The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-10-15
PREACHERS FAVOR
A LIBERAL SPIRIT
Unitarians Should Not be Ex-
GUIDED from Conference
LOCAL MINISTER'S TALK
Dr.. Stage Is Conservative But Drs.
Ewing, Dickinson and Duncan Are
Strongly on Side of Friendly
Relations With Unitarians.

Few topics have been more earnestly
discussed in church circles than the re-
cent action of the executive committee OF
the Interchurch conference to be held in
New York In November excluding the
Unitarian delegates from the body.
The Interchurch gathering is to be in
many respects the most important Pro-
testant convention ever held.
Following are the views of well known
Birmingham ministers:
The Rev. J. A. Duncan.
The Rev. DIR. J. A. Duncan, pastor of
the First Methodist church, said
ut is rather startling in this day to
find men drawing the line on question
of theology when they are planning to
discuss the great question OF Christian
federation. l do not know on what
ground the leaders OF the movement
justify the exclusion of the Unitarians
They call themselves followers of Christ,
and IL men are to be known by their
fruits certainly such a man as DR.. Everett
Edward Hale would be called Christian
81 think 1t highly probable that there
will be men in the convention who would
not care to publish their views either
| on the incarnation or on the question of
future punishment. The average man to-
day knows but little of theology and cares
| less.
| In the Unitarian church there Is al
most every shade of belief. James Free
| man Clarke's Life and Times of Jesus,
| is quite orthodox enough for the great
| inr nf Trinifariap rIpryvplpn The
very fact that a theological question is
raised at the outset shows that the day
| of genuine Christian federation is as yet
very far off,"
The Rev. Quincy Ewing.
The Rev. Quincy Ewing, rector of the
| Episcopal Church of the Advent, said:
ut Is exhibition of littleness and
narrowness that l should have thought
| would have been impossible to men capa-
BILE of taking a prominent part in the
affairs of the Interchurch conference
| The affront to the thousands of noble
| Christian men and women who make up
| the Unitarian body, seems to me utterly
inexcusable and not less to be deplored
and condemned is the exclusion of Roman
| Catholics from any part in the confer
ence, unless they themselves wished to
| have 1t so.
| How long will 1t be, | wonder. before
| the spirit of a stupid and evil ecclesiastic-
| ism will cease calling to mind for its con-
| demnation these lines of Swinburne's:
Face loved of little children. long ago,
| Head hated of the Priests and Rulers
then,
Say, was not this Thy passion to fore
| known
| In Thy deaths day the deeds of Chris
tan mem!
THAT spirit which exalts creed above
character, metaphysics above morality,
| and has perhaps been this earth's bane,
| as nothing else has been its bane, since
earth began. that spirit, which has
| been for nineteen centuries the only
| anti-C Christ and Christian disciple has
| needed to fear-the only heresy and the
only hereto any Christian church has
| needed to mathematics! 1t assumes many
forms, 1t puts GESTURE many
pieties, 1t blesses and curses in many
tongues but always in essence 1t Is the
same spirit, whether presiding over the
| Sanhedrin or showing Calico into his
dungeon, or burning Servetus. or fighting
| the discoveries of anaesthetics. maxi
| ing mouths at the inventor of the light
ning-rod. or burning old women for
witches. by most certain warrant of
| Scripture'-or excluding the delegates of
| the great Unitarian church from a con-
| ference of Christian workers!
Are the Unitarians assuredly heretics,
unrepentant non-professors of vital doc
| trine of the faith? Then 1t would seem
the sound members of the conference,
needing no repentance, should have well
coined the opportunity of getting In close
touch with their erring brothers and
| impartng to them a Whit or smack at
| least, of their own soundness. Or they
might, at any rate, sure of their own
soundness. have risked meeting with such
men as the Rev Edward Everett Hale,
| Dr. Samuel A. Elliot and the Hon. John
d. Long. and given them an aural, oral
and ocular demonstration of what 1t Is
| to believe In Jesus Christ He ought
| to be believed in.
EFT is passing strange that men so
sound in the faith, with such very mis-
sionary hearts, should have let slip such
splendid opportunity to exhibit their
soundness-and make converts without a
trip to China or Japan! Can 1t possibly
be that they lack faith In their faith $
power possibly to make converts of such
men as DR. Hale, DR.. Eliot and ex-Sec-
rotary Long?
| "Dr. Roberts, president of the executive
COMMITTEES. SAYS that invitations to the
conferences were issued only to those
churches which 1t was felt were In suf-
fcient agreement one with another TO
secure efficient help in the line OF FED
Grafton. Does DR. Roberts really suppose
| that the only dogmas which separate
churches from one another, today, widely
and vitality. are the dogma of Christ's
divinity and the dogma of papal infallibil-
| itvq Truly a marvellous agreement Is that
among the orthodox churches, witnessed
| TO by their many spires In every city and
town their many publishing concerns and
| theological training schools, all existing
because the learned doctors of each
church are convinced that in that church
and that only Is true scriptural orthodoxy
| to be had.
"Does DIR. Roberts not know, for In
| stance. that one leading Protestant church
will not permit regularly-ordained min
| ister of any other Protestant church TO
stand before Its affairs, or even preach
| Christ in Its pulpits. and that in hundreds
| Of the churches of one of the largest Pro-
tentant denominations in the land, the
| members in good standing of other de-
nominations are excluded from participa-
| lion I'm the sacrament of the Lords sup
per?
Or Roberts should keep better pace
with Professionalism exuberant and pro-
| gressive ability to protest and disagree.
''If / am not mistaken, very eminent
Unitarian divine. Unitarian In his theolo-
gy, whatever his church connection,
preached here last winter In the pulpits
| of two of our most orthodox churches. I
think nobody was hurt by him. think
| he did us all good. those who heard and
those who read what he had to say. And
I am quite sure nobody and no cause
~ Itttfh xtf hp mr. ar