The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-02-07

( which he could not consciously en-
dorse; yet in spite of his illiberality and
ignorance Of modern church move
4 ments. some of us have for years been
unwilling to have up any barriers that
would keep ont such as he. Last
winter this brilliant and lovable Rip
1 Van Wrinkle was aroused from his
slumber in Kalamazoo by the dis
| covery that church in that city lors
established, strong and widely helpful
was on q basis so universal in its re-
ouirements, so true TO the inmost as
/ piration of every human being, what
ever his opinion, that even he could
! md nothing in it to criticize. The
! newspapers telegraphed to the ends of
I the earth the wonderful fact that Dir.
I Ingersoll had found a church which
I he could endorse. 1t was truly anus
/ ing that he should have been so sur
prised al a condition Of things which
has been a common place among liberal
churches of the more advanced type
Tor at least a decade. Just seven years
ago in a sermon on the basis of church
membership 1 find that l discussed the
question of whether or not there was
room for Robert Ingersoll in a Uni
! tartan church and affirmed most de-
cidedly that there was. We should be
troubled. ! said, at his irreverence and
try TO overcome it; we should be NOR
titled at his narrow negative spirit;
we should regret his want of a faith
in the religious truths so dear TO most
Of Us. but we would welcome him, 1
trust, most cordially. Few persons
have so little sympathy with much of
Mr. lngerSoliS thought as myself,
nevertheless if there were no door for
such as he among US 1 do not think l
could he a Unitarian.
Evidently II is not alone the adher
ance OF moth-eaten doctrines who show
themselves occasionally behind the
times. You will see from this that in
my opinion It is not only unnecessary
that a member of a liberal church
should believe a certain set of doctrines
more than another; it is not necessary
that he have any beliefs formed COM
Dletely, the search for truth is a. life
long aim and effort, our hold upon it
may be wavering, we may be perpleXed
amid the different views held by the
wise and earnest, the opposing argu-
ment may battle our power to decide,
all this IS the inevitable experience of
the truth seeker upon many points. and
even if it seem as if the truth upon all
important points eludeS one, that
does not make him any the less a
worthy member of the ideal church,
provided such incisiOn is a genuine
stage in an effort to find the truth, and
not merely passive indifference as to
all believe more than we dare to affirm
decidedly. In the reaction against
petrihed doctrines and dOgmatic as
SertiOnS we are in danger of diStruSting
too much our own conclusions and
our instructive faith. Still this hest
tency to affirm conviction is not to be
frowned upon, and woe to the religious
work which seeks to force belief faster
than absolute sincerity and perfect
confidence would lead. When the
church has ceased to write over its
doo- way the challenge, Thou must
believe" Il VIII be far easier for the
conscientious person to affirm with
glad confidence: I do believe" CWel-
come TO young persons.)
Let all this not be mistaken to mean
that those Unitarians who are liberal
in religion do not care what a person
believes. This is far from the
case, it certainly would be only
superficial man and very
thOughtless one who would say that
belief was a matter of no conse- !
quence." A mans belief is a tremen-
dous power for good or i'll in his life.
Most of us believe with heart and soul |
that certain things are true and would /
gladly have the rest of the world come |
to the same conclusion; indeed, would I
work as valiantly as we are capable to /
convince others Of the truth of our /
beliefs, but that does not make it nee
eSSary to refuse fellowship to those |
who do not agree with us. The scien- |
fist is now very thoroughly convinced |
of the truth of the Nebular FYpothe- /
sis, of the Evolution of Species, of the /
Theory of Atoms. but he does not /
think ii necessary that the associations
OF science should have these beliefs
formulated into creed for fear some
scientific heretics should enter their
precincts. A college does not think it
necessary to force professors and pu-
pills to make a confession of their sci
entific creed before entering upon their
work. lest some Of them should come
to doubt the theory of gravitatiOn,
they believe that the facts Will speak
for themselves; that the minds of can
did men viii reach like conclusion from
a given series of facts. They feel a
special pride in any professor or stu
dent who discovers a new truth or
brings to light an old error. How vi
tally important it is that religious
workers should accept this scientific
spirit which trusts the truth and well
comes the most full and free inveStiSa-
ton. The great majority of liberal
thinkers believe that. the great faiths
n God, the moral structure of the uni
verse. the sanctity of human assOcia-
ion, the divinity of conscience and rea-
much besides are based upon such ul-
innate, necessary grounds that earnest
living and careful thinking will reach
-hese faiths some time, somehow, or
discover an error in our understanding
# them. If one believes in any sanity
n the universe he must believe that
rec thought is safe, and Will lead
everyone eventually into the light.
There IS no errSy y Fundamental,
20 Drofane. as that which fears TO face
he fullest. freest investigation. We
ralue belief so much that we fear to
with the free attainment of it,
We have too much faith in the truth
IS we see it, to force men to accept I'M
il they see ii for themselves, and
surely we should not cut off from fell
0wshiD with Us any who are earnest
n purpose, who are yet not blessed by
he fath which we lind inspiring.
l wonder if we realize what this per-
ect freedom of thought has cost? 1t
s a glorious privilege. This absolute
reedom in religious association. We
re so accustomed to the legal toler-
nee OF our time and country and to
he measure of social tolerance that
prevails that it is diff
uit to make real to our minds the
ime when this freedom was not posi- ,
lie. We must remember with rever- ,
Mt gratitude that the path which has -.
ID through the centuries up to our
resent religious freedom. is a pam
-hich has been wet with the blood
f martyrs. This privilege of untrsm-
leled thought which we value so light !
y often has seemed to thousands
-Orth dying for. 1t was because he :
lust speak OF the truth as he felt it. !
Though it differed from the creeds >
his day, that Jesus hung upon the :