The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-27
STRONG SERMON BY /
UNITARIAN PASTOR
Liberal Religious Ministry Be
longs to Succession of He.
reticS, Says Mr.. Brown.
HERESY FAR MORE THAN
DIFFERENCE or BELIEF
Is Accompaniment of InteIIce-
tual and Moral Progress,
He Says. /

A liberal religious ministry i,elonps
to the succession of heretics. declared
the Rev. william Thurston Brown. in
an interesting sermon az Unitarian han
SUNDAY morning. The subject of his
discourse was. ''The Meaning of A Lib
cral Religious Ministry" In part, hs
said
What place and function in the world
must liberal religious ministry oc-
cuny IN the very nature OF thingsa Every
religious body in C'hristcndom claims
some sort Of succession for itself. Tile
Catholic chUrch-Grcck Roman and
Anglican-rests its whole claim on The
ground OF apostolic succession. Most
other churches claim some sort OF suc1
ccssion from the days OF Jesus and His
apostles. To what succession does a lib
eral religious ministry belong2 To fhe
succession OF herctics. That Is the only
thing that justifics or creates eenu-
incly liberal religious movement. This
Is the unfailins mark Of both liberal re-
liEious men and liberal religious move
ments. In so far rs liberal religious
movement may he said To exist nj All:
that they arc regarded and treated as
hcretical.
What ueresy Is.
But hcrcsy is far more than mere dr.
ference Of belief as compared with other
men or other churches. 1teresy is no
paTlor amusement, no Pink tea. no mere
intellectual restlessncSs. Heresy Is tho
unfalliuG accompaniment and moral
progress and enlightenment. There has
never been great religious leader or y.
great religious man who was not TO his
contemporaries II hereto.
II Is strange that heretics should be
hated and prosecuted all their lives and
then worshippcd long after they are
dead.
What It Depends On.
a liberal religious ministry doesn't
stand FOR that kind of religion. It's very
existence depends on its present sense
OF such q truth or such case. involv-
Ing the deepest needs nf human life. as
CoTnpclS the devotion Of everything oEe
has or is TO the propagation OF that
truth or that cause. And here is the
reason why the membership Of a liberal
church cannot be lorges You cannot
draft men or invite men into Il here6y-
Men join such a movement only because
They arc compelled by their convictions
To do so. Such mon alone make or can
make q liberal church.
The service which A liberal religious
ministry performs is like that performed
by the skrmish line i'll the army or by
pioneers in the explor3 ton or coloniza-
ton OF u continent: Nowhere Is skif-
mish line OF q body Of pioneers needed
so much as in morals and religion. No
service Is so important as that OF those
who shall take the principles OF moral
and religious truth into every part and
sphere OF human interest and activity
into politics, business. industry. puplic
and private aftairS-cVsrywhere. pray
ING ali dangers OF Misrepresentation. per.
secution. hatred. poverty or death Tor
the sake of generations 20 come But the
number of men and women who are
willing TO risk anything, who have faith
enough and courage enough 10 stand for
an unpopular cause is always small: The
number OF peopts who have CONVICTIONS
at ali is never large.