The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-04-22
REV. F. F. EDDY
At UNITY HALL
Wants a Church Organized on
the Basis of the Great
ness in Men.
FOUNDATION IN HUMANITY
UPON WHICH TO BUILD
This World and the Present
Humanity Must Be Its
Chief Concern.

AT the services OF the First Unitarian
society yesterday Mrs. Smith sang the
offertory solo and Unity quartet rendered
the usual anthem.
The past. Rev. Frank Fay Eddy, took
for his theme The Church of the Holy
Ghost or the Church OF the Human
Spirit Which,"
Mr.. Eddy said in part: I'VE read in
John that Jesus said TO his disciples In
The course Of his last discourse 10 them.
1T is expedient for you that go away;
for II | go not away the Comforter Will
not come unto you And in latter
verse he assures them that. When he,
the Spirit OF Truth is come he will guide
You unto all truth Such words are
natural enough for the Christ OF the
fourth gospel TO utter. This Christ was
dom, the logos. and as such monopolized
during the period OF corporate existence
In the human form the very principle
Of truth itself. But th Christ OF Johns
gospel is as fictitious, as much creation
of the imagination as B1itons Satan.
When we turn from John TO read the
other three gospels we are In different
fragmentary accounts OF one Jesus OF
Nazareth, evidently enough man, talk
Ing and acting as other men do. This
celestial visitant OF Pauls vision, or the
hero book Of philosophical fiction we call
tn fourth gospel.
This difference is fundamental The
kind Of church We can construct with
Christ the goldman as the central figure
must differ radically from the church We
build about the lie and sayings OF Jesus
OUT that distinction as plainly ms 1 may.
in the course OF this sermon.
Church Of First Type.
We are all familiar with the church
OF the first type. 1t is the church which
itself which assumes the dispensatlon os
all the merit which was in this Christ
God and proclaims that the Holy Ghost
resides in It as . guiding principle. l
assumptions on the part of the Christian
church of the past, In the creeds of
ChT'stendom the neo- platonic philosophy
and the theology OF Paul ars strangely
jumbled. bur they reflect not at all the
loving democrat. Jesus
But this type OF church did not end
with yesterday, 1t survives in today with
and wealth. All OF the Christian church
which is allowed to call itself orthodox
makes these old assumptions still in
hear on all sides laments over the pre-
valent religious Indifference and tales of
woe. relating 10 the unchmrched army
directing power because Il has lost In no
small measure its vital relationship to
modern life.
we alSO see on tne part OF the Prot
estant church OF diverse denominations
an attempt to put the new wine into the
old bottles. There is vast output OF
books OF apologetics. largely concerned
With matters OF definition, The purpose
fthe authors OF these useless and soon
TO be forgotten books seem to be 10 in
dicate a way OF retaining the phraseolo-
gy of the old doctrines and vet make
them carry new and modern meanings
While this work Is largely wasted, IL does
Indicate the general drife of religious
thought. ,
Greatness in Men.
But why can we not organize a church
o nthe basis OF the greatness In man?
There is friendship TO build upon, said
by some to be the master passion Kro-
potkin tells us that mutual aid is one of
the prime factors in the evolutionary
process Assuming this our effort be-
comes scientific il II is filed with the
ideal OF friendly service"
Mr.. Eddy then went on TO show that
there Is in our humanity q warmth of
sympathy. A bond OF comradeshlp and a
capacity for heroism upon which we may
found church.
In conclusion he said: Such a church
must be homo centric not christie centric
This world and this present humanity
must be It's chief concern rather than
preparation for future estate In our
Unitarian church we are making Just this
attempt to construct church OF men,
by men and for men. We find leadership
In Jesus, the man. rather than In Christ
the God, We are making the most signl-
hcant experiment In modern religious life
by supplanting the church OF the Holv
Ghost with the church of the human
spirit"