The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-08-29
THE ETHICS OF UNIVERSALISM.

ETHICS is the science of duty. 1t
applies to everything that involves
duty. 1t is the moral element per-
meating the whole life of man. 1t is
universal. Like the atmosphere and
the sunshine we find it everywhere.
1t is an element in religion, politics,
business, finance, trade, individual,
social and domestic life.
All duty grows out of mans per-
sonal relations. 1t is built on person
atty. The impersonal is, in itself,
never moral. Moral character is not
the result of its action.
The ethics of Universalism recog
nizes mans universal, personal and
moral relations and the duties and
obligations growing out of those rela-
tions. AS system of theology and
ethics it has it's foundation in the di-
vinely revealed doctrine of the uni
versal Fatherhood of God and the
universal brotherhood of man. Fa-
therhood and brotherhood are per-
sonal relations. Man and God are
moral persons. Their relations to
each other as Father and son is a
personal relation, and in it we have
the ethical basis of all religion. AS
system of duty religion must have
an ethical basis, and this we find in
Gods Fatherhood. This, as univer-
sal, becomes the ethical basis of
universal religion, or in other words
it makes it the duty of all men to be
religious-to love, worship and obey
God. It embraces confidence in love
for the worship of, and obedience to,
God as the Great All Father. This
is universal religion as duty, priv
ilege, an experience. Here we have
Universalism, and in it the logic
and philosophy, or the reason for, and
the grounds of, universal religion-a
religion that embraces all men, and
lays the law of duty upon all con-
sciences and the law of love upon all
hearts.
The universal brotherhood of man
which grows out of, and results from
the universal Fatherhood of God is
the universal human, as the other is
the universal divine revelation, and
gives US the ethical ground of morals
as that gives us the ethical ground of
religion. Out of it grows the duty of
benevolence, justice, equity, right
eousness and sympathy toward men,
as out of the other grows the duty to-
ward God, and from both we have
the foundation of universal ethics.
This gives us the practical side of
Universalism, the great ethical teach
ing given by Christ to the race: "Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all
thy heart, with all thy mind, with all
thy strength, and thy neighbor as thy
self" This law covers the whole field
of ethics that lies between God and
man, and man and his fellowmen. 1t
is the ethical law of Christianity, and
equally the ethical law of Universal.
ism because Universalism is the high
est form of Christianity.
The ethics, then, as we'll as the the
ology of Universalism, is grounded in
love, the love of God for man, and as
the result of that the love of man for
God, and FOR his fellowmen: I'VE
love him because he first loved u.s."
The reason of Gods love for man
is to be found in Gods personal rela-
ton to man. God is mans Father.
He loves all men because he is the
Father of all men. 1t is natural and
rational for God to love his own chill
dren. Men as Gods children, born
of his spirit, and in his image and like
ness, are worthy of Gods love. If
they are not, then who are7 In low
ing men he loves the highest order OF
beings known to the universe, beings
bound to him by the strongest tie
that can exist between two or more
persons, -fatherhood and sonship;
natural and spiritual oneness.
This divine relationship explains
not only Gods love for man, but