Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-03-16
The One Momentous Event.

L
A letter from the Rev. DR.. Savage,
istic view of Jesus: and it is a view
which justifies the theory Of the con-
duct of life of those who take it. Under
it they are justified in criticising the
teachings of the Gospels, as regards
their applicability to the conditions of
civilization in its present development.
DR.. Savage looks on Jesus as simply
the great radical reformer and leader
OF his age" "a manly, noble, heroic
figure" but man purely of natural
birth. and. therefore, criticisable.
All this is Ineligible, reasonable:
and unquestionably. it is the view of
very large number of people who con-
form outwardly to the churches which
proclaim the dogma of the supernatural
Incarnation as the cornerstone of the
Christian religion and theology, includ-
ing many nominally orthodox clergy
men, and professional teachers of the
ology These may not fatty announce
their agreement with DR.. Savage, but
it is the only conclusion logically in
ferable from their more or less becloud-
ed arguments.
avowed Unitarians, are the believers
Jesus. Nominally, at least, they in
clude the whole membership of the
churches called orthodox.
Accordingly, in writing of Christmas,
we describe it as the commoration of
the only really momentous event in
the history of mankind, If that faith is
justified. If God came down to earth
and became man nineteen hundred and
three years ago or at any date in his
tory, and taught to men by word of
mouth His will, and pointed out to them
the only way of salvation, what else
has ever happened which was relative
ly of any significance? The search to
discover the meaning of existance and
to unravel its problem. to find out mans
chief end, and to give gertrude to tho
course for him to pursue, was ended,
il there was such an Incarnation.
DIR. Savage in his letter. misappre-
shends the point made by us. He
denies the church dogma of the 1ncar-
nation, and undertakes to prove that
Christmas, as festival was borrowed
from paganism, and that in the early
church. there was no common agree
ment of belief in the Trinity. But that,
as it is now, the church, Catholic and
Protestant, rests on the dogma of the
Incarnation, on the appearance of God
on earth, in the Virgin birth OF Jesus as
a fact of history, as indisputable.
If Christians believe in the Incarna-
ton and the words of Jesus as eX-
pressions of the Divine will and wisdom
are they proceeding in a way which
bears witness to the reality of their
faith? That was our point. Are they
acting as if the whole problem of mans
mortal existence was solved finally by
the birth at Bethlehem? In words, they
confess belief in the dogma of lncarna-
ton, but in the conduct of their lives,
as expressed in the development of the
civilization of Christendom, are they
testifiing to the sincerity and reality Of
a belief that God became man nearly
two thousand years ago and in human
speech taught them generally and
specifically how to regulate their lives
so as to conform to His will?
AS DR.. Savage does not believe in
the Incarnation, our words, of course,
are not applicable to him. He denies
the miraculous conception and birth of
Jesus, and regards him only as sthc
great radical reformer and leader of
his age" with the limitations of knowl-
edge and the fallibility inseparable from
humanity. That is, he leaves the prob
lem of existence unsolved and insoluble
except so far as science shall be able to
solve 1t. But for the believer in the
dogma OF the Incarnation, that one
event In actual history, settled the
whole question for the yorld. Is he act
ing as if he believed in 1t as he believes
in the record of the coronation of King
Edward, for example? Does the civil
ization of Christendom indicate that
that belief is truly in the hearts Of men?