The record-union., 1892-06-27
FAREWELL SERMON.
Rev. W. J. Herbert Hogan's Last Ser,
mon Here.
He Bids Adieu to the Unitarian Society
Extracts From Yester-
days Address.

y,
D. C. He took for his text: 81 in them,
and Thou in me, that they may be made
perfect in one" Gospel of st. John, xviii,
49, "Endeavoring to keep the unity OF
the spirit in the bond of peace" (Eph.
w., g..
In the course Of his remarks Mr.. Ho-
gan said: We see in society how men
may follow different occupations and la
Dor with zeal and patience at their various
callings, yet have but one object in view.
In the several forms OF religion the main
idea is the same-to worship God and live
peacefully with mankind. Even among
those of the same faith, among the think
ers at least, there is wide diversity of
thought, and 1t has appeared almost I'M
possible for the Christian world TO agree
upon any statement that would set forth
clearly the fundamentals of religion,
though Christ himself gave TO his apostles
two forms that it would seem should be
sufficient for all his folIowers-tne Lords
Prayer and the golden rule. lie summed
up all doctrine in the famous sentence,
Thou shalt love the LORD, thy Goa, with
all thy heart, with all thy mind and with
all thy strength, and thy neighbor as thy
Self.o
There is no need of going to cyclic
peuiaS for statements OF modern Uni
tarianism. Here in Christs own words
we have the whole liberal creed, as ac-
cepted by UnitarianS, modern UNIVERSAL
lists and the liberal people OF the orthodox
bodies, who for social and personal rea-
sons remain in the communions in which
they were born, and the great class of
unchurched people who have the spirit of
Christ, yet find no rest for the SoleS oftheir
feet in any religious organization. Like
Abraham Lincoln, not tndinga Unitarian
N a N
their large souls through the narrow
entrances that are framed TO keep out
heretics.
The whole Christian orthodox church
Roman Catholic, Protestant, and the
Greek the latter, however, change the
conjunction "and' to the proposition
by or this" in one place)-accept the
form known as the Apostles Greed as a
basis Of beliefs and by giving certain
words or phrases private lnterpreta-
ton the early UnitarianS even gave their
adhesion to the well-known statement.
Some conservative people even of our
day find no fault with the old creed. . 3 8
But this Apostles Greed was not framed
by Christ himself, remember; and though
the Roman, Protestant and Greek
Churches accept this creed, you will OBJ
serve that they believe in many other
things that keep them very far apart.
The Catholic and Greek Churches assert
the supremacy of the chhrch, its right to
declare what is true doctrine, ana place
that authority above tradition and the
Bible. The orthodox Protestant Church
pretendS to take the Bible for its founda-
ton, and to allow of private interpreted
ton, but will not allow the Quaker, the
Unlversalist, the Unitarian or the I'M
attached liberals the right of interpreting
the text according TO the light OF reason,
any more than do the Roman or Greek
Churches.
AS the story of Christ is told in the
Bible, as the marvellous account of the
evolution OF the idea of God, the Father,
among the Jewish people is there re-
corded, and for the sake OF such inspired
passages as the thirteenth chapter Of
first Corinthians, and the noble
words found in other epistles, we
treasure this truly sacred book, but we
are not blind to the fact that like all other
human works, it is marked by the limi-
tations of the men who wrote it; so we
criticise it by the light of nineteenth
century knowledge and by the civilized
standard of to-day. Therefore we do not
accept the story of Christs miraculous
birth, but we believe he was great and
good man, whose great heart gave an inn
pulse TO the world such as shall never
lose its power, but grow stronger as the
years roll on.
We do not believe in the fall of man,
but in his gradual development from the
and we have specimens of tribes of such
men living in the world to-day. We do
not believe that ChriSt's death can save
us, except IN such wise as the death of
devoted patriots may save their country.
Had he not been cFucified he would not
have moved the world as. he did. He
was conscious OF this, perhaps, for he is
reported to have said, eff be lifted up
will draw all men unto me.n
We do not believe that water baptism is
q saving ordinance, though it may be a
beautiful rite and worth preserving. We
do not believe 1t necessary to continue
the national feast of the Jews, which
Christ kept with his apostles before he
died, though to them, doubtless, it was
sacred and inspiring national observance
The manner in which it is now celebrated
differs so greatly from the original feast,
and is SO filled with superstition that it
may well be dispensed with, though con-
sentative Unitarians cling to the old Gus
tom, because of association, because it is
a sort of object lesson, and for the sake of
preserving an historical form. q
Now, the fact is that the liberal Chris
tan OF to-day, whether Universalist, In
dependent, Baptist or Unitarian, can only
be accounted a descendant of the early
UniUarians or Liberals in this one re-
spect: He demands that he shall be al
lowed to use his reason, he will have
freedom of thought and the right TO
choose for himself. He insists that man
is to-day better able to Judge OF all things
in science or religion than were the peo-
pie of a thousand years ago.
Because of the freedom given to thought
the mind of man has made wonderful
discoveries, and the religion of the men
who lived long ago cannot be accepted by
the men of to-day. | mean by that the
thousand and one superstitious notions
that were mixed up with religion Long
long ago, before the day OF Christ. the
prophet Micah uttered this remarkable
idea OF religion that will stand with
Christ's words forever: What doth the
Lord thy God require Of thee but to do
justly, 10 love mercy and TO walk hum
bly, before thy God" The Psalnlist in
same thoughts, and the words of Christ,
in His summing up the whole duty Of
man, is much like the sentence found in
Ecclesiastics: Let us hear the conclusion
of the whole matter. Fear God and keep
His commandments, for this is the whole
duty of man." and this thought dates
back to the time of Moses.
The glory Of Christ's teachings are
tranScendently grander than all others
because he discarded all the Superstitions
all the burdens grieyous TO be borne, and
as we think, taught salvation by char
acter," as the phrase of the noderns has
It. reverence for God and good char
acter we believe is the only passport to
the Kingdom of Heaven. What is this
Kingdom of Heaven? some may ask. It
is that condition of mind which trusts
God, and is assured of the approval of
God and good men from the conscious
ness of having lived an upright life.
Then, if any one asks what is the belief
of the Unitarian you may say: The
Unitarian believes in God, the Father,
In the brotherhood of man, the power
of man, and therefore the duty