The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-04-03
At THE FORKS Of
ROAD IN RELIGION
Rev. Frank Fay Eddy Uses This
as His Theme for a
Sermon.
ORTHODOX ROAD is
MUCH WANTED ONE


At the First Unitarian church Sun
day Rev. Frank Fay Eddy preached on
at the Forks OF the Road In Religion"
Unity quartettc sang an anthem and the
oflertory solo was sang by Joseph E.
Poll DIT Eddy said, in part:
New England roads mcander; they nrc care
lors and IeIsur"y, Thoy wander for miica hH-
side tho streams md rivers crossing at somo
natural ford or where O bridge could be con-
structcd with the loast difficulty In them
thero IA slavish devotion to tho straigh,
line. az Is the case I'm most Western States
They never surrendered to tho gods OF plumb
line and compass. A New England road has
unComfoEt Ia BILE convictions about etrniEht line
being tho shortest distance between two pointA
but rather goes around trouble, avoiding tho
bogs end hills seeking consistently the limo OF
least resistance. Characteristic Of these roads
are tho corners These are the points whero
the road forks These corners are not square
corners. by any means, with two uncompromis-
Ing and undertaking highways interscctng each
othcr AZ rleht angles In VOW England tne
new rood seems To part company with tho old
, Eame general direction. and the stranger IL
oftcn puzzled as 10 which one to pursue when
Is and tho corner Is not OF Humclent impor-
tanco TO have one of the queer little general
stores with n postoilico in one corner, which
arc located oycry few miles.
Where Modern Man Stands
Let tho above stand for Illustration Tho
modern man, II seems 10 me, Is Just At present
standing at the forks Of the road in rc-
llelon Hc ia advancing Into a new country
from the land OF pasI cxporience. BY many
roads and paths he has advanced this far. and
suddenly these many ways, which he long
conceived TO be dlvorgont and distinct seem
to have merged together. But not for long
can We be content 70 travel this broad high
thus Unexpectedly met, have hardly cried
Good day TO each other before they rcnlzo
that they must part again. Mctnphorically
thcy nre standing at the fork OF the roads
which enter the land OF the future, and Fate
Let me here Introduce my text. 1t is tho
proclamation Of Jesus: Il am the way the
truth and the NO no man eometh to The
this enigmatlc sentence is painted threc
eudeboards pointing toward three roads lead
ing from Prcsent-day corners. Below this SEN
tcnce on each guidebOard may suppose other
directions TO appear. on one would bc written
New Orthodoxy" and on the third TO Hctero-
Jesus Christ We must separate and take our
various why's, which appear TO go I'm tho same
general direction and for aught We know may
again bring us together farthcr along on tho
journey toward the Kingdom
The Right Way.
Tho wav OF orthodoxy Is the way OF author
lty: Orthodoxy means the right way, and IT
follows that somewhere thcro must DO an
thorlty to determine the rightness OF tho way
Tradition playo Its part here. but usually when
fashioned out OF tradition or based upon tra-
dltion we &c. holy church OF sacred book
Thus the orthodoxy OF Christianity is OF two
Kinds, each supported by authority; one form,
that OF Roman and Greek Catholicism, as
sumcs to be authorized By tho Bible or
the sacred beck and by the church the holy
institution. the other form, that OF evangelical
Professionalism. relies FOR authority upon the
Eible alone
In general sense each OF these would in
terprct our text In similar way. They would
say that Jesus Christ came to redeem fallen
humanity from tho penalty or their sinful
nature Christ becomes the divine instrument
other way. This Is declared BY tho authority
OF revelation AMI cHpounded by tho church.
in II the marshaicd rnnEs under leaders
tramp steadily ard stolidly on.
Where Next Guideboard Points.
The next guideboard points TO the way Of
new orthodoxy, so-called. but which would
be better named. perhaps the pscudo-ortho-
do1y This n nav and indoterminate phaoe
OF faith and likely enough n transient one 1t
orthodoxy has lost the old submsslve belief
In tho authorities az expressed in n holy church
and sacred revelation. 1t is also plain that 1t
ls inclined to lay stress ethics with tho
corrolary OF salyation by character.
II Is phase OF religion that is Just emcrg-
luS Into Soli consciousness. We OF tho out
and-out liberal camp havo thought that those
who were striving after a new scheme OF values
tonelity they needed In our fold. But nppor-
entity our faith is too simplo and there
least upon another road. And at last they be-
GIN TO realize something like denniteacss In
their thought Perhaps their best spokesman
Christian Ministry he states as clearly as can
bc stated the position II the new orthodoxy in
regard 10 Christ He begins by nccop,mg .nx
MulIcrs definition OF religion, which, by tho
way. is anything but inclusive. that religion
-Is tn. perception of the Infinite under such
manifestations are able 70 influence the
moral character OF man" Tho Christian re-
ngIcn is then. he snys. such manifestation
cf tn Infinite in the life ard character Of
Jesus Christ VIII result in ChristIlkeness
Of lie and character admitting this. 1t fol-
lows that such a religion must he extremely
narrow and limited unless tho incarnation OF
tho inhnitc in Christ is complete. Hence. no
h.. Vlcfa n 10
relieving that tic divine energy the eternal
lcwcr from which oil things proceed. has
flled IL full lived loved and suffered and died
that might know who and what he Is. and
how he who is intangible, inaudiblc, Invisible,
is operative upon us.
Parts Company With Unitarian.
II is TO some such conception OF Christ that
the now orthodoxy Is coming apparently And
here II parts company with tho Unitarian.
Jesus becomes Christ, the Goldman. deity pos
ing ns an example. his existence no longer
Justified as being an instrument In
much simpler TO think OF Jesus one who
nspred suffered achieved. n man, as q
man who was born as other men nro born
who lived as other men live md whose death
has other Significance than that OF martyr
dom To deity Jcsus and construct a theology
about him If like adding an extra piece 10 ono
OF the chdrsn's puzzles. which depend upon
putting pieces Of cardboard together so as
10 form n figure. This be done because
the pieces hnvc been cut out OF a perfect whole
and consequently with patience that design
piece or replace of those originally used
10y one OF another shape, and the SOLUTION of
the puzzle becomes an impossbility. The same
thing occurs when We Introduce into world
OF law and order an irresponsible being not
subject to inhrmitics amsnablo 10 our
discipline i
As to Heterodoxy
Tho way OF heterodoxy is the way OF ra
Uonallty and logic. IL Is as yet the lenst trny-
eIed OF the roa1e OF religion But It's inter
pretatlon of the text iB that jesus Wns indeed
the way. the truth and the life But only
such in the capacity OF man other men
have been. AS the great religious genius OF
the nEes. no Is particularly important figure
In religion. With the cGotism OF lofty M
ture he realized that he had found tho way to
tho Kingdom OF God. and In a mystical sense
represented that way in a similar manner he
made the truth or the Kingdom his own and
bocnmc representative OF II, all because he
was experiencing tho lie OF that kingdom OF
divine communion and loving service. As he
r,alized go may we. and In tho same way
Thus Jesus becomes our human brother so
we Interpret the text who choose the way OF