The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-09-25

OF Christians; and he contends that in
the greater number of passages where
the New Testament speaks Of God as
"our Father" or "the Father" what is
meant is, that He sustains that relation
to regenerate persons. We need not
stop to point out that he cannot main
tain this exegesis without violence.
What we ask DIR. Mead's attention to is
that by his own postulate the thing is
impossible.
As Joseph Cook used to say. lit is
self-evident," that since no human being
can be a child of God in reality, but
that mankind generally can be "called"
the children of God on the ground of his
love and care for them. Christian de.
rives no advantage whatever from being
also "called" son Of God. 1t may
mean different things in the different
cases; but in no case can it mean that
God is really the Father of human
being. Such is the unacceptable concu
sion to which Prof. Mead's reasoning
conducts. And il it be so, the doctrine
of the Divine Fatherhood. whether
supposed to include all mankind or only
"the redeemed" is pretentious delusion
which should cut no further figure in
the theology of Christians. And in it's
fall it takes down with it the whole
fabric of gorgeous dreams to which poets
and preachers in their weak extrava-
gance have fondly affixed the glitteripg
and misleading label Good Tidings."
The true view. and as we believe the
one taught by Jesus. is that the relation
of every human being to Gods the same
generic. constitutional relation. Men, as
spirits, are directly "the offspring of
God" deriving their spiritual constitu-
tion and their moral personality from
him, precisely as they derive their physi-
cal being and family traits from their
earthly parents. The relation Of God to
men is not remoter but clearer than
that of human father TO his child. 1t
is q natural and indestructible relation,
dependent on no act of the child nor on
any incident or accident of its career.
1t may be good and worthy child or a
bad and unworthy child, but it is child
always. On this hypothesis there is
reason in religion and the best reason in
the best religion, Christianity. We
understand why Jesus is the first born
among many brethren;" why in "bring
ing many sons into glory the Captain
OF their salvation was perfected through
spffe-ipg;" why God-predestined US to
be conformed to the image of his SOM"
why. 1.-The nations are fellowheirs and
and fellow-members OF the body and
fellow partakers of the promise in Jesus
Christi" Why "God so loved the world"
the human world; why Jesus exhorted
men to be perfect; and why those who
had been with Jesus and knew his
mind said, we have seen and do bear
witness that the Father sent the Son
to be the Saviour of the world"
So far as we have observed, no one
of the many who have taken part in the
recent discussion as to the decline of
family devotions, has noted the incident
al relation of the custom to the family
life. There are devotions that are not
devout. in the house as we'll as in the
school and in the church. 1t may be
that merely formal prayer in the family
does little for the family life. But there
can be no question, we take it, that a
moments pause each day, in which the
whole family unitedly recognize their
dependence on God and joyfully raise
their thankfulness for his daily care and
blessings. exerts a refining. elevating
and sweetening influence on the life of
the home. Divisions. strifes of tongues
loss of interest in the home and of re-
spect for it, and the danger of reaching
the low water mark of selfish secularism
are less likely to invade home sancti-
fed by family worship.
Prof. t. D. Witherspoon of the
Louisville Seminary, is the proprietor
and promulgator of the novel view. that
the sociability of Protestant churches is
a hindrance to their growth. His
thought is. that people do not go to
church for society, but for worship. If
they knew they could go and worship
without increasing any obligation to
recognize" the people they meet there
he thinks more people would be found
in the churches and they would be more
popular. He refers to the Catholic
church in verifcation of his curious
hypothesis. Prof. Witherspoon seems
to think that religion is wholly a matter
between God and man. Christianity
certainly is not that sort OF religion. 1t
concerns the relation of man with man
as much as the relations of man with
God. To worship" as Whittier has
we'll said, is to love each other. II any
are repelled from our churches because
they are too social, we suspect many
more are chilled by their unsocial
atmosphere.
CANTON THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL.
This World.