Evening star., 1909-03-14
Gree0@ OF Chris t@ttantty
Rev. Ulysses G. B. Pierce Declares That While
Religious Denominations Discuss the Forms
of Faith the Peoples of the World Are Hon
gering for the Truth Which as Yet,
He Says, SoMany Have Not Seen.

70 keep himself unspotted? Personal
purity. nefghborly service. and when you
come to the Great Master and ask Him
wnal rellgion Is he can require nothing
oetter than the words OF Himself. What
rs The great commandment The first
Is: Hear Oh Israel. the Lord thy God
Is one Lord. and thou shalt love the
Lore Lord >! thy y, God with all thy heart. and
This is the first and great command
ment. and the second is: Thou shalt
love thy neighbor as thyself" There 10
way called the way Of holiness. the
wayfaring man, though fool. need not
err therein. Religion. then. is the life
or God In the soul Of man. When Wa
begln to speak about that the result
IS molly books. When we look for the
fruit Of 1T the result is great character.
When we look for the perpetuation Of
1t the result is We find institutions.
When we look for success and the evil
dence Of it We look in the fruits of re-
lglon' SO the Master is as profound an
He is simple when holding to these ideas
He says: Hereby shall all men know
that We are my disciples How? one
asks By some secret Interpretation Of
holy books? By great establishments.
great great eharacters? BY various church
all men know that ye are my disciples:
that We have love one for another" That
Is the coin which is current in every
country-'the way Of holiness wherein
the wayfaring man. though fool. need
not err
Theology, Creeds and Catechism.
But you say. is there not something
more to religion than that? How about
theology, creeds and catechisms? Are not
these real things? Indeed they are They
are what men think about the life Of
God in the soul OF men. But al the Mas
ter says. the life is more than the meat.
and the body of thought Is more than
the garments that clothe it. The spirit
OF man does not grow. but his body
changes. Our thoughts are for this day
and this day only. When We are children
we think as children, and feel az children,
and understand as children. but when we
have reached maturity in religion we put
all these things away, and so that, valu-
able as they are In other places. 1t is all
fulfilled In one word-thou shalt LOVE
thy neighbor as thyself.' Love worketh
no i'll to his neighbor, therefore love Is
the fulfillment Of the Lord. And hero
hear these words OF one who knew, one
who has written as much theology as any
Christian has. and yet when he surveys
it he says that all these things shall pass
away, tongues shall fail: but now there
abideth faith, hope and love: these three,
and Of these the greatest IL love.
There hios is one hsrssy. and one only . that
4
that in thus speaking OF religion we are
reducing it to its lowest terms. In other
words. that for the sake OF peace we are
denuding religion of its real character.
skeleton without form and void, as it
were in order that there may be nothing
to quarrel about. Precisely the opposite
is true. Instead Of reducing religion to
it's lowest terms 1t is restoring religion to
| its highest tel ms, the life Of God In the
| soul Of m ,n. That Is religion.
Hopes for Christian Unity.
"In these hasty words one would not
be understood as indulging in hopes even
that the time is soon to como when we
will have Christian unity: when all
churches will be absorbed. There is not
the faintest reason for hoping such a
thing. One does not think II is desirable.
but one thing he Is sure Of. that IL men
grow into full stature they will see that
religion is valuable: that 1t is worth
everything In the world: but that It II
not worth quarreling about You remem.
ber that statement of Socrates. who, when
they tried to pin him down to certain
specifications about religion, said that
he had no religion to quarrel about. This
has been the verdict of good and true
men everywhere.
THAT is the attitude OF tho free-thing
soul. He does not go of to form another
sect In order that he may have freedom
Of speech and freedom of thought. but he
thinks Of the original elements Of religion.
| the life Of God in the soul OF men. So
| many Gods. SO many creedS. so many
| roads that wind and wind. while just the
j one thing. the whole world needs Is just
| the art Of being kind-to love thy neigh
| Dor thyself. to walk humbly with thy
God"