The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1902-12-22
UNITARIAN CHRISTMAS SERMON.
Dr. Savage Denounces the New Testament
Birth story As siur on W0manhoOd.

The Rev. DIR. Minot j. Savage preached
IN the Church of the Messiah yesterday on
The Birth of Jesus and pronounced the
New Testament stories of that event un-
true and revolving. He said in part:
There Il no GOOD reason in the New Tesla
ment. or in the early Church history. for
the belief that Jesus was God. ! believe.
and ! assure you that all the best. the I'M
biased scholarship Of the world il bao ok of
this statement. that Jesus was born In Naza-
feth, that his father was Joseph and his mother
Mary, about the year b C. The month.
the date of the month nobody knows There
IL not time now for me to explain how II
happened that the 2Sth Of December was
decided upon. but II was decided upon after
much controversy and was not generally
accepted throughout the Church until some
time In the fourth century.
! believe that Jesus was man believe In
the divinity of man; believe In the humanity
OF GOD DO not believe that h there there Is any
and ours that needs to be bridged by any
unnatural and stupendous miracle. The
doctrine OF the deity of Jesus is part of a
scheme the .characteristics Of which are
pessinism. disaster, despair, II Is part OF
q scheme OF theology that begins with the
eternal loss and woe of the immense ma jority
Why should We go back and burden our
a ges Of the worlds Ignorance and barbarism
We know nov-it is no question OF dogmatic
statement-that there has never been any
fall OF man, and that there is no need In the
nature OF things for any such thing as the
coming OF God into the world by unnatura
mo, holds to deliver man from condition
The priests, the ecclesiastics. the Church
OF any name that still holds TO these dogmatic
ideas the great maJorly OF them 90 not not
fall Of man or everlasting punishment. and
yet they keep mp the form Of mainta lining a
sfediisd IN the lsht " OF modern snowlease
foundest conviction. and appeal TO you to
OF the virgin birth Is a slur on womanhood
IL IL slur on fatherhood; y is a slur on our
.ccncep,ion Of The Divine This doctrine that
sarily impure In sex In the, relations Of men
and women. was spawned In the NTH OF
Oriental imasinatonss prartent and fGlse
minds or their bodies clean; II Is an Oriental
stigma on human nature and on God; Why
We healthy minded. vigorous men and
women, who believe that God knew what he
was doing when he created the present order
humanity rotten at the very core' Are not
babes born Of father love, and mother love
swee, and pure' Must child come m, i1 ,o thG
That is the implication out OF which this has
come
And TINS doctrine not only DStnNtileS
the white purity OF human love, but II de.
grades our whole conception OF human nature
Must we believe that when some supreme mar
appears he Is not man at ALP u so, why
Merely because we have been taught fol-
hundreds and hundreds OF years that hu,
manity Is not capable OF anything high and
| fine.
II Jesus was God, then It + mere mocker,
| to talk OF his being tempted. What Ia 1t u
| Inc that God could face q mob In angry oppo
| sltion and not quail? What L. It. to me thai
| God could come into this world IN n human
body and be crucihed' That whole seen,
| outside the walls OF Jerusalem " theatrical
silly. meanin Rless. n Jesus was God o
| course God could do all these things, knew
| that before What l wish to know. II 1t i
to help thrill, inspire, Mt and mould my life
| l. that man can can he tempted and be man
| Let me know that and great coura &c come
| into my soul; He Ia my leader. He IL my In
| spiration, He Il my fort. He II my guide,
The light Of the world, Of all It's scholarship
| OF all Its finest thinking, points this way
| 1t IL only the ignorance. the prejudice, tn
groundlcss traditions OF the past. Insulting
| to God and dishonorahle to man. that supper
| II" old, outVrown Ideas; Let us fenrlessly .thel
| front the light and follow the leadership o
the Master rs lie leads us into the presenc
OF Hls Father and our Father. His God ant
| our God