New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-02-19
AUNITARIAN ON REVEALS
MTNoT ]. SAVAGE REFERS To DR
BRoUGHToN's WORK IN BROOKLYN

NELL. HE SAYS, rs THE PRODUCT OF RAD
BARIc IMAGINATION. AND THERE is NO
NEED FOR SAVING SOULS.
The Rev. DR.. Minot ]. Savage preached 10 :,
evening at the Church of the Messiah on "-rhs
kind Of Salvation the World Needs" In mar,
be said:
The theoIogies Of the world have been intel
iectual attempts TO account for the existence of
schemes or plans for the deiiverance of man
kind from these evils. This statement Is mi
gersally true. Jonathan Edwards wrote book
called The History OF Redemption" If is
really from his point of view for history OF thu
world TO him was merely the history of Gods
attempt TO redeem fallen men Acnordfpsy ~
this theory God created the world suddaniv
few thousand years ago-it is about six thou
sand according to the Biblical chronology II
had been in existence only very short time
when Satan appears upon the scene He waILs
In some way upright, though we do not know
heW; is aDie TO appear TO Eve and talk with
her as she is in the garden She listens to his
seductive conversation, and as the result Of II
she believes what he has said and partakes az
the forbidden fruit. AS the result of this not
only are Adam and Eve cast out OF the garde,
but all their descendants to all time are NOT
only mace subjects TO pain and disease. and
moral eNll ana death, but they become in wav
that il IS impossible for our ethics to conceive
guilty Ihere Is not a creed in Christendop1
sun MAJ IA, goes n9l declare them guilty for being
born the descendants Of Adam and Eve This
conception OF original sin and guilt and eternal
damnaton as the result OF it, has been en-
phatically reafflrmed by the Catholic Cburch l.,
a recent controversy between Cardinal Vangban
and St. George Mivart, the English scientist
And this is IN all the creeds; there is not an
eKeepuon' II is the underlying conception of all
the creeds. - Oil
THE WORLDS REDEMPTION.
The first point, then in the history, ne tho ,,or,5
after the creation is the fall of man Then Cod
appears upon the scene. He talks with Adam
ana I've Sho gives some vague and indefinite
T0f ind DF
come in the future. AS years go by occasionally
an angel appears on the scene with a message
Ihen: later' God is supposed to have inspired
certain men 10 deliver messages. Some of them
have been written down and some have not All
last these messages comprised whole books. SO
thai the Old Testament came into existence
Then, after they had been completed for a counle
OF hundred Years., the second great act in the
world drama begins 10 be manifested
little babe is born and IL turns out that he
IS mlIaculously conceived and the Church
learns, though il is not of it until three
hunoreo years later, that this little babe was
me AImlghty God of the Universe; that he came
down and assumed the form of man. lived for
Mite over thirty years, taught. suffered died
on the cross, went down 10 hell then rose from
the dead and assembled into heaven. wearing
me BODY that he had the cross. Here then.
Is the doctrine of Atonement brought about Inv
me suffering and death OF God himself on be-
half OF man. This is to satisfy Gods Justice
How BY suffering instead of the sinner, and
20 that ne can be treated as good in spite of the
fact that he is not good This is the second act
IN this world drama of redemption
UNITARIANs IN THE WAY OF SALVATION.
Since that time God has been supposed to be
engaged in doing ali he could to sa-te men, The
Church has been organized, the Holy Spirit has
been at work for two thousand years trying TO
convert people, and We are to understand that
al the people from the beginning of the world
WHO nave not accepted this one atonement, this
only method Of salvation as fast as they have
died have gone down TO endless hell. Thousands
and thousands are plunging over the abyss
merely because ha
not accepted the one only condition of salvation
This is the outline Of human history according
10 what has come TO be called orthodoxy
whether il is the orthodoxy of the Catholic,
Greek Anglican, Presbyterian, Methodist
Baptist or any one Of hundred orthodox sects
NOW, every little while the quiet. calm peace
Of the churches is disturbed by some Jealous
people. who wish 10 rouse them to engage in
saving men. A curious condition Of affairs
churches organized for the very purpose of
saving men from the wrath of God need to be
stirred, stimulated. prayed with, preached at.
roused on every hand 10 make them care And
there are certain men. called revvaists, who
travel over the country TO wake up the churches,
to make them appreciate what they are in ex-
stence for. Certain of these revivalists have
attacked by name Unitarians because il
seemed to them that we specially stood in the
way Of the worlds being saved. And Unitarlans
and liberal orthodox persons Of other denomina-
tons have been very indignant and have re-
fused to Join in this work And yet Drs. Rob
right and unquestionably logical in their po
sition. If men fell in Adam and are under the
10 eternal pain unless they comply with the con-
ditions Of the Catholic or Protestant Church,
what ought the people in these churches to be
doing?
DOCTRINE OF DAMNATION IMMORAL
What do you think of the man who really be-
lieves this who is interested in fast horses
cares 10 have the finest trotting stables in the
country What do you think Of a woman who
really believes this who devotes her life to par
ties and balls and operas and social successes?
What do you think of men and women whose
main object IN life is TO make money, accumu-
late works Of art, delight themselves with liter
AZURE and with music? what DO you thlhk OF
orthodox Church members by the thousand who
seem never to think of it nor care, but devote
themselves TO everything else but the saving of
human souls2 When DR.. Broughton and DR..
Dixon say that Unitarianism is standing in the
way Of human salvation they are right-ff that
is the one condition Of human salvation. If that
is really the state of affairs. AS are con-
fronted by this curious conclusion, the better a
man is, If he is not converted, the worse he is,
NOW, is there any reason TO believe in the
STORY or the Garden of Eden the talking serpent,
Ewes eating an apple and getting Adam to share
il with her, Of Gods being angry with them on
account Of II and casting them out of the garden
ahd so establishing relation between them and
their unborn children that every man, woman
ana child in all the future history of the world
should be corrupt and worthy Of eternal death?
mere Is absolutely not one particle of proof on
the face Of the earth that any such thing is
true In the light Of our higher ideals, of ethics
Of right and wrong such doctrine as this is hid
enusly immoral. The doctrine of the fall of man
IN Adam and his condemnation to eternal death
on that account is Of the most immoral
JUST abominaions that ever entered into the
brain Of man. and for those who love the Naza-
rene as do, il is worth while to note that Jesus
never said anything about ibid not seem to
know il. II Is curious, il he did know IL, that
he did not mention il. and il is curious If the
old Prophets knew IL, that they should never
mention it, In tact, we know to-day that it is
Babylonan, Persian, fable borrowed by the
Jews as late the time Of their captivity it is
not even early Hebrew in its origin, and there is