The morning call., 1894-04-16
TRUTH WILL LIVE.
Opening of the Religious
Congress.
A Strong Plea for Higher Aspirations
and Tolerance for People of
Other Creeds.

The Congress of Religions, which will
hold its firsl session to-day and which VIII
continue through the present week, is ex
pected t. reproduce in miniature the
most notable feature of the Columbian
Exposition, the Worlds Parliament of Re-
Iigions, at Chicago.
Among all the congresses and confer
ences which centered about the fair crr-
| ainly above every other the parliament
was the one whose in fluence will be most
! farreaching. whose fleet will be most
| lasting. What the acres of exhibits and
almost countless buildings stored with
curios from every cline were to the world
of commerce and of science this was to the
moral. There, for the first time since the
very beginning, the apologsts of every
creed aud the doctrine of every faith
came together to explain their beliefs and
expound their theologies, for mutual
information. The world had never
seen its like before. Religious toler-
| ance from that day forward had a new
significance.
| And while this Congress of Religions
has a scope by no means so vast, yet 1t
seeks modestly but emphatically the same
| grand purpose. 1t is not designed 10 be
controversial, nor for the cashing of an
|
| free, fraternal presentation of the various
| phases OF belief. l. would strike again on
| these western shores that same responsive
! chord of universal hum brotherhood,
and hasten the meridian splendor OF that
! day whose dawDing already inspires meu
! TO nobler, more exalting work for human
ity. 1t will not assume TO formulate
| creed, nor will 1t furnish an arena for de-
| bate, searching for new doc rines. But Its
influence will be bene6cent if 1t widens the
horizon OF human sympalhles and
strengthens devotion to the truth.
The opening service of the congress was
held in the Simpson Memorial Church,
corner of Hayes and Blu hauan streets,
last evening. Rev. A. Z. Hirst. chairman
OF the Congress, made few Introductory
remarks in reference to the oec sion, and
| Rabbi Voorsanger, who occupied a seat
on the pulpit platform. announced the
opening hymn, which he lmpresslvely read
10 the congregation. The thir eenih chap
ter of the First Epistle to the Corin thians
was then read by DR.. Hirst as the Bible
lesson for the evening.
The opening sermon TO the congress was
delivered by f. NJ. Bristol. D. D., of Chi
cago. He took as his text a quotation
from ST.. Paul's address to the Atnenians:
Il perceive ye are somewhat religious"
And then followed flow of religious elo-
quence such as has seldom been heard in
this city. He SAID:
Athens stand forth as the greatest moral
centers in the worlds religious history.
But the greatness and grandeur Of r ,me
AID Jerusalem and Athens have departed.
The earthly grandeur passed away with
the spiritual death, the cessation Of as
Dirat!ons after glorious moral ideal. OF
the greatness Of Athens that was, it's
grand men that have gone, only history
remains aud Mars Hill and the monu-
ments and crumbllng pillars and the graves
are all that attest the former existence of
what was once the most enlightened ma
ton on earth.
when Paul came to the Athenians he
found himself surrounded by someth ng
like $4,000 idols erected to represent the
deties of the Olympian religion. He also
found one altar on which there was no
idol. but which bore the inscription. 80
exclaimed: 'Ye men of Athens I
perceive ye are somewhat religious
His spirit was stirred within him;
his Hebrew blood boiled with re-
ligious fervor and enthusiasm. But
be did not speak harshly to the idolators,
for when he saw that altar dedicated to
the unknown god he realized that these
men b noble aspirations, desire to
reach something higher than their home
made gods, an ambition 20 perceive and
comprehend the one grea God, the infinite,
the eternal truth. They groDed in the
hs
great unknown. Here Paul and the Greeks
stood on common ground. They were
alike seekers after truth, but the apostle
had seen the light.
''We cannot study the lives of any peo-
pie without fading among them an altar
to the unknown, the one great and infinite
God. The Pueblo idians of America
worshiped him long before Christians had
| set foot on American soil The same great
unknown has been worshiDpsd in Indi,.
in China, 10 Egypt. In Greece. in Rome, in
ancient Britain and 10 Scandinavia. Paul
d d not confound the Athenians' i'd ,latry
with religion. What had probably be gun
as ymbolism had d. scended to idola ry.
There Is vast difference between
| symbolism and id0lxtry, and when the
spirit has exhausted its force in vain en-
deavors to reach the truth it begins t. Fl e
and symbolism degenerates with the CO
| into mere ldolatrous worship. As p ople
advance and expand In intellect and as
3irations they approach nearer and nearer
| to the one true God, and IN doing this they
also advance their temporal welfare.
"Ths philosophy of all human retrogres-
sion is The despotsm OF the senses. lne
4 longings alter the unseen have Drought
| into he world all the songs. all the arts. |
all the beauties of life. All retrogr greSslon |
among nations has begun when their ma
terial aspirations have oeen attained. |
| After Rome had been transformed from |
TO sing undying poetry. Tue very lam
pnages of such nations die and are for |
gotten when the spirit OF aspiration is
no more :,
"Ip the study of all religions we shall |
/ find i'm each a great thought Intended 10 |
enlghten the world. Man, cropping bind |
! lv after the supreme but unseen power. |
enid do no bet er. For thousands of |
/ years men had TO make their own religious |
faiths and creeds. There is not religion |
| in the world that does not reflect great |
yeuSus. And it becomes Christians i'll to |
| sDeer at those who had to make their own |
| religions and conceptions of godhOod. w
cannot say that nations are what they are
in spite of their religions; they are whai
! tney are on account OF them.
..The heathens have as much right to bold
up the best men in their histories as fruits
of their religions AS we have. We always
point to the greatest and best Why should
not they do likewise? 1t is time for us To
| be fair and square and impartial, aud not
| mlsinterpret all other religions and their
| dogmas and craeds Roger Williams was