The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-05-20
AMERICAN THEOLOGY.
4 Most Important Interview With
Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott.

/ Leaders Agree That the Dream Will
Not Be Realizsd-The Race is Grow
ing Better-Sin's Increase Does Not
Quite Keep Pace With the Upward
| Tendency.
| New York, May 19.-No more difficult
| task could be set before an interviewer
/ than the selection for this series Of inter
/ views with great Americans of the one
man of all men who really represents
/ theology in the United States. Religion
/ is universal Theology is a matter of
/ creed and each important religionist
represents not only universal religion,
but particularly some individual creed.
Rev. DR.. Lyman Abbott, LII. D., of
Brooklyn, may, however, be said TO APP
| proach as near to universal religious
sympathy as any man in this broad and
pulling field.
DR.. Abbott succeeded Henry Ward
! Beecher as pastor of Plymouth church,
Brooklyn. After Mr. Beecher's death
the famous religious organization natu-
| rally lost some Of its prestige and influence
In the minds of some Of the congregation
the man did not live who could fifty fol-
low in the footsteps of the great dead
| Even when DR.. Abbott was chosen as
Mr.. Beecher's successor many doubts
were expressed as to the wisdom of the
choice. Within a short time, however,
these all vanished. Everybody had
known that DR.. Abbott was scholar of
unusual attainments, but few had sus-
pected the wonderful eloquence and popu-
lar power which he rapidly developed.
and his slight stature and ascetic coun-
! tenance not attractive. This made the
| task for him even more difficult than the
! one Beecher, with his fine face and
sturdy form, had met in Plymouth pulpit
DR.. Abbott is not more than 5 feet or
inches tall and his body is insignificant.
His head, though not particularly large,
makes him seem almost top heavy, and
his domelike forehead and large aquiline
nose are distinguished in appearance, but
not particularly pleasing. He is now
about 60 years old and his hair and beard
the latter is long and straggling-are
both strongly tinged with gray. He does
not look like a strong man, but his enor-
nous mplishments show him to be
one of much vitality. He Is known as a
lecturer in almost every part of the
United States, his ''talks" being particu.
larry sought after at the many summer
schools and gatherings which of late
years have formed so important part of
the peoples education He is rarely alb
| sent a Sunday from Plymouth pulpit and,
besides these undertakings, he keeps CON
slant and close watch over his weekly
newspaper, the Outlook, until recently,
the Christian Union. He was ordained to
the ministry in 1850 During the thirty
four years of his service as a pulpit
speaker, he has used notes only seven
times, depending entirely upon his mem
and logical rpacnninO n 10 laa
| thread of his discourse. What do l
| wish TO accomplish ~ he asks himself as he
| steps into the pulpit. What verdict do
wish TO get from this juryl How can l
| turn the interest or excitement exhibited
| by this congregation to its neral good?"
! With these purposes firmly in his mind
| he begins to talk, and his sermons are in
variably as logical and we'll constructed
| as are the acts of a successful drama
| He aims 10 talk TO his congregation as he
| would talk to a friend. He speaks plainly,
forcibly and fearlessly. He has never in
his life preached sensational" sermon,
| but many of his sermons have created
| sensations.
| RADICAL RVoLUTIONIsT.
! The principle by which he rules his life
and the basis of his theology is told in his
remark as | left his house on Columbia
| Heights Brooklyn the other day. 81 am
| Il.
"a radical evolutionist." 1t is because
DIR. Abbott has such courage of his con-
victions that he has become known Wher-
ever Christianity is thoughtfully consid-
cred and is now almost the only man
qualified to represent theology in its
broadcast and grandest form, in this series
| of interviews. And next to being a the
ologian DIR. Abbott is an American.
1t was on the patriotic line that our
talk began.
Has America ever contributed any
great principle to the theology of the
World?' l asked
''Ie s, indeed" he answered "First
of all, it has succeeded in successfully
separating the church from the state In
America alone of all the countries of the
world religion is entirely free from state
control and support, and, we have
demonstrated that the church and re-
| ligion have been strengthened by that
separation. Growing out of that has
| come the gradual development of the
! separation of religion from ecclesiasticism
a realization of the truth that the
spirit of religion is not only more
important than any of its forms,
but it is not wholly dependent up
ON them. We began with that and from
it has grown up the conception of the pos
sibility of church union, based not upon
the Incorporation of all churches in one
or indifference to the peculiar mission or
work of the individual church, but on a
perception of a deeper spiritual life in
which all Christian churches are essen
italy as one. Such a gathering as the
parliament of religions could not have
been held-and in my judgment such
proposal as that of the Episcopalian
church for church unity could not have
been made-but for the influence of Amer
lean religious ideas and inspirations.
OTHER AMERICAN GIFTS.
I'm addition to these achievements
there have been, of course, notable con-
tributions both to theological thought and
religious life by American churches and
thinkers. For instance, there is New
England Puritanism, and growing out of
it New England Unitarianism; then
there comes American Method
| ism and the movement popu-
larry known as Campbellism. The latter
is more important than most of us in the
east realize. 1t stands for the best of liberal
ism and breadth in many western com
munities. The first of these movements
is in the direction of religious activity
and the other in the direction of re-
ligious simplicity and liberty Then
and what could be more Important
comes the American Sunday school life.
This is distinctive and different from any
thing else in the world The democratic
/ spirit which il has encouraged has given