The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-10-21
H..

1t was the palmy day Of Unitarianism when
Mr. McCulloch lived as n young men In Poston
We find on page 81 some interesting comments
on this denomination: 1t still numbers In It's
clergy james Freeman Clarke. Edward Everett
Hale. NJ j, Savage and otner men OF merited
distinction. but besides these IL can no longer
point TO as is champions such men IA Charming,
Dewey. Ware. Lowell. GGnnett, Whitman,
Cpham, Nichols and Walker. The causes OF
this decline are obvious, UnItarianism Is ali
intellectual faith; 1t fails TO meet the natural
craving for a religion that appeals TO feeling
and enlsts the sensibilities 1t neither claims
Divine origin nor to be the only door through
which entrance IL 20 b obtained 70 the Divine
life. Az the beliefin the supernatural dies out the
religious sentiment weakens. There never has
been aud probably there never will be a deep.
settled. widespread religious faith that Is not
basel upon IL claims to supernatural ordlna-
ton This " not claimed for their faith by
Cnitarlans. There are very few OF this de-
nomination who believe In the plennry Inspira-
tion OF the Scriptures or who regard the Bibls
as anything more than a national and literary
history Of the Jewish nation. covering a long
period and largely made up Of Jewish traditions
Of the creation and Jewish notions Of the char
acter OF the Deity: the most wonderful of books.
but not The product ~ Divine inspiration. Then.
too. the form Of worship In Unitarian churches
Ia severely simple There Is nothing In II 10
| please the eye OF to excite the fancy. II lacks
the ceremony and ponp which render worshipi In
Catholic churches to ordinary men 80 Interesting.
Unltarisns are. OF course. tolerant. and tolerance
In theology Ia an evidence Of tho ahsence Of
strong conviction. Much as liberation is COM
mendod. no church that fnvors It can ever be
numerically strong. The church whose claims
are the highest will always have the largest
following. Charity may cover a multitude
OF sins. but the church that throws the broad
mantle Of charity over churches of a Different
faith will not be permanently strong In It's
membership The growth and permanency OF
the Catholic Church are LARGELY the result OF
It's claims TO infsllibiiity. Admirable az It IL
in It's organizstion-ths most perfect that has
ever e1lsted-it would lose its hold upon the
PEOPLE II this claim 10 infallibiIty were relin-
pushed. and II It should become so liberal to-
ward other denominations as 70 admit that
there could be safety for those around whom It
had not thrown It's protecting arms,
Mr., MoCulooh recalls with satisfaction the
remarkable progress. in liberalism OF thought
and feeling which has been witnessed since the
-thirties." For 100 wears Purtanism held
the New England churches In It's IRON grasp.
When the grasp was loosened. a reaction took
place, and liberal thought asserted Itself with
a power which seemed to have been ~lnvlsor-
ated by is long suppression. and yet, strange
al II now seems. II was a long time before the
people Of New England became 80 tolerant as
to sanction a free expression Of anti-sIavery
II was long after this emancipa-
ton Of thought that such mon az Garrison and
Phillips were nobbed in Boston, aud that Miss
Mnrtineau. who had been received with open
arms by the cultured society u that city, was
socially ostrscized BY the sans society as soon
a. AIe Was known N be in pronounced sym
patty with the anti-slavery leaders. II ia
still more strange that the strongest supporter
Of the peculiar institution were found in the
churches. To their honor IL must be said
that the Unitarian churches. under the head
Of DR.. Chanting. were the first to break
ground against slavery. II was noticeable
that the position of the churches In regard TO
this great question was. In most GASES. defined
by their oreeds- The churches whose corner
stone was the nleH1ry inspirations of the $ rip
lures, which sanctioned slavn~v. could not re-
gard it In the United States a. being sinful. or
inconsistent with D vine justice. The really
earnest anti-sla very men AMI women wee
either those Who had no fellowship with tho
churches, and did not hesitate 10 d6nDunce
them ns supporters Of slavery. or the mor-
bers OF churches who, while olln2iug to tia
B'b.e, did not believe that MI its teachings wee
1'' NV "'' HNN'A - " 90 NV lAA'Nt Va k'N tlH IL
ment oi nations in 4 progressive civilization
A whole chapter Is devoted b. the author
Of these "reminiscences TO Henry Uard Beecl,r.
who Was. II seems. ono Of the earlie-t acoua.nt-
ances madN by him in Ind ana after hi, removal
from Boston % that State, In 1880 Mr.. Beecher
had become the aston Of a New School Pre- h =
terrain Church at Ind ana oils. and he con-
timed TO rrsach 10 that congregation until
1877. when he accepted a call to BROOKLYN.
Mr.. McCuloch notes that "his sormons, h0'h
In style and tories. we're quite Different from
those which had been heard In Presbyterian
prlnIts, Thev wero in some respects IKE
those Of tie presiding elders Of the Methodi~t
Church, but broader, les doctrinal. and much
more varied in subjects. II wa4 religion
not theology, that was preached bv Mr. .Beecher. /
Christianity wa, In his Estimation the moral
purifier OF the word. Adapted 10 al cond- I
ions OF mankind II was the only foundation |
upon which social order and free government
could safely rest. The religion Of which no
was the advocate wa not a syptem Of doc
trims. belief In which was neoessary for either
present. or future Happiness but a system Of
which love waS tho oornsrStons. and active
bsnevolcnce, unseldSh efforts for the WE'LL
being OF others and personal purity wers the
leg results. In ooriousneSs OF Ian.
guaSs and faculty Of illustration he eScelled
all men whom | have heard He was one OF
the very few preachers who could be fo,lowad
and understood b. ever body. He WAS nernr
above the EVE OF ord nary conn reteIsjon
and he rarely offended the most high, cultl-
waited taste nv language Of a low order. FS-
cspt for extraordn arv occasions. Mr.. Beecher's
sermons we're not deliberately PREPARED They
were rather the outcome Of observation In
his walk. and in his Intercourse with the pe,ple
than OF his stud OF books. Thcy were ire
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