The sun., 1908-05-13
UNITlRIAN INFLEENcE.
Some Of the Most Useful Workers Have
Belonged 70 the Church.

To THE EDIToR or THE sUN-Sr: have
been much interested In the discussion IN
your columns in regard 10 the adequacy Of
UnItarlanism as a religion. That IA some
thing that every one must decide for himself.
but II Ia interesting TO take note OF some o'
those who have found II adequate and who
believe that religion IL life and not rite,
and cTeeds. One Of your correspondents In
slsts that he can determine matters Of fact.
such as whether Jesus is God, from his own
inner consciousness. Unitarians are ready.
az understand their position, 20 accept any
fact which can be established by competent
and sufcent evidence, and no other. Re-
liglous inner consciousness pays no attention
10 facts or evidence.
Another Of your correspondents intimated
that the unorthodoX had never done and
were not now doing any good in the world
Let me state a few facts In reply. Orlho-
dONy means In the general understanding of
the word acceptance Of the principal dogmas
Of the Church: the Trinity the Incarnation
and the AtOnement. No one OF the men or
women whom ! shall mention believed m
any OF these. The five women who have
reached the highest intellectual plane. Mary
SOmerVille, Harriet MaTtineau, Frances Power
CObbe George Eliot and Mrs. Humphrv
Ward, were or are all "unbelieyers Miss
Cobbe was a leader in many. philanthropc
works. The four who have done the most
good IN the world Of the sort your core.
spOndents. refer 70 are probably Florence
Nightingale, Mary Carpenter. Dorothea nly
these may be added Mary Livermore. Gather
inc Sedgwlck. Helen Hunt jackson, julia
Ward Hove, louisa Schuyler, Margaret
Fuller, Lydia Maria Child, Maria Mitchell,
Elizabeth Cady Stanton and the authoressp-
OF the hymns Nearer, My God, TO Thee"
and In the Cross Of Christ | Glory" all
UnitaTlans.
best known for philanthropy, stephen G.rard.
Samuel q. Howe Joseph TuCkerman, Peter
COoper, Samuel j. May Henry Bergh, Abbott
Lawrence, Enoch Pratt, John ,Smlhson.
Captain Goddard and Andrew Carnegie. ali
were Cuiiarians or unorthOdOy. I he entire
anti-savery movement M to the time Of No."
war was conducted by the unOrhodoy, the
slavery was a divine institution. Tho tenn
peTance movement for a long time had 10
make its way unaided by the Church Tho
first ATTEMPT to relieve women from thor
legal disabilities was inauRurated by Judge
Of the Marine Court whose name for the
moment egcapCs me and who was called an
atheist. Most Of the greatest men in our
early history, Jefferson. adams, Monroe,
FRANKLIN, Madison, chief Justice Marshal
and Morris. were unOrthodoV. and Morris,
who was considered the closest friend ~
Washington, told Jefferson, ~ recorded bv
!en erson, that Washington was In belief
deist. The great liberators MaZZini and
Kossuth we're outside the pale. as was also
Abraham Lincoln.
lnitarlanism appears to me to have accom-
pltshed great work IN softenng ORTHODOXY
beliefs. The great trouble with the churches
to-day in my humble judgment is that the"
90 on repeating In the Creeds a great des
" hiCh they no longer really believe, which
leads to in,sI1cerity. and in religion the first
WARRINGTON ID q