The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1895-02-02


power, but it would have been incom-
plete without the death. That last
supreme act of heroism interprets his
life. His prayer, Forgive them, for
they know not what they do" is the
KEY which unlocks the secret of his
power. Being lifted upon the cross
for truths sake, he is able to draw
all men unto him. This belief re-
garding the triumphant mission of
Jesus gives strength to the faltering,
light to them whose faith is waver-
ing, courage to the living and hope
to the dying. 1t is an inspiration to
the world, and moved Elizabeth Bar
rett Browning to sing
"Look ON met
ASH shall be uplifted on a cross
In darkness of eclipse, and anguish dread;
SO shall l lift up in my pierced hands,
Not into dark, but light not unto death,
But life, beyond the reach of guilt and grief.
The whole creationl"
w. Man, according to the Univers
alist conception, is of inestimable
value. He is made in the image of
God. Every human soul, no matter
how much perverted, or degraded or
dwarfed by environment and pre-
natal conditions, is stamped with
Gods image. "The mans the gowd
for a that" He is Gods child what
ever his condition. The race is a
unit; human nature the same. The
Zulu Chief and the European Prince,
the Hottentot and the enlightened
American, and all the intermediate
stages of development are bound to-
gether and to God by the same and
indissoluble ties. Humanity, then,
rises or ia Is together. 1t cannot be
divided through eternity. We are SO
constituted that like the delicately
tuned instrument, one imperfect nat
urea discordant note-even though
farthest removed, will vibrate through
the whole human race, causing dis
cordant tremor in our own souls.
Or, in other words, heaven can never
be perfect until every soul is holy, a
state which always precedes true hap
piness; and all souls will be holy.
This is the great doctrine of the Uni
versalist Church. 1t is based on the
Fatherhood of God and the brother
hood of man, truths taught by Jesus;
proclaimed by scientific investigation
and induction; truths attested by
history, intuitively felt by the soul.
This conclusion implies two things:
(D Mans capability of good and his
value as part of the moral world;
and, (2) Gods purpose in creating
man, and his duty, as well as his in
tention, to save his children.
l. We see in humanity certain
amount of pain and sorrow, sin and
its concomitant misery, selfishness
and ungodliness. Theology has main
tanned that the cause was found in
the "fall of man" from an original
holy state; all suffering was due to
the fact that Eve lent ear to the SER
pent and Adam listened to bis wife!
This is puerile. 1t is unworthy the
thought of rational or spiritual
man. Before the advent of scientific
observation this belief might have
been permissible. 1t showed a CROP
ing after the cause of things
AN infant CRYING in the night;
An infant crying for the light
And with no language but cry
What is the truth of the matter7
1t is this. Sin is an incident accom-
panying growth. 1t is not fnality.
1t comes through mans freedom to
choose. 1t points not to mans de-
pravity but to his incompleteness.
The prerogative of SHINING is essen
tial to the acquisition of virtue.
When man discovered goodness he
found sin also; when he had evolved
the capacity of doing virtuous act,
he was capable of SHINING and not
until then. Man is something more
than a machine. He is thinking,
reasoning personality; he grows by
the development of the God-germ
within him.
The "fall' of man, then, is really
an epoch in his growth. Schiller de-
scribes the account in Genesis, as a
story which represents the transition
of man to freedom and humanity"
Viewed from this rational point of
view, the "fall," instead of being a
curse, is blessing. 1t marked an
epoch in mans development. 1t is
the landing of
1.-THE great worlds altar stairs
That slope through darkness up to God,"
Mankind is progressing. All his
tory is proof of this. A comparison
of the present with the past is suffi-
cient evidence. The human race is
in preparatory state. 1t is in the