The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1896-03-10
Monthly Meeting Of Their
Club Last Night.
The Forward Movement in
Religion Discussed.
Good Addresses by Three Bright
Speakers.

nights dinner OF tho Unitarian Club, ana
many members availed themselves OF the
opportunity TO listen to three most excel
lent addresses. President Stone was
toastmaster and the prayers offered by
Rev. Mr.. Mott. After dinner Secretary
William G. Barrows gave abstracts from
the speeches delivered last month and the
subject was then announced.
AWAY FROM DooMATIc SYSTEMS
the first speaker and his special subject
was sit must be away from the dogmatic
systems. An abstract from his address
Is as follows:
1t was Claiming who said that the
whole business of life is education. III
that is SO, and IL education effects every
phase of life there must always be for
ward movement in religion, and 1t must
be away from dogma. The difference be-
tween dogma and belief should be clearly
understood. Belief is conviction that
one holds about some kind OF truth, re-
sulting from experience or demonstra-
tion. 1t may not be considered absolute
and complete and Ii is not the test of
fellowship.
Dogma is belief carried to extremes
lit Is belief i'm the fossil state and not
the result OF experience or demonstration
but 1t Is based upon statement. 1t is con-
sidered as final and infallible and is the
test of fellowship.
The movement in religion must then
always be away from dogma because OF
our gain i'm knowledge and freedom The
birch of Professionalism illustrates this,
then so does the establishment of the free
churches in Poland. And the same truth
was demonstrated by the Unitarian move
ment in England, during its period OF
martyrdom in the sixteenth century, It's
period of discussion in the seventeenth
and its slow organization in the eight
eenth.
The holders OF dogma have always pre-
dicted dire calamity for all who have re-
| jceted il, When the Unitarian movement
stated the cry was "You are going unto
the wilderness OF atheism and material
ISM" Then it was seen that the behav-
| ior OF the Unitarisns was all that 1t
| should be and the cry changed to "All
| that you have is conduct-you have but
| the rags OF Righteousness and no supreme
faith"
The same sort OF criticism followed the
| giving up of the miracles and even
! among conservative Unitarians the move
ment of Theodore Parker was deplored.
| A letter Is on record in which Uni
tartan pastor at Taunton made this state
ment relative to Parker; "His philoso-
ply is sensusl and his religion opens the
| door to infidelity."
| At the Unitarian convention of 1894 at
Saratoga the belief was expressed that
| the es, ence of our religion is love to God
| and love to man. This belief may some
| time harden into a dogma and something
broader still may be required by the for
ward NOV ement of the future years.
When the demand does come 1t must be
| cbeerfully met. Growth into a larger
knowledge and belief will never cease un-
til the last man has played his part in
| the drama of life.
There is no movement away from belief
| for that has always gone along with de
velopments
1t is impossible to divorce belief from
| conduct. "Conduct is the expression OF
| character, and character avouches faith. I"
| Consistent, clean cut belief is necessary.
Free thought is necessary, and unless
| Ii can be subjected TO the same conditions
of intellectual sincerity in religion as
well as in science il is futile.
We must have this belief and thought
that the work may bear fruit. We must
have great faith about duty, and deity
and destiny. We may change that belief
tomorrow with newer resolution, but
no day must be without its telief.
IN HARMONY WITH MODERN SCIENCE.
The subject assigned to Rev. John A.
Chadwick OF Brook lyn was "It must be in
harmony with modern science" He said !:
The stint that has been set for Inc Is to
incontrovertibly establish in the course
of fifteen or twenty minutes that the re-
ligion which we need must be in har-
mony with modern science. ] would pre-
fer to say established science" There
was once, pardon the homely illustration,
a thoughtless citizen whohad taken quite
too much. Walking the streets he heard
the sound OF music OF band, and look
ing behind him saw big procession.
Straightway he conceived that 1t was fol-
lowing him, that he was at the head of
1t. SO he pulled himself together, ex-
Ianded his chest, threw back his should
ers, and was feeling large and fine, when
looking furtively backward he discovered
that the procession had turned a corner.
IL wasn't following him at ali. Now you
will notice a good many scientists, intoxi-
Gated with the ardor OF their great pur-
suits, have imagined themselves at the
head of the Scientific advance and sud-
denly or gradually they have discovered
that they were not ut the head of any
thing but their own awkward squad, that
the main body had turned a corner, and
gone off in some otrer direction. Now
IL is with the main body of science that
our religious thought and life rave got TO
march. We haven't got TO conform our
selves to every new theory that s
broached. Many scientific theories are
called, but few hre chosen. And even OF
those that seem well esta blished some are
much revised in course of time or alto
get Ger set aside. And IL is Tor this rea-
son that we must beware of spelling
science with big and thinking 1T Is
absolute and eternal, the exact synonym
for truth with big r. You and ] know
a good many people who will fall into
this slough. They do not believe In the
infalliblo church or the infallible Bible.
Certainly not. But they do believe IN
the infallible science. Here IL the Pope
here is their Bible-a book to which
something may be added. but from which
nothing can be substIacted. But the
truth is that much that has rasscd
for science In its day In now recog-
nized as error. There Is limbo
about as full OF discredited scientific
theories, as the adjoinet one is full
OF discredited theological beliefs. The
great captains OF science are never quite
so sure Of the nebular hypothesis and the
natural selection and so on as the men
whose science is thing Of shreds and
patches. These things are worth remem-
bering by those who always spell science
with a big X, and think OF II as something
interchangeable and infallible. And be-
cause these things are so, | would much
rather say that the religion which We