The herald., 1898-03-21
VOICES or THE PULPIT
OR. wENDTE RETURNS TO UNITY
CHURCH
THE SCIENCE OF SALVATION
Burt Estes Howard Gives Sound Ad-
vice to oul-Doctors-The Letter
and the Spirit

Rev. Chas. W. Wendte, pastor Of the
Church of the Unity, preached yesterday
for the first time since his recent long and
serious illness. He was greeted by large
congregation and warmly welcomed back
by his parishioners.
Mr.. Wendte's discourse was on st. Pauls s
Injunction: BE not overcome Of evil, but
overcome evil with good.'
There are two ways of treating the evil
in mans breast. We can either grapple
in turn with each particular sin, and tear
1t out, root and branch or we can strength
en- the general moral nature and enable ii,
of itself to eliminate all special forms of
personal delinquency.
Which of these two methods approves it.
self as the best? Do we strengthen virtue
most by fighting sin. or do we fight sin
most effectively by increasing virtue? Shall
our main endeavor In the moral life be to
antagonize the evil in ourselves and the
world, or shall we strive first and chiefly
to foster the good?
st. Paul advises us to the latter effort.
He says: "Overcome evil with good" But
the Christian church has usually, and most
mistakenly, held to the contrary.
The piety of former days-too often of
our own day-has been so absorbed with
the problem of evil that it has taken little
thought of the more important and endur-
ing interests of the good. Based on the
mistaken notion of the total depravity of
human nature 1t has despised and de-
nounced itself; it has mortified the flesh:
it has piled penance on penance: 1t has
lived under the supposed wrath of God. and
shrunk in terror at thought of his judg-
ments. Yet 1t did not make the progress
it desired in virtue, and was morally in
ferior to the noblest types of piety in our
own more liberal age. Above all, it never
arrived at just conception of the good
ness and love which are the pillars of our
universe and the essential traits In its
divine Creator.
If liberal Christianity had done nothing
else than to deliver man from this terrible
nightmare Of the supremacy of evil in the
world. it would deserve the lasting graft
tude Of the human race. 1t teaches us that
man is not, as the old theology declared,
q child Of the devil whom God is trying to
steal but child of God who ought to defy
and overcome the devil Not to drive hell
out of man, but to breathe heaven into
him is the true purpose of the Christian
religion, the true method Of religious cul-
ture. Evil is negative, self-limited, self
destructive. God Is positive, constructive,
and Of the nature Of the Eternal. There
fore let your main endeavor be to strength
en- the good in yourself and others. Raise
the general level of your soul life to kind
ler purpose and holier thought and will.
Overcome the evil in you by forestalling
1t with good. Build up the good also in
general society by Strengthening men, the
measures and the institutions that repre-
sent the advancement of truth and right
eousness in the world. Labor to increase
honest business, pure politics, clean news
papers, efficient schools and earnest
churches in the community. Every happy
smile on childs face which you have
eliclted. every throb of joy in your neigh-
boris breast of which you are the cause, |
every kind speech or generous deed that |
flows from you widens the circle of light |
and increases the power OF the good. 1t |
helps to stife error, to dethrore unreason |
and destroy unrighteousness. You are at |
one with the divine purpose of the crea-
ton, which is nothing less than the ever
increasing victory of truth over error, Of !
right over wrong, Of good over evil, and of |
God over ALL