The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-05-01
PROVE ALL THINGS"

PROVE ALL THINGS"
One of the Broad Churchmen of
England, who believes in the Larger
Hope and breaches it aggressively,
(Rev. W. j. Acomb, of Maidstone)
urges the examination of all church
doctrines in the following fashion:
DR.. Fitzgerald, of Folkestone, went
over the church of "St. Ursula and
her IL 900 Virgins" at Cologne, and
was shown a portion of the skull of
St. Ursula. "Was she one of the vir-
gins?" asked the doctor. "Of course"
said the indignant guide. "But this
is mans SKULL" cried the doctor.
GLOW do you know" returns the
verger. Retorts the scientist, "Be-
cause can, by some points of its
structure, tell the difference between
male and female skull after death
as we'll as before" So every man may
pick up your doctrine and examine
it's points of structure, and tell if God
made or man made. The Spirit
taught reason, while it admits the
province of faith, resents everything
which does violence to all Christian
sentiment. 1t has profound reverence
for the sphere of mystery which in
vests Deity; it has no mercy on the
fictions which exhale from the fool
ishness of men. 1t presumes not to
touch the awful sanctities of God;
but does not scruple to hopelessly
wreck the impostures of tradition.
George Dawson laid down as a rule
that "it is religious to doubt so long
as thing appears doubtful; and
goes on to say, that sit is pious to re-
fuse to give the souls assent to that
which appears to the soul lie"
Startling as it may appear, it is only
another way of saying, "Prove all
things" 1t is the axiom of the Refor
nation, which insisted on the right of
private judgment. But great many
Professionals object to having their
own principles turned against them
selves, and contend as vigorously as
Rome for the sentiment, whatever
is, is right" and this, not because they
have fought their way and thought
their way to their present standing;
but because catechism and creed
have nailed them to that spot. Such
good people do not see that anything
is better than what Drummond calls
parasitism, the living on second hand
sap; and often blame man for
changing his principles, instead of
blaming themselves for not having
any to change.
Yes, prove all things; bring careful
analysis to bear on each doctrine sub
mitted; if it be truth, it will, cube
like, stand we'll any side up. Tradi-
ton and prescription constitute no
authority. Systematic theology may
present me love knot of errors;
do not necessarily accept it as though
it were bouquet of Heavens own
blossoms, by the hands of Saadi.
There are deadly Magistrates in the
church's demesne, as we'll as in the
wilderness. If man come to me with
doctrine of human inability in one
hand, and the doctrine of endless woe
in the other, turn upon him sharply
and say, "You are presenting ira
vesty of the Gospel; Christ came as
the Saviour of men; you introduce
him as the destroyer of men,"
Some decry reason, but did God
light this torch to mock us, and fail
in its purpose, and let US fall into the
ditch9 This is to reproach our
Maker with exposing men to a peril
GUS enterprise in nights darkness
with blank lantern. Why make
much of conscience and little of rea-
son, but to suit the exigencies of
theologyi Are they not both natural
faculties, God given, subject to de-
velopment by culture, and paralysis
through disuse? And when we sub
join the fact that the Holy Spirit has
distinctly urged the reason of host
Of the most sanity of the church, in
the direction of Larger Hope con-
clusion, we see at once the fallacy of
depreciating it. Can the Holy Spirit
employ nobler faculty.
urikar in the