Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-20
RELIGIOUS CORPORATIONS
Dr.. Edward Everett Hale's Estimate of the
Orthodox Churches.
Views Expressed in an Address De-
fore Unitarian Conference The
Closing Services Last Evening.

After the close of the report of the pro-
ceedings of the Unitarian conference. as
printed in The Star of last evening. meet
ing was held in the interest of the Ameri-
can Unitarian Association 1.-THE Unitarian
Message to Other Branches of the Church
| in America" the topic, and an address
was delivered by Rev. Howard N. Brown
of Boston, who, in part said:
The church suffers because a certain
philosophy of religion has been proclaimed
as divine revelation. Could we get the
creeds all rewritten our work would be
undone till all coercion of religious belief
was at an end. We wholly repudiate the
idea of the guilt of erroneous belief. The
church is not built on miraculous events,
but on the personal leadership Of Jesus
This Is enough as a basis of organization,
bond of union and missionary enterprise
More than this must not be expected of
any man. The day will come when all
churches will be content with this. Our
task of proclaiming this message having
just begun, we must demonstrate the truth
of it by giving existence to as many church
organizations on this basis as possible
Message to the Unchurched.
Rev. Edward Everett Hale spoke on the
Unitarian Message to the Unchurched."
He said the business of the Unitarian
Church was to weaken the influence of
ing erroneous religious views. He quoted
Jouett's saying that he had been in Cam
bridge fifteen years and had been in all
the churches without finding any man who
said what he believed.
People at large do not as a general thing
believe the ministers. he said. The church
es take in for the most part the wei.-to-
do-not so many of the wage-earners. our
business is to show the rank and f1e or
men how to live as children of God. On
this nOint he related VarjouS items of
sOnal experience. The ecclesiasticS have
managed to give themselves a poor repu-
tation. he declared. They value the organ-
cation more than the cause. The PreSby
terrain Church has become involved in the
evil of aristocracy and the evil of autoc-
racy. The young man has not the same
liberty of saying what he thinks that is
enjoyed by an older man. When l once
said that the Presbyterian Church was the
greatest enemy to liberty in America, l
meant just that" DR.. Hale added.
Opposes EcclesfasticaI Organizations.
1--WE must do everything in our power"
he said, ito destroy ecclesiastical organi-
cations for the sake of religious liberty"
The orthodox churches he termed great re-
ligious corporations" inimical to human
rights and freedom. One of the missions
of Unitarianism, DR.. Hale said, was to
break down the machinery Of these relig-
ious corporations. That done" said he,
I'VE can safely leave to art, science and
literature, the task of sweeping up the
fragments of the five principles of Calvin
and the thirty-nine articles of the Episcopal
Church.
We must not he said get into an in
tellectual phase, but must adapt the exer-
cises of worship to the minds of plain
men.
The Closing Address.
THE message of the Unitarian church to
Our own People" was the theme of the clos
ing address of the conference Rev. Sa MI A.
Eliot of Boston, the speaker, said in part:
our great effort is to make the Indifferent
different. We are sometimes disheartened
because many of our own people seem
to care little about our own work For
every one actively engaged there are 800
looking on. Let US not mistake infOrma-
ton for obedience. An inactive Familiarity
with truth tends to contempt for truth
The largest gift that any one can bring is
the GIT OF personal service.
Appeal for Funds -.
This seventy-fifth anniversary of the
American Unitarian Association cannot be
better celebrated than by raising $4,000
for Its work-which means an increase of
30 per cent. We called from every
state in the Union to help build Unitarian
churches, but often have to refuse because
of lack of funds. We need a fund of $4,000
for the circulation of Unitarian literature
and other funds for missionary work in
Japan, the southern states and the Scan
dinavians of the northwest"
The speaker pleaded for a stronger sense
of responsibility and spiritual vitality to
supply larger number of competent men
for the Unitarian ministry. Never have
there been larger opportunities, he said, for
men of force and tact and insight than
exist today.
The annual sermon was delivered by
Rev. DR.. Samuel NJ. Crothers of Cambridge,
Mass, from Hebrews, 9th chapter 18th
Works to Serve the Living God"
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Leagues Regular Meeting.