The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-18
FATHERHOOD OF GOD.
AN OLD AND COMFORTING DOG
TRiNE NEWLY DISCOVERED.

Rev. Thomas Dixon Preaching on Roam
oke Island-Humanity Is Divine, Not
Diabolical-AIan Was Made In the Inn
age of God, Not of the Devil.
MANTEo, N. c., Aug. 14.-Nestling in
beautiful little bay on the east side of
Roanoke island is the village Of Manteo.
One Of the arms of the land forming this
bay is called Ballast point, and the ma
tives tell the visitor that this is the pre-
else spot where the ships of Raleigh's
first colonists to the New World threw
out their ballast. Tom Crank, fisher
man and guide, declares that with his
oyster hooks he can drag up the stones
now. Rev. Thomas Dixon, Jr., in re-
sponse to the urgent invitation of the
islanders, preached in the Methodist
church at Manteo today. The steamer
Clarence ran an excursion over from
Nag's Head, and the little church was
taxed beyond Its capacity again, as it
was q few weeks ago, when sermon
was preached in the same church in the
afternoon. Mr.. Dixon's subject was,
"The Fatherhood of God," and his
texts were:
And God created man In his own image
Genesis 4, 81.
This my son was dead, and is alive again; he
was lost and Is found.-Luke XIV, "a.
For the past two months we have
sought to find whether or not the devel-
opment of modern thought has affected
the foundations Of the great funda-
mental facts of our religion. We have
found that, SO far from the fundamental
facts and elemental faiths of Christian
ity being shaken by modern investiga-
tions, they have been strengthened and
re-emphasized. That question that now
arises in addition to this is, Has the de-
velopment of modern thought enriched
our religion; has it added anything to
the faiths and promises of the past?
The conception of God is central to re-
ligion.
Around the conception of God we
build our theology 1t seems to me that
modern thought has added much to our
knowledge Of God. 1t seems to me that
it has added SO much that the whole
scheme of theology must be reset to this
new knowledge. It seems to me that
great lost truth has been recovered from
the superstition and tradition of me-
diaval an pagan theologies with which
Christianity has beea overlaid.
TWO CONCEPTIONS OF GOD.
There are two conceptions of God
therefore with which Christianity is
confronted today-one the medieval
and pagan; the other it seems to me
the real conception of the Christianity
of Christ. Mediaval and pagan the
ology declared-as interpreted by the
great converted pagan, Augustine-that
God is the Father of only limited few;
that he is the Father of those who are
converted, and that only in an adopted
sense. this adoption being really legal
fiction of Roman Jurisprudence. Upon
the other hand, the great truth rescued
from beneath this rubbish is that God
is the Father Of the human race; that he
is the universal Father Of man. There
is no such thing as reconciiillg these ttco
theories. One must stand; the other
must fall. One is true; the other is
false
It seems to me that the sublimest reye-
iation Of the Spirit Of God giren 10 man
since the lips of Jesus scere huSJted in
death and his TRANSPORTED body lifted
into the glory of God has been this redis-
corery Of the great truth of the unirersaI
Fdtherhood Of God.
This glorious revelation has been the
result of a real revival of religion, of
real study of the oracles of God by the
fearless prophets of the living God, who
have thrown aside preconceiyed ideas
and traditions, seeking to find the inmost
secret of Gods heart and Gods truth.
It has been clearly shown:
IMAGE OF GOD OR THE EVIL. ONE.
First-That the universal Fatherhood
of God is an Old Testament truth. The
prophets of the Old Testament never re-
ferred to man as totally depraved. The
cry of the prophet of old is: "Wandering
child, return. The Lord will not keep
anger; he is plenteous in mercy. Only
return; he will forgive" Upon the first
page of the Old Testament stands forth
this great truth, "God created man in
his own image" If the Augustinian
theory of total deprayity be true, then
this sentence in Genesis should read
thus: "God created man in the image of
the devil. Out of the elements of hell
made he him and breathed into him the
breath of hell" If man be child of
the devil-not child of God-then it is
necessary to rewrite the Old Testament
or else read into it thought that cannot
be read from it.
Second-The supreme expression of
the revelation of Jesus Christ was pre-
cisely this Fatherhood of God. The Jew
knew God as the Lord, the Almighty,
Jehovah, Lord of Hosts, the Holy One.
Christ came to complete revelation. to
reveal the inmost secret of Gods nature.
SECRET OF HIS MISSION.
His mission therefore was to declare
the Father. He teaches this directly
again and again. lie declares to us that
he is revealing to the world the secret |
of its Father; that he does not speak of
himself, but that he speaks out of the
fnllness of the Fatherhood of God. And |
when his disciples say, "Show us the
Father and it sufficeth us, he exclaims: |
Have been so long time with you /
and you have not seen the Father ! t
am in the Father; the Father is in me. |
He that hath seen me hath seen the |
Father" He reveals to US this great Sc
cret of his mission in every prayer that
he prays.
It is inconceivable that Jesus Christ
should begin prayer thus, almighty I
God, the maker and fashioner of the ,
universe" Christ always begins his
prayer with this blessed word Father.
The word father is constantly ON his
lips. There is scarcely single instance
of bis speech to man that he does not
use this term. When the disciples asked
him how to pray, we remember the
prayer of prayers. "our Father which
art in heaven" His parabolio teachings
in which the profoundest truths of his
mission were unfolded, likewise un-
folded the same great truth Take the
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