The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-04-20
ATTACKS CONVERSION THEORY
DR.. FAGNANI or UNION DECLARES
CHRISTsS CAUSE ESSENTIAL

And Conversion to Christ's Person the
Least Important Part--The naster's
Service saivafion and Hb TeacAtng
Alone the Gospel of Christianity.
The Rev. DR.. Charles p FaEnani Of Union
Theological Seminary preached yesterday
morning In the First Union Presbyterian
Church on some Of the social aspects Of
Christianity. He attacked the doctrine
Of the Presbyterian Church and Of most
Protestant churches. that conversion In
wolves only conversion to the person Of
Christ.
Conversion Is supposed by most peopSe,
he said, to be q turning from sin to secure
dehverance from penalty-a change from
an immoral Life to Q life Of righteousness.
But that said he. lis only part Of the
truth and the least important part. De-
hverance from sin Ia only incidental and
preliminary. II Ia not the essence Of con-
version, but follows merely as q preim-
mary requisite
The essence OF conversion, DR.. Fagnani
said, lay not In turning to the person Of
Christ, but In the conversion to the cause
which Christ introduced and founded and
for which he died. .Christ's SERVICE
he asserted. is salvation itself, and With
out that service there Is not the salvation
The degree Of salvation, he declared, de-
pends upon the degree Of devotedness
to the cause.
The conversion Of James and John and
other disciples, DR.. Fagnani said, was not
attended by any change In their moral life.
They were not rescued, he said, for they
were not In danger, but were living clean,
pure lives when they were converted. They
were merely converted to the cause OF
Christ. Paul also, he said, was not trans
formed morally by conversion, for his CON-
version rs. consisted only in his change from
TO an ardent defender Of them. he con-
tinued:
Do you know that popular misconce ption
SS ny 90 Tar "a as 70 ass r that Christ
ono simply pr! aches His t achings His y ach-
that Chris, alone IL not onoush, that we must
sSoss things. e SSs t e The snS lss
that y sus CHRIST prs ach. q the sse, noe Of
did cannot add " anything ess ntiui nt to he
Chr st and what Is rsoordrd Of His t. achinss
we have this summs @ IN the Lords Pr PTay T
The st may be instru ctive. but IL not es-
e. g, initial We must put aside the vast msss
the Gospel for 90 long.
DR.. Fagnani said that II conversion was
realized as conversion TO the cause OF Christ
and not to bis person, a. was Get down In
Church doctrines now, many things which
we're hard to understand under present
conditions would he clear. Said he:
There would be no abstruse doctrines,
One would have simply to make up his mind
wht Their or not he was pre- pared to join the
cause and work for It, child could under
Sand There would b no need OF any ex-
traordinary sSpl ~ nc 3; oonvtrsion would be
a calm, simple and desirable experiences.
II this view was accepted many Of the
denominational barriers and separations
would he broken down. he said. No Church
could stand up then and preach Preeby-
terianism or Methodisn,. All would have
TO preach the cause not the Church and
would become Indispensable.
Among other things DR.. Fagnani said
that the Christianity Of Christ had regard
more to the present life than to the future,
that the Kingdom of God is concerned with
sickness Just as much as with sin, and that
ought to be concerned with
the tenements more than the cathedrals,
and with the sewers more than sermons.