The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-10-13
CAMERAS
T HE III. LIEBER COMPANY.
24 West Washington Street
WHITMAN AND RELIGION
A LECTURE BY EDWARD A. CAM
-TRELL, OF THE PEOPLES CHURCH.
The Poet Ignored Traditions I'm De-
cIaring Himself Omnfpotent-The
Movement "Back to Christ"

Edward A Cantreli. minister to the Peo-
pies Church, lectured last evening at Eng
lish's Opera House on whitman and the
Religion OF Democracy" He said IN part:
Between Whitman and other poets and
prophets was the difference of a world.
do not mean this as hyperbole, as a mere
figure OF speech. for you must remember
that new world came into existence dur
ing the last century-a new world of scien-
fff1c thought Into the garden of this new
world came Whitman like a second Adam,
rugged, original. elemental as the stars
over his head or as the soil under his feet
He knew no tradition, he knew no conven-
ffonalities- He stood in the midst Of the
world order and looked out upon it's mani
fold processes and pronounced on them.
All were good. To him the universe through
and through was beautiful and divine. He
accepted life joyously. No one just like
him had ever appeared before. and the peo-
pie of the old world-the world of ex-
illusions and pruderies and partitions
didn't know what 10 make of him. True,
few other poets had partially prepared
the way for his coming. Wordsworth and
Tennyson had suggested him; Goethe and
Emerson appropriated him. But he was
the first 10 enter the great, new world and
match its infinitudes with his own tower
ITO understand the difference between
Whitman and his predecessors you must
understand the difference between the old
world Of theological thought and the new
world of scientific investigation. In the old
world the drlSLOCrdtlC traditions mad not
only shaped governmental institutions, but
had impressed themselves on the religious
and theological conceptions of the people.
God was king. the monarchicaI maker, the
fmperialistic dictator OF all things Man
was a worm, a creature Of the dust, who
could approach God only in self-sbasement
been good, but through the Vaccinations
of the devil had become wholly bad All
was reserved under condemnation, awaiting
the final catastrophe, which meant eternal
IN 70 fha for 40 ~ Of tho hur roo
1t was a world of duaiisms and deviIisms.
and IL Is little wonder that sanity and
health were lost and that life was covered
with the artificial and the unreal.
THE new world is different; the universe
is one, and one part Is as divine as an
other. The earth is star in the heavens
and the celestial processes are here beneath
our feet. The forces are convertible and in
Interchangeable and the sum of these forces
is a law Of life. Size is relative, good and
bad are relative. AS the ever-wise Goethe
said said .Noth 1 , out 8, OF its place lis. is good
Whitman cane. and from this modern
viewpoint he looked upon all things and
judged all things He accepted the laws
OF nature as the expressions Of the divine
will In obedience TO these laws he found
his sacrament
"Cne point want to emphasize before
leave the discussion of Whitman's attitude
TO religious thought. L want to emphasize,
this in these days of professional cant anC
parrot-like repetitions of ancient phraseol
That Was Crucified,' he said:
MY spirit TO yours, dear brother;
" Do not mind because many sounding
your name do not understand you;
:" I do not sound your name. but under
stand you.
:" I specify you with Joy, o. my comrade
with you before and since-and those L
come also
=. I do not sound your name He does no
sound the name because he does not under
stand. because he does really appreciat
the work that Jesus did in His generation
think can make you understand this at
fitude Of the poet. You who have eve
loved any one deeply and passionatel,
know how very sacred becomes the nam
Of the loved One-So sacred, in fact, tina
you scarce speak IL yourself. You do no
stand on the street corner shouting thi
love TO the multitude, and you would n
more tolerate the use or that name in Levitt
than you would tolerate a vulgar jest abou
your mothSf. So, when man really come
TO appreciate the work OF Jesus the nam
becomes sacred to him. and he no NOR
thinks of shouting the name from tn
housetop than he thinks about shouting tn
name OF any other loved one. Whitma
would have us know that the divine is 4
ourselves 1t is not by shouting any name
1t is not by initiating any character how
ever exalted, that we come TO our fulles
boy there was an exemplary young fellov
IN our community 10 whom my father woul
moral or adorn a tale. He wanted me I
be like Jimmy Blank. IL was Jimmy thi
and Jimmy that until at last. in my righte
Gus Indignation. 1 rose up one day and as
serted my own individuality and saiC
Damn Jimmy. And IL seems TO me tina
there - something like this at the bottoI
OF the religious protest in modern life. w
have teen hearing the puerile cry, Back
Christi and we have been having men eC
iting newspapers as Christ would have theI
edited. and IL is Jesus this and Jesus ths
In business and politics and society unit
some are ready 10 say, Damn Jesus, any
way: Not that they really want to dam
Him. for they probably reverence Him MOI
than do those who are shouting His nam
but they are heartily tired OF the philosoph
OF imitation. Let US quit the cry OF BAG
TO Christi and say. on TO Christhood: O
10 the Messianic lfer Every man is
Christ potentially and what we need is ii
education. the embodiment unto the realiz;
ton OF the divine life"