The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1897-07-03

we'll accredited conclusions of criti-
cism or science; no one more con-
vinced that these things must be
dealt with and find place in our
ministry; no one who values more the
refnements of culture, the advantage
of intellectual strength, than I. But
| am equally convinced that these
things should be made subsidiary and
that if they become our gospel, we
shall cease to be distinctively Chris
tian church.
Charles Sumner in his famous ora
ton declared that "the true grandeur
of humanity is in its moral elevation,
sustained, enlightened and decorated
by the intellect of mankind" So we
may say that the true grandeur of
church is in its moral usefulness to
all classes sustained, enlightened and
decorated by the culture of its peo-
pie. Away with the thought that we
have mission to any special class!
The church that recognizes caste and
classes is not Christian. 1.-THE spirit
of God has anointed our church in
any measure, as | trust it has, it is
that we may minister to the needs of
all classes, and be Christian church
in the breadth of its sympathies and
life as we'll as in the implied scope of
its name.
2. The second danger l would
name is one peculiar to church with
an optimistic faith like ours-and yet
also common to the liberal church as
whole. 1t is that we may become
too easy going.
You remember that it was said not
many years agothat while Universal
ism was very good doctrine to be-
lieve, it would not do to preach to
the people. 1t would make them less
solicitous for their welfare; it would
CuI GuO uoIN0 VI nlS5lOu5' V0ll, VIC
are apt to say, Eff people believe that
those who die upconverted or in their
sins lose their only chance of saliva
ton, they ought to be solicitous for
the millions of pagan at home and
abroad. That may be. But the ques-
ton is, is this as they say, the only
thing that can make Christians con-
cerned for the life and ideas of pee
pie outside their own home, church,
town or country? If it is, then the eff
feet of Universalism must be to make
people who get inoculated with it.,
somewhat careless and Indifferent as
to what is going on outside them, the
ideas that are held, the standard of
life lived, what becomes of the inhab-
itants of the slums, or 8 to what are
the barbarous deeds of the Sultan of
Turkey.
I think it must be confessed that
sometimes it looks just as if Univer-
salism had just this effect. There is
great body of people who class
themselves as U niversalists who, while
they are very good people, are the
very types of Indifference as to re-
ligious and social matters. They like
Universalists because they do not be-
lieye in fire and birthstone, and do
not condemn dancing and card play
ing as sins. They never go to church.
They never give or do for philan-
thropic causes. They have no con-
ception of their far-reaching duties
as members of the great human FAM
lily. Everything is we'll with them.
Responsibility and anxiety trouble
them not.
But to the man whose horizon is
wide enough to take even a cursory
view of the condition of the world as
reflected in the life of it's inhabitants,
the conviction is pressed home with
tremendous force that there is still
great work to be done to lift the mass
of humanity up to even fair stand
ard of living. And the power that is
to do this work of civilizing all peo-
pie, that must do it, as we are told
over and over again, is Christianity.
But how is Christianity going
to do it, Some people are re-
viving continually the Anticipated
theory of perpetual motion. You
know they used to say that God
wound up the universe for eternity,
set it agoing, and bothered himself
no more about it. So it seems to be
thought today that Christianity is
going to do everything-just give it
time. All we have to do is to let it go
on while we attend to our oVn pur-
suits.
This is about what it looks some
times, as if some professed Universal
lists had so concluded. The glorious
contamination has been prophesied;
it is long away off, but everything is