The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-12-07
REPLY TO Mr.. CROKER
Open Letter TO tho Unitarian
Clergyman From Rev.
A. c. Couey.

~ y. NOu0ys
) Says the Helena Preacher I'm
willingly Refutes His Own
Argument.
Brief Notice Of Mr.. Crooksr's Arraign-
mcnt Of h Present Day
Ministry.
lEDrron INDEPENDENT: Rsv. Mr.. Crooker's
mon, as published in THE INDEPENDENT
nday. Nov. 22. Is from the text lisa. liv:lA,
u righteousness shalt thou be estab-
he'd" The subject Of tho discourse ia
he Word of the Lord"
I'VE recognize. Mr.. Editor, that your p
not set apart for the specific purpose of
Biological controversy, and therefore
snk you for the consent already given ps,
publish, per courtesy, a review of the
aforementioned discourse of Nj. Crooker.
3 confine ourself to the chief points
herein we differ, quoting verbatim the
nguage. First We would notice Mr..
ooker's estimate of tho Word of tho
brd. He saws: And We must not con-
ler tnat the Word OF the Lord was a
ecial visitation sent by the Almighty
the Hebrew prophets, and to them
Dne. We must rather look upon 1t as
experience which belongs to man as
IN. and one that lofty souls in some
easure have shared all over the wide
prld and throughout all historic time.
hen the Egyptian bowed his head and
versntly said, Thou art, 0 God, tho in
Rite and eternal beinR;' whom the Persian
Psned his heart and lips and sang the
aises Of the n good God, Mazda; whom
d Hindu poet proclaimed the sweet excel
nee Of charity and forgiveness; whom tho
hcient Acadian wrote on thoss clay tab
he. recently rescued from the dust of CEN
ries, tho supreme trust of his soul that
I'D 10 a father infinitely fathsrly, q mes
Ice 5000 years old; whom the Chinese sage
ught his disciples that Justice is the only
re foundation of life; whom Plato taught
b people that God is infinite goodness and
lat by being good We may attain unto i'm
ortality-in these and numberless other
ses we must recognize the presence of the
ord of God as truly as in the rapt visions
! Isaiah or the divine melodies OF the
talmist." ~.
We would ask, what have the 'Egyptian
sion," the Persian Mazda" the ''Hindu
pets sweet excellence" the "Acadian tab
Il 5000 years old" the sChinese only sure
bundation,"" or "Plato's theory" done for
heir people? What il the character of
heir social, religious and civil liberty? In
he language of another. which will be duly
ppreciated by tho intelligent readers of
bio paper, "Ths answer to the Shasta (the
bgal and religious books of the Hindus) il
hdia, to Buddhism ID China, to the Koran
Turkey, to the Bible il Europe and
merica."
II Europe and America have a higher
utilization h a Egypt, India, China, or
bars old, the question for Mr.. Crooker to
nswor is, why is it SO? The Bible is ''the
|ook," and its principles incorporated in
|ns life of mon, works that which nothing
Use ever has or will do.
Mr.. Croker unwittingly refutes his wi
rgument in the above clipping later in
|berty go comprshsnsively translated into
lie? Where else is there 10 homooentrio .
These questions are with
TO Amerioa-especially the United
|tates. We answer, nowhere in the world,
nd the reason plainly is. because of the
truth incarnate."
bhich We would term his view of the
call and commission"
"Whoever sees a work that ought to be
one for the blessing of the world, and Ross
to do it. has been touched by the
pirit of God as truly as was Peter or Pail.
Whoever in response to an imperative
of an enlightened conscience de-
himself to some political task which
7ill give the people more Justice and less
s the first apostles of Christianity. For
70 believe, not that God was. but that God
y; that the divinest day is not behind M.
ut before US; and that the divine life
bounds in the world to-day rs never be-
ore, because history is a progressive edu-
alton of humanity, 80 that divinity itself
yer becomes more largely organized among
len. We believe that the Word of the
ord Ia now being spoken among US as
ruly as it was ever uttered by human life,
we venture to say that Gods message
0 America may now DO read in Emerson's
The Fortunes of the Republic in Low
lps 'Democraoy,' and in John Fiske's
4 merlCdn fOlltlCal lucas.
If this were true. there is no special
of God-no "body of Christ" nc
postolate. WAS never any Levitical priest
God, in the sense that we conservatives
old. The churches or church in the varied
UPWARD manifestations or present day
are not specially of God.
We do not know that Unitarianism has
YER been go charged nor will we so misrepre-
ent Mr.. Crooker's movement in Helena
nm lint wa 1n aov for him m hA Onpaiutopt
nd instead OF always taking his text from
he Bible, let him for variety sake, take one
from. En.erson's '"i no Fortunes
the Republic, "'Lowell's Democracy or
rom John Fisk's American Political
since he regards these as Gods
[essage to America"
How does this comport with j esus, call OF
10 twelve, the lessons of leaving all for
lie sake and the gospel, or the commission
Go ye into all the world and preach the
ospsl unto every orsaturs?"
See Eph. iv: "And no gave some apos-
es, and some prophets. and some ~evangel-
It's, and some pastors and teachers for the
srfecting of the saints for the work of the
%.inistry, for the edifying Of the body of
hrist."
l. Cor. xii, $3.50: And God hath set
in the church, etc. Are all apostles?
re all prophets? are all teachers?"
In the verse preceding this quotation the
.n0uage was, Now we are the body of
hrist, and members in PARTICULAR The
resultant of the apostolate, com
lissioned Ms above. was the Church, ''Ghe
ody of Christi
The church and her functiouaries Or
aimed of God. were as specific and sepn-
Ito from the world in the accomplishment
Gods purpose. as the ~God-sanctioned
of to-day are separate and dis
not from MIR. Crooker and hin methods in
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. STYLED nntinomian-