The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-05-22

(c) But theTe mas 0een m1ddte
ground bet,ceen these t,Uo. The third
party have accepted both belief and
conduct as having place in their
scheme of life, but have believed in
emphasizing neither the one nor the
other. Their dogma is feeling, emo
ton. They might almost be called
the party of inspiration. With them
faith became translated into kind
of ecstacy of feeling. They claimed
to be under the constant guidance of
the Spirit, and to them this seemed
better than all opinions and all con-
duct.
But now, what about all these var
ious theories? The answer is short:
clearly there is an element of truth
in each one of them. As | have al
ready pointed out, those who cannot
accept the authority of the Bible or
the church do we'll to search far and
wide for some other basis of right in
which to rest, and we ought to bid
them God speed in such a search;
for if they cannot accept the Chris
tian revelation, how sorely do they
need some other form of authority,
which for the time, may seem to take
its place. If they find this authority
in experience and are able to rest in
it as a sanction for noble living we
ought to be glad.
The faith party have also held
much of truth. They have been
right in their conviction that faith is
important, that what men believe is
important, though perhaps not al
ways for the reasons they have be-
lieved it to be. Opinion is not at all
to be ignored. Beliefs are very pow
erful factors in the life of the world.
But the faith party in general have
made the mistake of confusing the
product with the soil from which it
grows. From one point of view sal
walton is the product, or, to put it in
to more modern language, character
is the product, while faith is the soil
out of which it springs, 1t is indis-
pensable as motive, but is not to
be exaggerated into the place that
belongs to character.
But if the faith party made the mis-
take of holding belief so near the
face that nothing else could be seen
in relation to it; the party who made
works prominent did precisely the
same thing. 1t is misfortune that
a majority of mankind can see only
one truth at time. If they are look
ing at tree, then the tree is for the
time all there is in the world; if at
mountain, then the mountain is every
thing; if at an opinion, then the opin-
ion obscures all else; if at a creed,
the creed contains all the truth there
is in the world; and if they chance to
belong to that party who believe lin
the Importance of works in distinc-
ton from belief, then works, doing
things whether ceremonial or charity,
become so very important that faith,
even as motive, is put quite out of
sight. This party has certainly done
much good, for they have brought
men back to the reflection that con-
duct, and the character it represents,
is matter of importance, and that
we are judged as to character by what
we do, even though we are moved to
do so by what we believe.
The party of feeling have also had
message for us. They have helped
to emphasize the fact that the feel
ings and intuitions have much to do
with making ones living vital and
real. They have done something to
quicken mems sense of the living
presence of God and to inspire them
to follow the guidance of the Spirit;
they have helped to spiritualize re-
ligion. But they have placed the
emphasis so exclusively here that
they have left the impression that
thought and reason have little
place in religion. They would
let the feelings reign supreme. They
would let all opinions and all con-
duct take care of themselves, and
have mankind caught up to heaven
on wave of feeling.
1t is not clear that there is no legi-
itimate middle ground between these
different theories? We shall be near
est correct when we concede the
truth of each of them, and then bind
them all together as parts of legiti-
mate whole. Faith and feeling are
natural and necessary springs in hui
man life, and should be allowed to
bear their perfect fruit, and that
fruit is character, with conduct as the
bud and blossom. But let us pass
from these general reflections, al
ready too long for proportion in this
discussion, and come to