The Universalist., 1895-08-17
THAT BASIS OF UNCONVENTIONAL
RECOGNITION.


To the Editor of THE UNfvERsALIsT:
In looking over DR.. Rexford's criti-
cism of my article, ga Basis of De-
nominational Recognition" of June
9th, 1 find but few things that l
care to note, and that, perhaps,
should be briefly commented upon.
The word "babble" should have been
"babel" in the sentence "the babble
of liberalism" | corrected it in the
typewriter copy, but the printer
overlooked the correction. The cor.
rection made, the review is without
force. Perhaps no one has claimed
certainly not THAT the Y M. G. A.
planned to include Universalists.
Their articles are everywhere acces-
sible and commonly understood as
to their literal import in the way
that DR.. Rexford has quoted them.
They are certainly ambiguous, though
presumably, but not certainly, meant
to cut off Universalists with others.
"The fulness of the Godhead bodily"
is not necessarily the trinity. Nor is
Everlasting punishment" necessarily
endless punishment. Nor is twas
made sin for u.s." penal suffering.
These are Scripture quotations, con-
cerning which there is difference of
Interpretation, even by the orthodox
themselves. And certainly Univer-
salists do not question them, being in
the terms of the Bible itself. Besides,
the Y. M. G. A. have no list of evan
gelical churches, and propose none,
their officials inform me, from which
the inference would be that in the
measure the denomination conformed
to this requirement in belief would
recognition be accorded to it, without
going back to ask in which of the
several senses these Scriptures we're
believed. DIR. Rexford must have
overlooked the fact that the Disciples,
a denomination holding, in respect to
Christ and the atonement, essentially
the same as Universalists, are largely
represented in the Y. M. G. A., aid
that by the specifications placed de-
termining evangelical churches, the
first in importance was maintaining
the Holy Scriptures to be the only
rule of faith" while the last and
least was that of Everlasting punish
ment," whatever was meant by it.
Whatever views of doctrine, if main
tanned within the Bible and in loyalty
to it, however mistaken, could be
overlooked rather than disposition
to discredit that authority or to de-
stroy it's hold on the popular heart
by CHASING it among merely human
productions.
1t all goes to show, in any case,
the sense of the large body of Protes-
tant Christendom to be that to have
a vital aggressive Christianity the BIZ
Bile cannot be suffered to lose its
place before the people as the autho-
rity in religious faith and practice;
and that a propaganda tending op-
positely is to be denied religious re-
cognition.
1t is not intimated in this that the
Universalist Church should bear it.
self with a view to the favors of the
Y. M. G. A., or of the old school
churches in any form. 1t is best and
most happily employed when exclu-
sively devoted in its own realm and
to its own business. But it cannot
afford to forget that its own case is
no exception to the law that religious
life and its promotion of human well
fare, require a living God and his
specially revealed will, and that the
discrimination against what opposes
these that has been so salutary to
the older bodies, will be of the same
advantage to itself. j. STRAUB.
DAUPHIN PARK, Ill.