The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-10-17
What, then, does the church stand

Surely it is not Incompatible with
human nature, and does not, on that
ground, repudiate sociability. 1t may
be asserted by somebody that the
church has not until recently taken
into account the social life of men;
that it has frowned upon merriment
and denounced pleasure. We may
be directed to a study OF papal de-
crees and church disciplines as evi
dence for such assertions. And we
presume it will be difficult to can
didly deny the truthfulness of these
allegations.
But shall we say, that on this basis,
the Christian church is to be branded
as an institution opposed to sociabil-
ity? Ii SO, we must say that thu
church is opposed to science, to pro-
gre So, to change, to mental and moral
improvement. Is that true? 1t is
claimed to be true by some people.
But that claim rests upon confusion
of thought; upon the mistaking of
the ideas and notions of men for the
ideas of God as they find EXPIRE 'sion
in the character of Christ.
The church is but vehicle through
which the thought of God in it's rela
tion to personal life is being mani
tested. Jesus was the inspirer to its
inception. 1t has but imperfectly
embodied his mind and heart. Yet
it is that mind and heart which it is
seeking now as never before to man.
ifest. He who reads his New Testa-
ment will find Jesus at the wedding,
in the fields, on the lake, enjoying
the hospitality of his friends, and in
innumerable ways participating in
the social life of the region and per-
id. Even so the institution which
is uniquely the representative Of
Jesus must be favorable to every en-
nobling form of amusement; must
encourage every refined pleasure; and
suggest many uplifting phases of So
cial intercourse. Such sociability
the church commends.
1t stands, however, for education,
also. The right of private judgment
insisted upon in the Reformation has
always been right which belongs
to Christians. To develop the indi-
vidual mind, to discipline the reason
ing faculties, to cultivate the memory,
to give wings to the imagination, and
to unfold and increase the power of
the conscience, is part of the work
the church has been called upon to
do. Who has been and is the best
friend of the academy, the college
and university? Is it not the Chris
tian church? He who reads the his
tory of the educational institutions of
America discovers that the church
has been the prime mover in their
inception as we'll as the chief reliance
for their maintenance. Today the
appeals for such work are made, not
to agnostics or infdels, but to the
Christian congregations of the land.
Nearly every college in the coun-
try was founded by devotee of the
church. And the magnificent en-
dowment of all our institutions for
the higher education have, almost
without exception, been received
from Christians. The church stands
unequivocally in favor of mental
training and moral discipline.
Truth is as we'll one of the objects
for which the church exists. No err
ror is consistent with the end and
aim of Christianity. "Ye shall know
the truth and the truth shall make
you free" There is no freedom in
falsehood. There is no freedom in
erroneous opinions. There is free
dom only as we know the truth.
Granted that there is spiritual sig,
nlfcance to the word "know" here
used, it remains to be affirmed that
We '.know" the truth, and that it is
the truth alone which can give the
largest liberty and the divinest free
dom.
The church encourages discovery.
IL urges scholarship. 1t prays for
m ore light. 1t accepts verified con
clusions. 1t does not run away from
the geologist or the astronomer. 1t
has no fear of any examination. 1t
knows that Truth has always existed,
and it knows Truth alone to be eter-
nal. To know the Truth is to know
the real and the abiding. And only
in such knowledge can there be abso.
Lutte and unalterable consistency.
Christianity says: Search every hill
side and valley, every sea and river,
every dell and mountain-pass; look
into the fathomless sea or the bound
less heavens; mediate upon your
own being, its nature and character;
search everywhere and everything.