The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1895-11-22
LIBERAL THOUGHTS.
TWO ADDRESSES AT STERN'S
HALL LAST EVENING.

HALL LAST EVENING".
Reasons Given Why ,Mankato Should
Have Liberal Church--No Hostility
Toward the Old Churches--An Or
ganization Advocated in Which its
Members May Keep Pace with Adj
vanced Thought--Sunday Evening
Services Hereafter.
The stormy weather and bad walk
ing did not prevent a fair sized audi
ence assembling at Storms hall Mon
day to listen, to the Unitarian min
listers, Revs. Brown and Lord. At
least half of the audience was COM
posed of ladies, and all who were pres
ent were intelligent and progressive
people. Many were attracted by Curl
osity, while many came undoubtedly
to listen to that in which they are
already believers
Rev. Carlton f. Brown, of Unity
church, st. Cloud, was the first
speaker, and began by recounting the
various steps by which religion has
progressed from early times. Each
step forward contained no denial of
the previous stage, but was onward,
and the next great step forward will
be to liberalism. That will be time
when reason will be respected as wei
as conscience. We are not outgrOW-
| ing the old religions, but their limi-
tations, and whatever in them that is
negative. They say there is no other
way in which God may be worshipped,
but we say that there are many other
ways, that God inspired all of the
churches, not merely one. God has
written his sacred word in every race,
and every sincere and honest word in
every tongue is inspired by God.
| We would not take away faith but
enlarge its borders. The old cup can
not contain the faith which overfiows
in us. The need of liberal church
| for a man who has reached this point
is perfectly plain. He needs that de-
velopment which will keep pace with
his own mind and heart, for arrested
| development is the SaddeSt thing
| which scientists find 1t is our duty
to provide broader temple in which
to work There ought to be. room in
ones creed for the very MODEST
thoughts We do not wish to destroy
or to revolutionize mems faith, and to
those who are satisfied now we bear
no message. $40
Liberal religion allows d man to
carry into it all of his thought, and
unless he does this he is not worthy
of the religion which he processes.
There are in the air today new
thoughts, brought about by science
destroying the old faith. So the liberal
church comes with this thought as it's
message to men whose roots OF faith
are dried up owing to poor soil, that it
will transplant these to new, soil
where they can gain new nutriment
and strength and give forth fairer
blossoms. 1t comes not as destroyer
but as preserver of faith. Many
have outgrown the old churches, and
still have a longing for religion, and
to these wanderers the liberal church
brings a message of encouragement.
The old crafts are going down under
the long beating upon them of the
waves of scientific investigation.
There is as much faith and religion in
the world as ever, but more of it is
out of the churches than ever before,
and this ought to be brought together.
Rev. VIM. r. Lord, of Unity church,
st. Paul, then spoke for short time
Without religion, he said, really well
proportional men and women cannot
be. Men who have had religious mo-
tives have been the noblest heroes OF
the world. A rational church is
needed by rational man more than
by any other. Unless religion is.
brought into relation to life, there is
no religion. There is need of liberal
church as a training school for our
children. A father puts his children
into an orthodox Sunday school that
he has no faith in, that they may be
strengthened in character, and the
result is that, knowing, his lack of
faith, they are led into the desert
where he is.
AS sure as daily papers are pu b
lished-and all of them are full of
liberal thoughts 81 ssure will the
walls of the churches fall and it will