Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-20
ORTHODOXY NEEDFUL
TO REAL PROGRESS
Imperative Demand for Some Certain
Standard Can Be Satisfied Only
by the Teachings of Jesus
Christ

Rev. William Horace Day preached
at the First Congregational church yes
terday morning on Progressive Ortho-
doxy" as the ideal of the Church of the
Pilgrims, and used Matt. 1852 as the
text. who bringeth forth out of his
treasure things new and DID, He said
in part:
'Forty-one years ago this church was
organized in Mrs. Scott's parlor at 1877
San Pedro street. The next year Mr..
Anterior came and reorganized the lit
tie church which had been set on the
hillside on New High street. opposite
where the new postoff1ce is now being
built. In 1885, under the pastorate of
DR.. Wells, the second building was
dedicated at Third and Hill streets,
with 173 members. Another move
brought the church to Sixth and Hill,
under DR.. Hutchins. Five years ago
the congregation, numbering 1850, left
that building to dedicate this. This
morning We, are responsible for 1850
members. We are proud of the hero
isms of the past, of the sturdy life of
our church, but as a part of the larger
movement, this history is full of mean
ing. The pilgrim spirit moved through
the ancient church as the gulf stream
| through the ocean That spirit finally
expressed itself in a church. The
Church of the Pilgrims came to Amer
lea in the Mayflower and slowly moved
| across the continent till 1t was planted
here. Splendid has been the past, but
more, vital concern for us who belong
to the Pilgrim church concerns its
part in the religious life of today. In
the text is suggested our Lords ideal
of a church which should bring forth
nj a Y1rnOr0cciUa r.
| thodoxy.
1--WE are sometimes told that progress
and orthodoxy are Incompatible, and
are cautioned not to join together what
| God has put asunder. These two spirits
| have been at war. The year 1921 was
great year in history. In the city of
| Worms a Saxon monk refused to obey
papal authority and became the prophet
| of freedom, or progress, warning
against the octopus of orthodoxy. The
same year, in Romplona, a wounded
soldier vowed to leave the world, to
surrender himself to the church. Lu-
Their was the prophet of progress, 10y
ola was the prophet of authority, Of
orthodoxy. In the light of the text
think modern Christianity has some
what to learn from each. The Pilgrim
| church should teach progressive or
thodoxy.
wherever there is a dead orthodoxy
there must be revolt. In such an hour
the Holy Spirit is always the spirit OF
revolution. DR.. Gordon in his sermon
at the international council in Edin-
burgh a few days ago voiced the pro-
gressive spirit Our supreme concern
is not to be orthodox, but to be true;
not to accord with tradition, but to
accord with reality The Pilgrim
church had to begin as revolutionary
Professionalism; it had to fight for lib
erty, to think freely. Today that bat
tie is fought and largely won.
Permeated with Progress
| sour church finds It's normal life is
permeated with the progressive spirit.
We have no need to get historic uni
forms and stuff them with straw that
we may knock them over; we have too
much constructive business in hand to
waste time in that business. When a
| church wakes up to the fact that 1t
has been riding atilt of what turned
out to be just windmills, 1t is time 1t
went out of business. Some time ago a
church which had worshiped only at
the shrine of the progressive, the new,
was startled when its pastor said: !
have no message; 1 retire today from
the ministry That same Sunday morn
ing they decided that the church had
no message and disbanded.
1.-THE Church of the Pilgrims has
standard by which to judge the host of
religious novelties which clamor for
acceptance. While progress could not
have come save in revolt against ortho-
doxy, we only need to think to realize
that the majority of novelties fails 70
lead forward. Burbank discards 9999
genealogical heterodoxies to find one
step in advance. Our Lord warned his
disciples of the many who should claim
to be Gods anointed. A thousand false
messiahs and but one Christ. This Is
the law of progress Because OF the
imperative need of an adequate stand
ards of a real orthodoxy, we, as a
church, turn to the one foundation.
'Other foundation can no man lay than
that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ The basis of our Fellowship is
nersonal commitment to that Christ.
The great evangelists who have been
nurtured in our church have differed
| in theology, but they have all stood to-
gether at this point. They have spent
their lives calling men into personal re-
lation with Jesus Christ"