The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-03-30

"Snakes in Ireland" but which was
found, when the reader had turned to
it, to contain only this information
There are no snakes in Ireland"
Dr. Newton's first explanation of the
"Creed of Christ" was, that "Christ
had no creed" 1--WE have left us, he
said the "Lord's Prayer, but not the
Lords Creed. Christ never in any
instance formulated a belief-none
at least more than we have in the two
words Our Father" Then with
rising voice and swelling energy
the speaker dilated eloquently upon
the surprising inconsistency, the re-
ligious crime even, in view of the
plain, incontestable fact that Christ
had no creed, which Christians in all
ages have shown, in insisting on so
many creeds and such long ones, in
wasting so much time in discussing
them, yea, in quarreling over them,
making them conditions of church
membership and future salvation.
His condemnation of creed making
and creed binding sounded SO strange
to me in such place, that l almost
stopped at times to prick my con-
sciousness to ascertain if | were not
dreaming, or if had not, by singu-
lar mistake, dropped into the pres
ence of one of the most radical
preachers in the land. And yet his
tone and manner were impressively
reverent. There was nothing of the
flippant, skeptical air about him. If
Christ, he continued, who was our
teacher, our guide, our example,
could do without form of belief, and
saw no necessity of providing man.
kind with one, why should we be 80
anxious to adopt one, to force one
upon everybody7 Creeds are we'll
enough he said, as expressing our
opinions, as embodiments of human
speculations, but they should never
be deemed mandatory. They should
never be thrust upon people, should
never be required as tests of Christian
wisdom and Christian character.
What Christ thought of God we
may learn, he observed, from Christ's
two words-"Our Father" In these
two words was the germ of all his
teachings. All that men need to
know is that God is "Our Father"
This sums up all that is essential in
religious truth. We, DR.. Newton said,
have thirtynine articles of belief
and these do not exhaust our theolo-
gical notions. The one article Our
Father" is enough. ooh, if all sects
could forget all their creeds, if for
one day only, come together and say
Our Father" This is what they did,
he added, at the Worlds Fair in
Chicago, where all religions, all ma
tionalities, left their forms of belief
behind them and united in the Lords
Prayer, which any child of God on
earth may consistently repeat.
"And now," asked DR.. Newton,
"what was Christ's belief concerning
manP If, he answered, God is our
Father, every man is, of course, Gods
child; and if Gods child, he must
wear the image of God; and must
also be naturally inclined to that
which is good. He can never be
wholly alienated from God. Christ
did not speak lightly of sin, but in
words that burn like fire into the in
nermost depths of our consciousness,
but he never admitted nor limited
that sin has power to quench Gods
love, or to thwart his eternal pur-
pose.
Finally" said DIR. Newton, "what
was Christ's belief regarding the des-
tiny of, MANI" His answer to this
question was not as distinct as that
which DR.. Eaton or DIR. Bolles, in the
same city and not far away, would
have given. They would have said
in the plainest and most direct way,
that Jesus believed in the ultimate
holiness and happiness of all men,
that he taught this doctrine. DR..
Newton's language on the subject
was not so definite, not SO positive;
but he not only did not deny that
this was Christ's belief, but gave us
the impression that he thought the
two words, "Our Father" implied
as much as that. What else could
be expected of "Our Father" than
the best final destiny of mani Dr.
Newton did not in his whole dis
course so much as refer to the doc
trine of endless punishment-did
not intimate that Jesus believed it or
taught it. His silence regarding that
doctrine should, under the circum-
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