The times., 1897-07-13

| ciiu' ct Ileu IeSi the power OI Ills
| good life. SO OF church. 1t may aave
many winds playing thro' its brain, pro
| dccing phantasies and vagaries, yet witt
pure life it will be sure to project ele-
waiting forces into surrounding humanity.
We hear great deal IN these days
| as To- the necessity for restateIuent OF
| Christian doctrine We should have
| care here. Doubtless some churches neeil
| TO restate a good deal OF their teaching
| But this does not apply to the essential
| central truth which they hold. You do
not Reed to restatc the creed of the A post les
1t does not make much difference as TO
their non eSs ntiaT errors. Many OF
these are in q state OF fluX. They are
sure to be reeast. Like the carbon dust in
the test tubes with which Tyndall expert
mentcd this dogmauc dust of error will
be burned up. The theological atmosphere
VIII be purified What Mr.. I. calls clear
and shadawleSo pencils OF light VIII fill
the theOlogic air. Yet Is ii true; and |
would strongly emphasize it-these same
church that call for this process of
restatenent have all along held the pure
truth that needs no res tatement. They hold
it today and they help nightly TO move
mankind to God.
''You Will pardon me IL / say that
Methodist theology needs scarce any re
stat emcnt.' A mos wonda rful thing
about John Wesley was that his keen and
yet sagacious mind and pure heart led him
to seize on only an essential body OF truth,
the creed referred to the center OF all, that
has never yet been improved Oh. Mr. W.
hel1 many erroneous opinions indeed But
lf.. Iii tC5y A..
one or two points perhaps in his theology
rest atement would not harm. But prac-
tically by the church these have already
been discounted, In my opinion. the man
who attempts TO restate Methodist the
oloey lad down in our creed and our
articles of religion, at least, will himself
require restating before he is through. II
is one OF the curiosities of the theolOgiG
times and ore Of the glories of NethOdism
that the restat ements 50 important To other
Christian bodies all tend toward Wese yam
ArruiniasIn. They seem destined to land
exactly where John Wesley began and
ended.
II take little stock in the animadyer-
sions On Methodist polity and its ad
niI tstFation SO often heard. Time
and experience viii show where I'M
provement may yet be made
III we only keep the heart of the
church right we Will move on safely We
are not yet out of our ycuth-not yet
perfect Still, our polity has, thus far,
worked quite Well, as well, certainly, as
any other known to the history OF the
Church of Christ. Our bishops compare
well as TO intelligence and purity OF in
tent with any body OF church admins
traitors this world has ever seen Forty
years observations makes me believe that
had we been In their places, we would
hardly have improved on them. OF COURSE
we cannot penetrate their intent in every
case. believe the same as to their
CouHselors, the much-abused presiding ell
oers. Men who talk SO flippantly about
this office, generally, have failed to study
"hd understand our economy / do not
FOR an instant doubt that, where once
they have helped oppress men, In a hun
dred cases they have carried men, and
that fol many years, who, without their
AID, would have very soon reached their
end Injustice now and then is ,lone
But did ever man appear below-sava one
of whom this may not have to be said?
Il am surprised To hear it said here that
unitarlaniSm on its ethical side. at least.
represents Christ more nearly than any
other section Of the church Its history in
England and America says another thing
III that were so, alas! for Christ's success
fHty years ago in Washington it had
one Church, today it has the same Ex-
sctly so In Baltimore. It's failure in New
England is notorious. Charming it's great
hgEt, It's great heart, representing more
nearly the pure and loving spirit of Christ
than any other man in the body, laments
It's failure. Near his death, he wrote. /
would that l could look to Unitarianisn
with more hope. But this system was at
Its reocnT revival protest OF the nnt,er.
standing against absurd dogmas, rather
than the work OF deep religious pie
1t was carly paralyzed by the mixture Of q
material philosophy 1t fell too much
into the hands Of scholars and political
rcformers. The consequences is a want
OF vitality and force, which gives Us but
little hope OF its accomplishing much
under its present auspices or in its prese Mt
form
The absurd dogmas he refers TO ore
the Deity Of Christ, the trinity, the
vicarious atoneinent. But these were vital
truths OF the pure creed referred to With
out them, 1t could do little In a Unitarian
convention. at Saratoga, years ago, there
was much lament that with all their
wealth and cult they achieved but little
why was it? Brethren, l can tell you,
said one, We need a bloody theology =
They failed at the vital doctrine of q
'1icarious atonement 1t is not enough
10 see In Him glorious martyr to His
truth
1T reminded me of the French reyolu-
ZIONIST complaining to TalIeyrand Of the
failure Of the new rationalIsln proclaimed
as new religion. i can tell you how to
succeed said the willy and witty TaIley-
rand Go and get yourself crucified. Rise
again on the third day. Then men Will be-
heve in YOU But for the pure, Christ-like
lives of many CT its ministers and people
who at heart see in Christ more than they
see In their creed, long since Unitarianism
would have died and been buried.
Mere reform, without Christ's vital re-
generation OF soul and life, is not what this
poor, siu-curSed world wants Belamyand
all mere moral reformer should learn that.
Sin Is It's curse. Christ alone can replov.,
that. Let TIE church hold that, and tell ii
out, and live His spirit and by and by the
world kill be lighted up"
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