Morning journal and courier., 1891-05-13
COMMUNICATIONS.
pr, Brooks at Yale.

it was to get, exactly and fully, the sub stance of the address amid the cataract of words with which he overwhelmed the ears of his hearers. And it was but too easy to reach a criticism of the type of eloquence which the address illustrated. There was great deal in the address, in the points either made or hinted, but most of it was too nasty, indefinite and incomplete for proper adequate effect; and the eloquence, while remarkable in it's way, made noeap proach to the great way of the great mas ters of speech.
 In both the introductory and closing parts, as we'll as in the body of the address, points of extreme significance were well taken and fairly well explained for hearers acquainted with current religious dis cussion; but they were points which formulate new theology, in radical con- trast with the theology still supposed to be current in New England, and to do justice to them and make clear what they signify and what comprehensive changes of creed and communion they will bring with '1 them, called for broad, exact, definite statements, such as the address did not supply. It is within limits to say that four -ffths of the necessary clear outline of the subject which the address swept over, were left untouched or too slightly touched for full proper effect. The introductory points were important and deliberate statement of them would have been far more effect i've than the rush of words in which one barely caught sight of them. Each of these points called for some explanation and some illustration calculated to assist comprehension. Thus the very important point that faith which men have lost can never be found again as in form the same faith, as one finds knife which he has lost in the grass, was left without explanation or illustration. The reasons for this fact and the notable exam ples which can be given for illustration are of supreme importance, sRd,some hint of them would have been much better than the. flood -ofsyords which unnecessarily eI- banded the bare statement of fact. The matter is not of today or of yesterday, but is of the whole history of English culture, and in fact of Christianity, and a proper statement of it would have made dis course immeasurably greater than any which Dr. Brooks has ever delivered or ever can deliver without larger and more ! deliberate method of speech.
 l. Dr. Brooks rashly bracketed together | primitive Christianity end Luther's refor- nation as vain ideals for us to try..to re- I cover. The Luther point was well taken, but not the other, if due discrimination Is used not to stop on a primitive Christi | anity which itself came short of the method | and truth of Christ himself. And this dis | elimination must start in the original | documents of historical Christianity, and | follow, through the whole history to oul | day, a contrast of differing Christianities the last battle of which is now set in al l the great communions of christendom, ex 1 cept the Catholic. Dr. Brooks devoted the body of his ad
 dress to presenting to view ''the charac
 teristics of the Christianity that is com
 ing.n He named land hurriedy glanced a
 four, but they were not enough dwelt upol
 for clear explanation; much less were the.
 so stated and illustrated as to carry con
 viction, or leave any strong impression l The first characteristic named was natu
 ralness: the second, simplicity; the third
 personalness; and the last, practicalness
 None of these terms were well chosen
 They give names which in fact have no de l fining character, and such remarks a
 were all too briefly and hastily throw
 out, stopped far short of definite e1plans ton and defnitive justification, althoug
 | some of them flashed the Unitarian stilett before the eyes of New Haven orthodox.
 but without more than flash.
 , Thus, when Dr. Brooks said, ''tf
 strange thing is that here and there ma should gather up his skirts and go apa t for Christian communion" he implied tn , total mistake under which, on the hr P Sunday of the present month, the body ( l the college congregation were dismissed while very limited number remained
 | themselves for a service of communion
 Properly explained Dr. Brooks point we'll taken, but it was not explained, mue Q less illustrated and vindicated. Incl t again, when Dr. Brooks said, dogma f not Christianity nor is the mere rule ct Ii
 Christianity" he laid down two sweeplI B radical principles which conduct entire n out of orthodoxy, and how they do thi l. and why, needs to be definitely explain'
 and definitely justified.
 If Dr. Brooks has not stopped to thin if nor studied to think, what his nasty catch = at insight mean, and if he is getting reat y for fire by throwing the baby out of t 's window and carefully carrying out the cl IS dle on his Christopher shoulders, one c . understand how he talks as he does, chet
 fully tossing away even his own orthodo T. while he keeps hold of name and form al B. even accepts bishopric without h, n knowing what has become or what will
 come of s'the faith" If he does thoroug
 ly know what he has done his cloud ,s words serves to obscure the fa that he broadly Unitarianizes u A' der profession of orthodoxy. do T le say Unitarianizes in an offensive sense. is say broadly Unitarianizes, in sense ab: o Iutely apart from narrow negation, and ,es sense which belongs to that deeper a as broader Christianity, the coming of whic or by new coming of the Christianity i- Christ, Dr. Brooks sincerely and earnest ,- but not as clearly as could be desire
 prophecies The truth is that Dr. Broo
 intensely feels separate aspects of the n v- spiritual Christianity, but has not broug . these into system with 8 proper order s' logic. and still more has not used the n an light to read in the new sense the learnir X the life, the experience, which make r- the long history of religion, under
 Christian name, and beyond Christi to lines as nominally understood. Both ly his own integrity and for that wisdom i'm teaching which can alone prevent a flo .d of indefinite. skepticism, the bishop
 Unitarian Massachusetts needs to redr
 his flashes of insight into clear order a find out what they mean and how tf in can be given organic effect in dein lie 1 Christian administration. If it is d. .,, matic rag baby which he has thrown ( un of the window, he need not cumber We broad shoulders with the orthodox crad iir or give himself the smallest anxi ir. about the beldame naother-in-law wh ,o. screams are dying into the graves of sl 'o' ancient men as Shedd and Park. Ant m Channing's doctrine of the divinity of m lu- of Christ as man, and of God as embrac M. all souls under eternal fatherhood, is for ,oa evangelical, after the very mind of Chr Ie7 a reconstruction of the whole order
 ( creed and church must follow; and all -. must throw back new light over 'eo whole history of Christianity, to the V of feet of the true Teacher, and the figure