The Portland daily press., 1893-03-08

great white throne. was purely fgura-
tive. But pantheism was inconsistent
with the Christian sentiment. He con-
seiyed God as imminent in nature and
the divinity as working itself out in mat
ter through man. This did not mean
evolution of God, because there could be
no development in that which constitut-
ed the supreme energy. As he believed
in deity, SO did he believe In hell as a
place of punishment The true meaning
of mans suffering on earth was difficult
of comprehension, but he compared it to
the chastisement of child by its par
ents, who inflicted pain not from malice,
but from love. The existence of sin he
considered the sine qua non of salvation.
True excellence Of character was OBJ
tanned only by possessing the ability to
perform both good and evil deeds, and in
the face of temptation choosing the for
mer. Mere machine righteousness was
worthless.
The growth of secret benevolent soci-
cites he attributed to Christian inau-
ence. Before Christ 1t was rare to find
a man who loved his neighbor as him
self. He did not think the Freemasons
fostered infdelity. He was not Mason
himself, but looked upon ti.e members
Of that order as mostly goodsmen and
good citizens. People were not growing
pessimistic. but were broader in their
views now and more full of hope. Not
withstanding, he had to admit that sui
cides were on the increase. This was
due to the spread Of materialism. He
considered it unjust to brand every sui
eide with insanity. A perfectly sane
man, tired Of life and having no belief
in an immortality, could commit self
destruction while in full possession Of
his mental faculties. He would also
hesitate to condemn a suicide who had
suffered from an incurable disease and
had become burden to himself and
his friends. He refused to discuss the
Briggs heresy trial.
Rev. Lyman Abbott, D. D., Plymouth
Congregational church. Brooklyn, when
interviewed said we lived in time of re-
ligious ferment which could not be
checked. The new wine would have to
be put into new bottles. Spiritual ex-
perience must find a new expression in
each succeeding age. He believed the
laws of evolution were universal. Pagan
ceremonies existed in Christianity and
would continue to do SO until eliminated
by civilization. Truth could not be crys-
tallized into creed or dogma. It must
change with the centuries. The Bible
was inspired and was Divine revela-
ton, inasmueh as it made men think,
progress and improve. It, however, con-
tanned many inaccuries Of statement.
There was danger in skepticism, but
greater danger IN making believe to be-
lieve. God would condemn hypocrisy,
but not honest doubt.
Our newspapers gave the life Of the
American people, but were full Of err
rors. The Bible gave the life Of the He
brew nation and was also full Of errors.
The Ten Commandments did not en-
body the final moral code; neither was
the Bible an infallible standard Of truth.
The new theology accepted the resurrec-
ton Of Christ as sufficiently authenti-
Gated fact, but repudiated the legend of
Jonah and the great fish.
Right Rev. Bishop Potter declined to
answer any theological questions. He
said one Of the marked features Of the
day was the important place religious
matters occupied in the public press.
Reasons Of policy, he added, demanded
his silence. RoBT. JARVIS GILBERT.