Himselflyour sins.
God demanded a sacrifice to appease
His wrath. Christ made this sacrifice
Are we to leave this theory believed by
most men in the churches without
word. This is a theory that
runs through all primitive re
ligions. Our conclusion will de-
pend upon our use of the word sacri-
flee. In his primitive state man be-
lieyed in God like himself, and with
malevolent disposition. This Godi is en-
dOwed with the advantage of power
| By our sins, they say, we sacrifice our
right to life. Only blood will appease
him. Some nations sacrificed human
offerings. Others, however. concluded
that life only was necessary. and ami
mails were given instead Of man to
take our place. When the dying cry OF
an animal was heard. it was supposed
that the god was satisfied. THIS wa!
| transferred to Christianity. and Christ
was made the one substitute in the
place of man. The ministry took adj
vantage of the inflammability of human
life. Fear in human nature was used
because it is the most powerful unflu.
were painted of the wrath of God. Blacl
pictures were painted of human nature
These ideas were
Transferred to the Church.
But was this real picture of God, O
of the central truth of the sacrifice O
Christ? And how shall we rid ourseIve,
of this idea that is SO deeply lodged il
the common mind that a Fundamental
principle of the doctrine is vicarfou
atOnement? The answer is not far t.
seek. The truth of the sacrifice is tn
the law of the world. But it is a spirl
ual truth, a natural truth, fact O
science, fact of experience. The rocl
crumbles. The soil is formed by it
death. The seed is cast into tn
ground: the waving grain is the result
of life and death. Man comes into the
world through suffering.
a nd nj oil fffal Of :,