The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1902-05-07
NONE IS CHRISTIAN
Churches Disregard Messiah's
Teachings, Says Rev. Simmons.
il ,,.--... =. = ''
DEFENSE OF THE UNITARIANS'
Minneapolis Preacher Addresses the
Conference in Chicago and Scores
. Other Denominations. .,.--
Special to The Journal.

special TO Inc JOuE4a1.
Chicago, May THE, semi centennial
celebration Of the Unitarian conference is
being neld here. Ten states are repre-
serted in the conference, which takes in
the northern half of the Mississippi val
ley. Rev. Robert Collyer, D.. D., of New
York. spoke last night at the opening
session on 'tMy Ministry in Chicago
This morning Morton Dennison Hull.
the president, called the conference prop
er to order. This afternoon hist orical
session was held, at which Rev. F. C.
Southworth. Rev. Rush Rhees Chippen of
Brocton, Mass, spoke of 'tThe Birth. of the
Conference" Rev. Jenkin Lloyd Jones
had '"The Renaissance as his theme and
Rev H. M. Simmons of Minneapolis told
of ,tThe Period of Storm and Stress
In closing his talk Mr.. Simmons said:
Churches No Longer Christian.
A word about the charge that we are not
Christian. What church is? The early
church was; but with the growth of forms
and worldly power a great change came
Edmond Kelly's new book bids US remember
that from Constantine's day "the Christian
church ceased to be Christian and has never
since been So. ------.-.---- -. ..
Christianity, which was life, has be-
come instead creed and ritual. When asked
II Christianity was a success, one replied
that it had not been tried, and to see how
u,
Christ's own words.
Carlyle said you could fire pistol through
a|church with no danger of hitting a Chris
tian. Ruskin wrote that English churchmen
treated the very decalogue as 1.-The ten
crotchets of Moses selling opium in China
at the cannons mouth, and changing the
highwayman's your money or your life
into your money and your life." He cited
the opium trade for England. had not then
sunk to the Boer war, -....-.s. -. -.
Unitarfans have dsobeyed Christ no more
than others, and have not made the dis
obedience worse by defyng him. The least
Christian would seem to be those who say
that Christ was very God, but we need not
obey him" E-...;
They say his commands about, property
are infallible; but If you keep them, the
very church will call you a fool. His COM
mands about brotherhood are divine; but
II you apply them to our dealings with other
nations the very clergy will denounce you as
a traitor. They say he ordered us to love
our enemies, but We may loot them. He
babe offer the cheek to those who smite
us, but we may lombard and blow into shreds
those who have not smtten us. He ordered
us to forgive the offender 400 times, but we
must not forgive those who are only defend
ing their own land and families.
So we send great army into foreign lands
where it has no more moral right. to be than
Russian army has in Illinois; We brand
as rebels those who try to protect their
wives and daughters against it: we torture
them with the water cure" burn their
towns, butcher their children "above the
age Of TO-" and then if there are any left,
we shall send missionaries to teach them
how we adore the Christ who forbade all
these crimes and died to prevent them
Continual Crucifixion.
I, too, have kept Good Friday every day for
the last four years; not for Christ's brief
crucihxion by unbelievers, but for his con-
tinual crucifxion by Christendom ITSELF, not
for harmless burial from which he rose
right away, but for this infinitely sadder
burial from which he has not risen yet and
from which there is so little sign that the
church even wants him to rise
After the long abuse Of the Christian name
am not eager to be called by it, but have
the frmest faith in the teachings Of Christ
himself, and hope that Unitarians may try
to show Christendom how to BE Christian