The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-03
EcLEOr1c1sm IN REL1G1oN.

1
One of the hopeful signs of the future
of our race is manifesting itself in the
liberality that is cropping out among
the leaders of religious opinion in this
our day. It must be very gratifying to
the optimistic teachers of these times
to note the progress that has been made
in breaking down the barriers that big
otry has been piling up since the days Of
! the Puritans When we contrast the
| b:gotry of that day among those who
fed from the Old World to find a place
where they could worship God according
| to their own conception OF lfberty-re-
| Numbering at the same time how very
soon they began to exercise a rigidity of
thought that compelled others to act and
to think according to the rules that gov
| erned themselves-we are constrained to
admit that human nature is strange
compound of contradictions. But the
world moved on from that point. and
only about a century ago we notice the
| same spirit of persecution stalking
nation sustaining and supporting a cler-
gy that refused their pulpits and their
churches to the sanity Whitfield, whose
| equal as an angelic expounder of the
message of peace on earth and good will
| to men has not appeared in all the sue
ceeding years till the present day, and
/ yet he was obliged to preach in the open
| air till the immortal Franklin, the man
| that was accused of skeptical tendencies.
but whose thought was broad enough to
| accept truth wherever he found 1t, and
! who made 1t his business to search for
1 it with the string of his kite-Frank1n,
! the philosopher, had broader views than
the clergy Of his day, and, as he loved
| the truth that Whitfield proclaimed he
| did like one of old-he built a synagogue
for the people he loved But we need not
go back for hundred years to hunt for
| the same demon of bigotry. Many are
| living today who cansremember the time
| that ministers of one denomination would
never think of allowing one of another
creed to associate with them in any eff
fort for the uplifting of humanity, and If
| a closer investigation were insti-
tuted we might yet find some
who would not hesitate to express
their doubts as to the possibility of sal
walton for any outside of their own COM
| munion. Happily, however, this class is
dwindling to very small proportions, and
the large-hearted, the broad-minded and
the profound thinkers are now leading
the world in another direction
| These were, suggested by the reports
that appeared in the st. Paul press the
day following the national Thanksgiving,
which reported several instances of union
services, where three or four different
congregations met, together with their
minister's allvhaving the same mind and
the same object at heart. By the prog
ress of religious thought in the past few
| years the best hearts and the most liberal
minds are rising above the surface O. So
| ciety as it existed sonly a few years ago,
! and these hearts @and these minds are
| level and a larger plane of action, and
! as the view expands the reflex on the
! mind gives broader views Of human ma
| ture and its destiny. The eclectic process
of selecting the best in all denomina-
! tons is made apparent by the actions Of
the leaders of religious thought Arch
bishop Ireland is setting a noble example
! in our own community, and his influence
1t is cosmc oolitan in it's effects. We can
! all remember the great gulf that has sep
] arated the Catholic and Protestant world
for centuries. Surely he would have been
century ago would have predicted that
| archbishop of the Catholic church
would have stood on Protestant plat
| form to advocate the cause of liberty
| progress and Christian fellowship
The people have taken up the keynote
of progress and are giving less heed ''to
traditions, fables and endless genealo-
gfes," which, have always ministered
questions and strffes rather than cody
edifying. They haFe at length discovered
that many of the doctrines they were en-
joined to revere are only the command
ments of men and have no connection or
authority ine the sacred law, and conse-
quently are being dropped from the
church curriculum, Many of these no
doubt, served good purpose before the
masses of the people had either the abil-
ity or the opportunity to improve their
minds by reading or by contact with
those who were, more highly favored
on these lines but the public libraries
and the public schools of the present day
have largely assisted the progress of re-
ligious thought, and the rags and tatters
of the past are giving place to new
ideas and a more advanced civilization
Eclecticism in theology Is taking the
place of men-made creeds, and the world
/ is giving such evidence of progress as
fully justifies the rational optimism that