, 1892-03-29

and loyalty, that live on under most ad-
verse circumstances and bring forth their
fruit in favorable seasons az surely as the
apple trees bloom in the valleys in spring,
or the wheat ripen on the hillsides in sum-
mer.
What this cause is, what it seems to us,
it seems always well Ito me) to state in a
few plain words upon every such occasion
as this; and such brief statement I will
now attempt.
Our cause is, frstof all, that Of religion.
Religion is a subject that it is the fashion
now in some quarters to decry. 1T is
thought of as Identical with o1tWorn spec
ulations and outgrown doginas and is so
set aside as one of the childish things that
should be forgotten by the human race in
its maturity But while it's true that
much religious speculation is perceived to
be proundless in this age Of science, and
many dogmas to have containedsbut half
\ truths or even untruths, still there is no
subject 50 universally interesting as re-
llgion. Notwithstanding all the mistakes,
plous frauds and errors that are mingled
IN the religious teachings and assumptions
of the Christian churches of our land, the
people still go to the churches. They lis
ten to men there whom they would not
listen if the subject were politics, or politi-
cal economy, or temperance, Or geology, or
any branch Of science. II is not the ora
tory of the preachers, not their natural
ability nor their learning that draws the
weekly crowd, it is their subject. And if
we say that these people go from habit
and a sense of duty behind that, my asser-
ton is but the more securely established,
since the sense of duty arises out of and is
a part of mans religious nature. We be-
lieve that religion is natural ii the human
soul and that its Immediate origin is in the
SOUL All forms of Worship. all conclu-
sions of thought, all convictions Of duty
that are included under this general term
religion are natural product of the hui
man mind.
Widely mistaken, some of these conclu-
sions may have been, as when a man has
thought that God had required him TO sac
rlhce his child, very erroneous some of
them may be, as when people think that
for sins Of unbelief men will be doomed to
eternal, hopeless suffering, yet the tenacity
with which such terrible beliefs have been
and are held, shows the deep earnestness
OF mans religious nature, while the errors
are only one more evidence of the weak
ness or fallibility of his intellect.
So our cause is not only religion but
natural religion. All religion is natural,
for in the old or common sense#Of the word
no religion has ever been revealed. We
know that some people are very confident
that their form of religion has a special
and infallible divine sanction, that it was
in ancient times revealed. But ask them
why they think so, and the whole of their
/ answer uldY B6e SullnHu UP III B0lS, BlaG
they have read of it in books the origin of
| which they do not know they have heard
it from men who ought to know and in
whom they have confidence, and, that the
religion itself seems to them good. The
certainty then of the revealed religion is
simply conviction of their3own minds
upon an examination of the claims of GER
tain books and teachers.
The certainty of so called revealed re-
llglon is exactly the same as that of the
natural OF unrevealed and reduced to it's
lowest terms it amounts to tI think son lii
either case and to nothing more. III the
one case it is thinK SO B5nafse ] have
been told so, because have read of Sinai
and Mars Hill;h in the other case it is: tI
think so because [ have thought for my
self, observed the world and read its his
tory, including that of their religion, and
that of other nations and their gods, and
their worship, and have thought all over
have seen and learned Of the world Of
today"
Thirdly-Our cause is the cause Of sin
certify in religion. Individual freedom and
personal sincerity seem to US to lie at the
basis of any religion that tends to produce
nobility of character. Thought must be
free or it ceases to be real thought. If
feel bound to reach the conclusions set
forth in a stated creed do not think sin
cerely, / am not truth seeker, / have
made my Judgment blind and given the
guidance of my soul into other hands
We hold that in religion especially each
man should be honest with himself, pro-
fess whatever he really thinks, and refuse
to profess faith that does not command
his full assent, however popular it may be.
Too much stress has been laid upon pro-
fessions Of belief altogether. Men are not
saved by belief, nor because of any faith
whatsoever: they are saved by character,
and character is a complex result of teach
ing, environment, hereditary influences or
Tenderness; aDd though ones faith may be
a single element in character other ele-
ments, as love, and knowledge, are really
far more important. So our view of a
church is not that it is a company of peo-
pie who all believe alike or who are all
alike in anything, but that it is or should
be an association for mutual helpfulness in
the religious life. Let each one believe
what he sincerely can without any attempt
at forcing faith, or persuading himself,
and he is welcome with us if he finds help
or comfort in our worship, or can help us
in our works of self-culture, moral educa-
ton, or charity.
And finally this is our understanding of
what it is to be a Christian in this nine
teenth century, and 50 we urge that our
cause is that Of pure and rational Chris
tianity Who can deny that Christianity
has grown, taking on new forms and be-
coming an essentially new spirit with adj
vancing time. It is not to die even now in
this age of science, but is to divest itself of
whatever arose from the erroneous views Of
humanity, and retaining its original spirit
of love for man and its original demand for
unselfish living, it is still to direct human
effort and voice human aspiration.
Friends with whom | labOred SO earn
estly and SO arduously SO many years ago,
[ rejoice with you in taking possession of
your new edifiee, yourchurch home, trust,
for many future years. cherish hope of
some day seeing you all again, and though
hope that old Tacoma hall, where I first
met you, may still be standing, still the
new church will be the object / will most
Of all desire to see, since the one of which
I was the architect is destroyed. The hope
of revisiting Olympia, however long de-
layed will never be relinquished, since my
five busy. hopefal happy years there can
never be forgotten
A Progressive Chinaman.
4 Jim the Chinaman. is quite changed