Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1907-11-18
TOLSTOYS QUEST
FOR TRUE CREED
Rev. U. 7. Brown Says He Found
Tin Christ's Own
Teaching.
AUTHORITY FOR RELIGION.
l,cv. D.. S. Bowcrman Declares God
nriccntcd All 20 icsus-I,cv.
smpl,in Urges Prayer.

"rhe Religion of Tolstoy" was se-
i,.tei by the Rev william Thurston
brown at the Unitarian church yester-
dav as the FIRST of a series OF lectures
ON the religious quests Of great men.
The Rev. Brown prcfaced his discourse
with an allusion 10 John Hays char
acterzation Of Tolstoy as the worlds
greatest philosopher and man OF The
times
"The story OF Tolstoy's Life" said
the Rev. Brown. lis the story of the
search Of an awakened human soul tor
realN in religion. Born and bred In
che atmosphere of the orthodox Rus
sian church he early found that men s
lives are not guided or moulded by the
g1-called religious teachings they re-
ccivc. but that the church merely fol.
lows the forces Of materialism.
ToLsToL's VIEWS.
u have sought ia cain" says Tolstoy.
"in our civilized society for any clearly
formulated moral bases of life. There
are none. No perception Of their neces-
sity exists. on the contrary we find
The extraordinary conviction that they
ing more than a few words about God
and ID future life, and few ceremonies
very useful for the salvation OF the
soul according to some and good for
nothing according TO others, but that
life goes on of itself and has mo- neei
OF any fundamental bases or rules and
that we have only to do as we are told
TO do"
Utterly disappointed he turns 70 the
teachings OF Jesus and the Sermon
on the Mount at last finds what seems
90 him the ecret of "a satisfying faith.
lie nnds II especially On the saving Of
.TegHs ut hath been said unto you. an
eye for au eye, ana a tooth for a tooth,
bat 4 say unto you, that ye resist NOT
cyu"
he rcuounccd the life Of his class and
cast n his OF with the peasants. If me-
was "a find out the real meaning of life,
he must live % real life With tnat step
came the conviction that TO know God
ad 90 live are one and the same thing
Here Is the spiritual history of a man
whose influence for moral transforma-
ton in the lives Of men here in Amerl-
ca has surpassed that of any public OIL
Aciai that can be named. What shall
we say of this life2
ETERNAL LAW ESSENTIAL.
Three things / want TO say of ii. In
the st place the religious quest Of
Iolstoy is the only religious quest
there is. the only thing worthy OF the
name. Religion can be had ON no other
tern IS. u cannot be an inheritance. II
cannot be imbibed IN any church II
. has 40 bc discovered by life itself The
/ tremendous demand for reality, for a
satisfying faith, which was the whole
NmotiNe power OF Toistoy. Is Just as
luuCh your demand and mine as ID was
DIS. We can no more satisfy the deeD-
Ger need Of our nature with any corr
ventloual teaching or with anything
less 1n.,n the personal discovery OF a
. divine law Of life than he could. Unt'i
we md the eternal law Of life. which
harmouizes an moral and ethical dis.
cords, we are but wanderers I'M
wilderness and have no gospel for any
one.
MUST BE INSPIRED.
In the second place. Tolstoy's critic
ism of the Christian church and of the
civilization which the church approves.
Is as unerringly just as was that of the
Hebrew prophets and Jesus OF the civil
ization and the church OF their time.
There Us lut one place which the Chris
tian church or any institution which
presume TO stand for religion may
honestly occupy ia this world. and that
Is the place of undoubted moral and
spirituu leadership. AZ has no business
90 BE- unless 10 is inspired by a moral
and spiritual and ethical vision incom-
porablg higher than that which so easi-
III hnds embodiment in the selfish insti-
tutiors OF matcrialism; unless 10 dom.
inatcs, inspires molds leads the life
of men. TO The church as TO nothing
clkt the world has "a right 10 look for
mora. leadership, And the fundamcnt-
Al claim Of the church is made ridiCul-
Gus, Oil the might OF les truth and of
lte spiritual life which a proclaims be
not superior TO the might of material
iHn.
DOES THE CHURCH LEAD?
Docs the church lead the world to-
day? Does IL shape ana mold the ideals
and passions which determine mems
daily lyes2 on the contrary, Is there
any sort OF evil influence, any political
corruption amy commercial solfishness.
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