The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-03-18
LOVE INSTEAD OF FEAR.
The Rev. Edward Everett Hale on
New Century Reiiginn

Rev. DIR. Edward Everett Hale. at yes
terday mornings service prea ched to a
congregation which completely filed every
available space in All Souls Church cor
ner of Fourteenth and l. Streets north
west. 1t the day fixed for the annual
contribution TO the American Unitarian
Association. the executive missionary or
der of the Unitarian Church of the United
States and Canada. DR. Hale selected his
text from st. John iv:24 God is a spirit.
and they that worship him must worship
him in spirit and in truth In the course
of his sermon the eminent and venerable
divine said:
For the liberal church of America and
to thousands of leaders. and hundreds of
thousands of workers in that communion
God has given the direction of the reli-
gion of America for the next century. In
a thousand revelations of himself he offers
what it is fair to call a new religion of
the new century; so much wider is it's
range, so much higher its flights. so much
more profound its study, above what the
torpid theologies of the Dark Ages and
the last century can pretend to. The pull
pit of the medieval church is ordered TO
proclaim doctrines which the preachers
do not believe.
They are TO say that man is child
( of the devil when they know that he is
not and when they do not believe there
is any devil. They are to say that u
few in every hundred of men are elect
/ by Gods predestination; that the rest are
all damned. They know that this is not
true, but the authority of their creed
compels them to say ii is.
ITO this rightly of creed-three cen
turtles old. four centuries old, fourteen
centuries old-are the pulpits bound. The
liberal church cannot use the machinery
which has been created by the old
creeds; it's mission is too large; the de-
mandS OF II are too cXacting Happily,
however. Gods grace is abundant The
world is Gods world and what is 10 be
established is Gods kingdom, that his
reign may come To do this it does re-
quire the machinery of the past. 1t calls
for the common work of ali Gods
children. How great a thing it is that
we should be called the sons of God.
The declaration is that Of absolute
religion, and 1t is the religion of the
future. Man shows the divine nature
when he chooses. The well-beloved Son
OF God came and lived and died, that all
Of US. as sons and daughters Of God
might enter into Gods work and go
about his business. This world is TO be The
Kingdom OF Cod God with us not God
with me. or you, or him-God with US all
That may be its motto. To proclaim and
establish this religion is the privilege and
responsibility of the liberal church of
America.
The Unitarian Church regards man as
the child Of God. This is a fact and not
a metaphor. God is Our Father in truth
and not rs a matter Of affectiOnate ex-
preston. We are his children in truth.
and We are all his children. From this
central truth all statements Of total de-
pravity or original sin-fall away, as wa
ter drops from hot iron. We have no part
or lot with them We take the newborn
child as the child of God. train him as the
child Of Cod. treat him as child of God,
bid him pray 10 God as child prays TO
a father, and trust him as a child trusts
q father. He is never 10 be afraid of God.
He is to consult God about everything,
and work with him about everything.
Man and God are together. ana nobody
ana nothing are to part them. Least Of
all shall any form Of religion put them
aS1lpder