The Portland daily press., 1895-05-13
THE DOGMA OF THE MIRACULOUS
BIRTH.

THE DOGMA OF THE MIRACULOUS
BIRTH.
DIR. Blanchard's Third Sermon at Con-
gress Square Church Yesterday,
Rev. DIR. Blanchard delivered the third of
his expository sermons yesterday morning.
The subject was ..Tne Dogma of the
Miraculous Birth The text was taken
from ohm VIII. 32-stThe truth shall make
you free
These words of Jesus indicate the nobility
of his mind. When he was on earth, he
sought to know the truth. and he was ever
ready to proclaim it. To do so brought him
into collision with his elders. These were
cuntented with tradition; he was eager to
know the new truth for the new day. To
be a follower of Jesus one must seek the
truth and be ready TO proclaim it. Some are
content to rest in tradition. Jesus bids
them not s'stand up for jesus but "stand
up with Jesus" Who seeks and proclaims
the truth does this.
He would consider. first, what the dogma
means; then why we should be interested in
it. and then why We should utterly reject it.
1t means that Jesus was born without a
human father. There is another dogma
often confounded with this-the dogma of
the immaculate conception. This latter
means that Mary was born without sin on
the part of her parents. 1t was believed
that all ordinary persons were conceived
in SIM" But the ''mother of God" must be
Immediately conceived. Plus TX. in 1854.
with NJ lot q
dogma. From such a mother. according to
The other dogma. came the child conceived
by tho Holy Ghost. Why should we be in
terested in this dogma of the miraculous
birth? Because it was an attempt to exalt
Jesus, and because it is the great barrier to
unity among believers in God. Very ea.ly
in the history Of tho church does the dogma
appear. 1t reflects the idea Of the time. Men
believed that extraordinary men had extra
ordinary birth-God's forefathers from
earthly mothers. Buddah, Zoraster, Samuel.
Alexander were believed to be thus born of
god. The early Christians thus made the
legend tc express their reverence for Jesus.
But the dogma separates men. They who
believe he is miraculous born cannot work
with those who think Joseph was his
father. To sweep away the dogma will
bring greater unity.
Why should:nen reject the dogma with all
their minds and all their hearts? Because
the legend is not an integrate Part of the
gospels because it is contrary to science;
because it makes Jesus such being as can
net be an example for men.
Mark has no thought of such. a birth. John
does not have it. 1t is without connection
with the rest of the accounts in the two
gospels. Matthew and Luke. In which it
appears. science rejects it. God has one
way of bringing offspring into being. The
law reaches down even into vegetable life.
There we have male and female producing
offspring. Shall men dare to place two
accounts of birth taken from records which
as Henry Ward Beecher said. ''are children
of the memory" against the revelation of
science? If Jesus is other than man. he
can be no example to men. A goldman can
be no inspiration to human beings born of
man and woman. A giant cannot be an ex-
ample 10 an ordinary man. An angel ia no
example for a mortal. TO accept the
miraculous birth would be to make such as
the speaker is, lose his Christ He would
be bereaved. Now az man. as elder brother,
the help. he inspires. He was patient.
gentle, forgiving, persistent, trusting.
obeuient to God. AS man he inspires other
men. If he were not man. his spiritual re-
appearance after death would have no value
as witness to mans Immortality. If then
he were on earth today, he would ask men
to put aside tradition. to study, to think, to
proGlaim what they believed to be the truth.
He would ask them to work fer greater
unity among those who believe in God and
accept his spiritual leadership. He would
ask them to see that the dogma of the
miraculous birth degrades the ordinary
coming into the world. The dogma was
born of the thought that matter is evil.
that tie celibate life was holier than the
married state. Let us put it aside with all
our minds and hearts: Let US see how
august is the doctrine that all births are
from the great Heavenly Father.
Tie next sermon will be delivered next
Sunday morning. The theme will be ''The
Harmful Influence of Paul as a Theologian.