The record-union., 1893-02-07
KNOWN BY THEIR FRUITS.
Rev. 7. J. Horner Discourses on "The
New theology"
Synopsis of His Sermon on Sunday
Before the Sacramento Uni
tartan Society.

| Rev. L. ]. Horner, in his sermon Sun
day before the Unitarian Society, chose
for his text the 10th verse of the 9TH chap
/ ter of Matthew, by Their Fruits Ye
Shall Know Them.''
After hasty sketch of the "old theol-
ogy," in which he argued that it was not
! the product of any one mind in any one
! period, but rather the growth of the
worlds striving for solution of the
mystery OF life, the speaker outlined the
history of the new movement in thought
during the past century toward a new
| conception of God, man and the universe,
brought about by the absurd extreme to
which the old was carried in the face of
the new knowledge coming to light
through the revelations OF science and
criticism.
Then coming back to the text, he said
that as all systems of thought were
shown to be good or evil by the fruit
they produced in the hearts and lives of
their followers and advocates. it is there
fore of interest TO know the effect of the
| new thought upon the lives of those who
| have accepted it.
Speaking of its prophets, he said they
nave not been surpassed by those of any
other system of thought for beauty of
character and large humanitarian sympa-
| thies.
Claiming and Parker and Emerson
need but be mentioned to thrill the soul
with lotJier hope and deeper faith. There
are now few ministers in any denomina-
ton who do not give Charming an hon
| ored place IN their libraries, and though
they sometimes speak of Parker and
Emerson as splendid pagans," they yet
read them when they wish to be inspired
to work for larger liberty of thought or
| grander conception of the dignity of
| man.
a long list of names, such as Gannett,
Dewey, Bellows, Eliot, Starr King and
others might be mentioned who have laid
down the cross Tor the crown whose
lives were each a benediction to the
world.
Among the living in America to-day
no name reaches more homes to be re-
spected and loved than that of Edward
Everett Hale, preacher, editor, historian,
story writer, reformer and universal
Bishop of the Unitarian denomination.
| To-day Robert Collyer in New York,
CHADWICK In Brooklyn, May in Phila-
delphia, Jones and Thomas and Swing
in Chicago, Snyder in st. Louis, Crothers
in st. Paul. DR.. Stebbins in San francisco.
all are men OF uncommon power, while
Boston, the seat and center of the new
! thought, IS so filled with genius that the
scintillations of its light reach to the ends
! of the earth.
| The Woman's Alliance of the Church of
the Unity sent to all parts of the world
! last year over IS, 900 printed sermons of
NJ. ). Savage, while many other churches
in Boston were doing similar work
The old theology, spurred on by fear,
! spent most OF its strength working for
the salvation of the individual soul. The
new Is reproached sometimes for forget
| ing the individual in It's zeal for the mass.
10 illustrate, l remember hearing
| Mary A. Livermore say that once
on returning home from one of
her continent ,encircling trips her
sister remarked that she didn't use
to have time for such work when she was
a girl. She was orthodox then and spent
most OF her time trying to save her own
soul. And now," replied she, II hard
| ly know that l have SOUL" The differ
ence you see was between pure selfish
ness and utter disregard of self in work.
ing for the common good. The new
| thought has created race of philan-
thropists. Our older churches in the
East are in sense clubs for philanthropic
work.
A church that works for it's own ad
vancement there is hardly regarded as
church at all. Channing's great phrase
was the dignity of Humanity" A weak
and poor schoolmistress, Miss Dorothea
IL. DIX, sitting IN her pew, was filled with
a new inspiration, and went out into the
cold and cruel world to make joy and
| sunshine spring up in dark and blighted
minds. Nineteen asylums for the insane
IN as many States owe their existence to
her efforts in which humane methods
took the place of brute force. Not salts
| fed with that kind of work she visited
the jails and prisons to spy out the in
humanities practiced in them and ex-
posed them to the indignant world Her
| life, like comet, left a track of light be-
hind it from the Crimea to the battle
! fields of the South. Il had the pleasure
myself of filing her books away after her
death in our library at the Meadville Di-
| vinity SCHOOL,.
! Our Noah Worcester was the first great
| apostle of peace.
Garrison and Sumner were direct pro
| ducts of the Unitarian revival in New
| England.
In New York City DR.. Bellows
| preached to Peter Cooper, who went ont
and founded the Cooper Institute; Henry
Bergh, who espoused the cause of the
dumb peast that could not plead its own
case when cruelty abused; George Will
lam Curtis and Dorman 3. Eaton. re-
| formers In American politics; and then,
when the war broke out. DR., Bellows
| himself became the head of the Sanitary
Commission, which raised and disbursed
! tNSuty -HNG mllllOnS OF collars caring iOr
the sick and wounded. Starr King helped
! to send two millions from California. and
laid down his life here, having done
much to save the State TO the Union.
Being in this new movement of
thought, does it seem like boasling to
speak OF its products in such laudable
terms? But, friends, 1 was not born into
this liberty. Like st. Paul, obtained it
at great price. Even to-day [ am re-
ligiously ostracised from home and kim
dred because L became convert to the
newer thought. But the first thing that
| attracted my attention on my first visit
to Boston, ten years ago, was the charac-
ter of the people who were at the head of
this new movement, and if you will par
don personal reminiscence, a very near
and dear relative once said to me in com
miseration of my fallen estate, "If your
denomination were one of the larger ones
we would not object so much. 1t is such
an insignificant little denomination
AS though numbers constituted signifi-
cancel
l tell you, friends, if there is anything
in that thought we had better all become
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