The herald., 1897-06-07
lectually honest, fearless. tolerant, con-
structive and practical.
UNITY CHURCH
DR.. Thomson on christ's Mission on
Earth

Earth
Yesterday morning the pastor, ]. s.
Thomson. preached sermon on
"Christ's Mission to Reconcile Man to
God" using the text, God was in Christ.
reconciling the world unto Himself
II. Corinthians. v:xix.
Adams fall. original sin, imputed
righteousness, and imputed sin, are
prominent features of orthodoxy; but
Christ never said a word about the
mythical Garden of Eden. about total
depravity, about hell for heresy. about
imputed sin and vice. If these things be
of vital Importance to a mans saliva
ton, 1t is very curious that Christ never
mentioned them. But, then, Christ was
not orthodox: for he was put to death
for heresy. Christ never said that His
death was necessary to save people
from hell, to put God in good temper.
to make Him love His human children.
He declared that God is wisdom, justice
and love, and that His mission was to
reconcile man to God and not God to
man. God is ever ready to receive and
bless His repenting and returning chill
dren and to forgive them, without sac
rifice of bird, fish. beast or man. God
lONtS SluUcIS. Ilc dShS iiO SdSi my ioiii
human being but his heart. God had
been misrepresented, and Christ re-
moved the Misrepresentation about God
which had made men doubt, suspect and
fear Him. In His prayers Christ never
asked God to be just to people. to love
them, because God always loves His
children and is perfectly just to them in
everything. "God was in Christ, recon-
~
teaching. inspiring. loving, men and
women. He was the image and the re-
Election of God. He that hath seen Me
hath seen the Father" And surely all
men can trust and love the God who
was manifested in Christ. If God is like
Christ, we can worship and serve Him
with all our hearts, and it would be
blaSphemy to fear such God. Indeed
Christ is infinitely superior to the God
who is described in many parts of the
Old Testament, and He is far better
than the orthodox God, who repented,
played tricks with Israeps enemies,
commanded the slaughter of innocent
people, hated His own children, and sent
millions to hell, not for sins, but for
heresy. 1t is not our business to make
God good and kind to us, but it is our
business to assume that God is good,
and to make ourselves worthy of know
ing His goodness. Christ did not come
to make it possible for God to love us.
but he came to assure ue that God is
love. He illustrated Gods love by a
parents love; but orthodoxy makes God
do what no parent would do-send his
children to hell. A hen would not send
her children to eternal misery. She
would die to save them. Is the hen a
more loving parent than God ie, who put
that love in her breast? No man could
love the diabolical God of Calvin. A
man could fear and hate him. The mod
ern way is to treat Calvin and his devil
God with contempt and indifference. |
All the great religions of the world eau |
save the people who keep them. 1t is
their theologies which perplex people |
and burden the religions. There are |
sanity Mohammedans, Buddhists, Hin
dooe But these religions cannot make |
people perfect. Christ's gospel not only |
saves people, but it aims to make them
perfect, to develop human nature in all
directions. Christ's gospel is the per-
feet, absolute and eternal religion; and
it ie the only religion which can make a |
perfect human being