The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-11-10
SUNDAY SERMON.
George II. Hepworth in the New W.
Herald)


Herald)
'One Lord, one faith, one baptism
Ephesians Tvs.
In our religious opinions We mas
differ, but in our religious feelings NJ,
are all alike.
Hunger is pretty nearly the sam.
thing in everybody, and so is our graz
ification when it is satisfied; but eaa
man has a personal preference as Il
the kind of food he desires.
In like manner, worship is almos, .,
equal necessity with all of u.s. and ths
peace of mind which is the result n
worship is almost equally the charae.
teristic of each one; but our opinions
as to the nature of the God To whom
we kneel may differ very materially
In our souls we are close together
but in our minds We are Very 70,
apart.
One kind of theology appeals to ma
but to you perhaps it is repugnant
Your theology, in turn, is entirely SAT.
isfactory to you, while to me it Is by
no means acceptable. Our theology is
not any more the result of reasoning
than it is of temperament The man
with a somber nature will inevitably
gravitate toward the terrors Of the
Lord and unconsciously avoid the
| hopeful passages Of Scripture, while
the man who was born an optimist win
| ignore these so-called terrors and cling
to the forgiveness of the Father ss an
| ivy clings to the oak.
! 1t is impossible to make those two
men think alike. and if it were possible
it would be cruel to do so. A theOlOg-
ical standard which demands that YOU
and / shall hold the same convictions
! and which denounces those who hon
estly differ from it involves a spiritual
1 crime. The influences which prevailed
before our birth and which decided the
point Of view from which we should
look at the universe have put it beyond
our power to see what Others see who
occupy a different point of view. Char
ity, therefore, toward conflicting Opin
ions, is the first duty of a church
whose mission is to benefit and bless
mankind.
But the human heart is the sane
everywhere. In the realm of feeling Of
aspiration, We are members OF the
same family. You and l may never
come within many a degree of latitude
of each other SO far as our mental
conclusions are concerned but We can
clasp hands when we speak Of poverty,
of self-sacrifice and of love. In uT
speculations you may go to the Nam
pole, while l travel toward the Sun
pole, but in our feelings we both stand
side by side on the equator and "a
the Lords Prayer in unison.
On looking over an old hymn boos
was greatly impressed by starting
fact. All the representative hymns
sung by all the congregations OF Chrls,
tendon were there. To my surprise
found that they were not written py
men who agreed, but by men who dl'
, fered in their theology. There wen
, verses by a Quaker, other verses WIZ
, ten by a Catholic, Others still py
, Unitarian, and still others from l'
. pen of a stern Calvinist. The writer
!, forgot to be theologians and eXpresse.
, the deeper longings of the heart ~
, confidence in the fatherhood OF y"
and it's belief in that other life Whel
, families will be reunited and the lac
! of the Christ shall be like the sun
; shine which fills the day with light
, And / said, when we speculate eau
!, man thinks for himself, but when v
worship we worship all together. :"
may kneel at the Roman Cathonc a.
-
$ Quaker meeting house-if we lay asia
e our theology and look to heaven WI W
!, reverent hearts. we all belong 10 u j.
$ same omination-namely, the "
: nomination of the children OF uVu,
h matters not who wrote the hymn t''
n lifts us. If he wrote it in the splIt
e worship he wrote it for the VIM
r world. =,
Y When we live on the surface u e. :.
Il we have the theological anatheildS - =
those who do not agree win Us,
:, when we stand where Christ stoOu,
r the place where He laid the COZ ~.
stone of religion, we are all one v" =
: an equal longing in our hearts ~ -
Y consciousness of divine brollei Va
a and with the same inviting nea ,,
n above us like the roof of a great 10
C pie. 80,
The more nearly We live the ny
o Christ the closer we find ourselves
It each other. We are separated py W,
: ions-that is, by our intellectual III /
n tricities; we are drawn togethei
q charity, sympathy and love. ,ror
II The profoundest needs OF this UT "o
are honesty which cannot De Ge i,r.,o
2. from the line of duty, a hlsh pr' IN
# which puts God in the place u IN
It conceit, a faith which crowns "a an
o eousness as our imperial lldS'1' hea,
n a spiritual outlook which MAKES I.ipl
re en- and the earthly home ciose ..ar 4
e bors. Then we shall work tose'5+n
e the establishment of the klisuV
} God and the reign of brotheriy
u
a -rD,,- ~unNtTpy