The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1894-10-27

turning the hearts OF men to right
eousness. The church shall prove its
mission by holding fast to the high
standard of manhood which it finds
in Christ. Political science may fur
nish the means, but they must be car
ried out by those whose hearts have
been won to his love. 1t must hold
fast to its call to minister unto men,
and it looks for real political progress
only as men are won to the high char
acter and perfect manhood of its
Master and Teacher.
Again men are chatting under the
imperfections of our social system.
The inequalities in the distribution of
wealth, the fierce strifes of our indus
trial life, the hard toll of the many,
the leisure of the few, all these things
appeal strongly to mems feelings.
They are hot with impotence
against the present conditions, and
prophets not few have arisen, with
plans for our social salvation. Many
of these are fercely insistent that
the church shall adopt their plans,
and undoubtedly we shall sympathize
with the ultimate object these reform
ers have in view, however widely we
may disagree as to their methods, or
doubt their conclusions. But in our
provings of these things shall we not
often find many plan promoted by
honest, enthusiastic, noble-hearted
men failure, because it refuses to
see the good in the present system?
Be those plans what they may, and it
is not our purpose to discuss them
here, they all require for their carry
ing out more unselfsh order of
character than is now generally prev
alent. Again we must hold FAST
again there is need,-to our mission
as church of inspiring men to love
their neighbor as themselves, and
should this be attained would not the
present system work with much less
of friction? If men could only learn
the lesson that all these material
things for which they strive so eager
ly are but the means of life and not
its end, that they are to be used for
the building of Godlike character
not for selfish enjoyment-would
not the solution of the perplexing
problems of our modern industrial
conditions be much more rapid? I
would say no word to discourage the
freest discussion of social problems, I
have faith, certainly, that the path
way of human progress is not yet
ended; that the future shall see i'm
provements in the social relations of
man as vast as the Improvements in
his power over material things. |
cannot believe for one moment that
he is able to solve the problems of
matter, and yet is unable to solve the
problem of a we'll adjusted social life.
These plans for social betterment
must yield their grain to the provings
of experience. But the wisest plan
shall fail unless it can find unselfsh
advocates; the greed and selfshness
of human hearts must be supplanted
by that spirit of love which seeketh
not it's own. The mutual interdepend-
ence of all must be recognized in
larger and fuller measure. If one
member suffers the whole body suf-
fers. To this truth all the provings
of experience point. We must learn
to recognize the law of universal love
as an active factor in the constitution
of society, until there shall be no
more laborer and employer; rich and
poor. cultured and ignorant; not
that man shall cease to labor or to
acquire riches or to gain knowledge
for these distinctions shall be forgot
ten in the recognition of man, broth
er; when the love which was in Christ
shall sanctify the possession of money
or talent or strength or education to
the noblest uses, because the special
gift of each shall be used in the SER
vice of all. There is a Christian
socialism which rises above any sys-
tenn; it fourishes under despotism
or under republic; it has it's adher-
ents among the wealthy as we'll as
among the poor, among the inlet
tered aswell as among the scholars; it
has the faith of Christ in its heart,
which makes it to see in every man
brother, child of the eternal Fa-
Their.
The mission of the church is not to
advocate specific plans of social bet
terment 1t must still follow in the
footsteps of it's Master and Teacher,
seeking like him to be the spiritual
helper and quickener of the conscen-
ces of men. Social systems can sue
coed on1y as the individual soul is