The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-11-28
Yet 1 doubt not through the ages,

With the process OF Jne suns.
"This result was inevitable. When
Christ came, in an age of lust, glut-
tony, universal slavery, he came as
babe, born of woman; he lived as
humble carpenter, and childhood be-
came sacred, womanhood exalted,
and the Gospel of universal bro
therhood changed the condition of
the world.
An Age of Reaction From Doubt.
"But again, ours is an age of reac-
ton from doubt. We have passed
through a period of great unrest.
Science, as expounded by Huxley
and Tyndall; philosophy, by Carlyle
and Emerson; history, by Renan and
Froude; fiction, by lola, Hardy,
George Eliot and Mrs. Humphrey
Ward; poetry, by Leconte de Lisle,
Matthew Arnold and others, all prove
the shadow of doubt upon the face of
literature An article in The Nine
tenth Century, for October, 1895,
says:
"'With sorrow and reluctance it
must be confessed that the majority
of Oxford and Cambridge under
graduates are without, or at least
profess to be without, any religious
belief at all. There are, of course,
many exceptions. Exceptions, how
ever, they remain; certainly the great
number are Galileos, SO far as the
Church is concerned
"But the reaction has comel Re
action says one, 'out of the heart Of
doubling age toward the Christian
ity of Christ and the faith in immor
tai love- Tennyson and Browning
sing of returning faith and hope.
Books like Wallace's 'Darwinism' and
Fiske's Destiny of Man show that the
theory of tr1e Christian evolution de-
mands recognition of the spiritual
nature of man and belief in an in
telligent, personal God. A states
man like Signor Crispi does not hest
tate to cut loose from his former
atheistic connections and declares
that the belief in God is the funda-
mental basis of the healthy life of the
people, while Atheism puts in it the
germ of an irreparable decay. Ben
iamin Kidd, from the side of English
sociology, assures us that since man
became social creature the develop
ment of his intellectual character
has become subordinate to the devel-
opment of his religious character,
and concludes that religion affords
the only permanent sanction for pro-
gress.
ga reverent Higher Criticism is res
cuing from the rust of false creeds
and traditions the Christ life and
character in their infinite beauty.
Yes, ours is an age ofreturning faith.
The wonderful chapter has not yet
faded which William H. Charming,
in a letter to Mr.. rockingham, of
New York, laid at the foot of the
Cross, after having searched the des
erts of speculation in vain for some
thing to satisfy his soul. He wrote:
"'Once again l sought comfort with
the blessed company of sages and
saints of the Orient = from the
ancient Avesta, radiant Plato and
heroic Epictetus. Once more they
refreshed and reinspired me as of
old. But they did something better.
Hand in hand, they brought me up
to the white marble steps and the
crystal baptismal font to the cross in
the chancel of the Christian Temple,
and as they laid their hands in bene-
diction on my head they whispered:
"Here is your real home" And, so
my brother, once again, and with
purer, profounder and tenderer love
than ever, like little child, kissed
the blood stained feet and hands and
sides of the Hero of Calvary, and
was uplifted by the embracing arms
of the Elder Brother and in the kiss
of mingled pity and pardon found
the peace I sought, and became
Christian in experience
An Age of Practical Work.
"But, again, ours is an age of work
practical work. Not for selfish
ends, but for public good; not to
build cathedral, pyramid, a col
osseum, by the sacrifice of men, but
the age of missions, social settlements,
institutional churches, slum work.
"Behold Professor Graham Taylor
and his social settlement in Chicago,
with two hundred or more theologi-
cal students, learning theology in
the poorhouse, the Jail and rescue
mission, as we'll as in the classroom!
Behold President Seth Low, of Co
lumbia University, New York, and