The record-union., 1898-08-21
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
The Religious Thought OF the Day
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.

An unsigned letter in the Southern
Churchman' on the Oxford Move
ment' is a painful reminder that the
days of prejudice and bitterness have
not passed away" says the Living
Church" P. E) of Chicago. The
writer is doubtless not to be too Sc
verely condemned for his failure TO
comprehend the subject with which he
deals, and it is something to find a
man at this period who has convictions
and does not shrink from expressing
them in frank and uncompromising
manner, even If we find ourselves un-
able to agree with him in any single
particular. But surely such writer
ought to know that hardly any move
ment which has been promoted by con-
scientious men can properly be con-
demned without reservation. In the
case of the Oxford movement, it is al
most incredible that any intelligent
man, possessing even a superficial ac
quaintance with the religious history
of this century, should condemn it root
and branch, as this writer does. Many
writer's of various religious affinities,
and very different points of view, have
freely acknowledged the wonderful
value of this movement. It's effects,
as they have seen, have extended far
beyond the limits of the Anglican COM
munion. In short, it is acknowledged
by fairminded men on all hands that
the whole religious world of English
speaking people owes a debt of grati-
tude to the Catholic movement which
can hardly be overestimated."
I'm considering the assault upon the
Old Testament" says the New York
'Intelligencer' Ref), '1et US remem-
Der that it was the Scriptures of our
Lord Jesus Christ, of Paul, Peter, and
John. Jesus Christ appealed to them
as the testimony respecting Him. OF
them it was said that holy men of God
spake as they were moved by the Holy
Ghost; that in them God at sundry
times and in divers manners spake unto
the fathers. 1t is now said that
through the critics we have recovered
the human element in the Hebrew
Scriptures 1t should be said that by
the critics the human has been made
the ruling element, to which the Divine
element is made subordinate and infer
ior. Reading the works of the critics
produces the impression that men had
much more to do with the making Of
the Scriptures than God had. Finally
be it remembered that the title-pages,
Old Testament and New Testament
We're inserted by men, when the books
Of the Bible were collected in one vol
ume, and by men who made no claim
and could make none to inspiration by
God The Bible is one consistent rev.
elation, developed more and more as
men were able to bear it,
'It would be impossible" says the
christian Register" CUnit) of Boston,
"in set terms to describe the belief Of
a Unitarian in such way as to draw
a line which one having passed he
would be Unitarian, and not having
passed would be something else. By the
last decisive action of the National Con-
ference upon this subject it was af-
f1rmed that practical religion consists
in love to God and love to man. This
was accepted as representing the faith
of our churches. All who were in SYM
pathy with that faith were invited to
working fellowship in spite of many
diversities of belief. The Unitarian
Church undoubtedly exists to help, to
comfort, and to instruct such inquiries.
1t exists to give them a working place
where they can bring the affectionate
temper and moral purpose shown by
this writer to bear upon the task Of
ameliorating the sorrow and sin of the
world. We can imagine no Unitarian
Church where such an inquirer would
not be gladly received. What is
church for if not for those who are seek
ing the Lord, if haply they might feel
after him, and find him, though he be
not far from every one Of US? One
who disparaged this faith in the Fa-
therhood of God, who neither believed
in it nor wanted to believe in it, nat
urally would not be in sympathy with