The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-07-07
THE PULPIT.
a BRILLIANT SUNDAY SERMON BY
THE REV. J. II. MELISH.
Theme: The Trinity.

Brooklyn, n. Y.-The Rev. John
Howard Melish, rector of the Church
OF the Holy Trinity, preached a ser
mon on The Trinitarian Conception
OF God,' which has attracted much
attention and the publication of
wnlcn mas been requested. The text
was from st. John 1926: when
the Comforter is come, whom I will
send unto you from the Father, even
the spirit Of truth, which proceedeth
from the Father, He shall bear wit
ness OF Me-" Mr.. Melish said:
The vital religious thinking of our
uay Is concerned with experience. A
creed or theology is of little value
because 1t is old and has the author
ity OF some council; its worth, its
truth springs from its ability to
Does this theology" we ask. .in-
terpret experience or is it mere
academic formula which a few intel
!ectuals have spun for themselves?"
we OF to-day have distinguished be-
tween religion and theology. Re-
Hgion is the life of God in the sonl
OF man. Theology is the interpreta-
Iion or this life. 1t is therefore re-
lated to religion as botany Is related
TO the MOVERS. A man may be re-
i1gious and be entirely ignorant of
theology. He may be religious and
reject the theology of the past. He
may be religious and hold the New
iheology. The theology which is of
real value, whether old or new Is
that which interprets the religious
lie, which takes those experiences of
the common folk, the average man.
and tells him what they mean.
In the light of this new approach
10 tneology does the Trinitarian con-
ception or God mean anything? Or
Is 1t a mere dogma of the church
which some will accept out of LOYALTY
to the church, and others will reject
out of loyalty to the truth and their
own intelligence? Is there any real
experience which receives interpreta-
ton from the Trinitarian theoloeyo
Does this Trinitarian conception of
the life divine bring to our human
lie enough to enable a man to accent
1t with loyalty and sincerity? 1t was
once my privilege, as university lee
turer, TO come into somewhat init
mate relations with some young men
VINO were studying to become Jewish
raDD1S. What interested them was
the Christian thought of the trinity.
They wondered how any intelligent
person could believe in the Trinity
Tor to their monotheism it seemed
ike DERIVING man whom thew
were willing to regard as second only
TO lsaiah-and so denying the funda-
mental truth of their religion that
God is one. 1t is only by going
deeper into life itself, by getting a
broader view of the larger human
n1e we call history, that we are able
10 enter deeper into God. The Trim
1tarian conception of the divine life.
IL 1t is to be accepted with LOYALTY
and sincerity, must give a more in
telligent and satisfactory interpre-
tation of life and history than the
Unitarian conception of God. AS
Gwatkin says in his book. "Tbe
knowledge of God" "The surface
drift seems Unitarian in our time.
and advanced thinkers take it for
certain that the religion of the fu-
ture will be some form of Unitarian
ism. Were the political outlook diff
1erent l might have less difficulty in
agreeing with them; but a broader
view of history seems to point an
other way
In the New Testament there Is no
irlnltar1an theology. In fact, there
is no theology Of any kind If by the
ology we mean organized knowledge
OF religion. Even the Fourth Gospel
and st. Pauls letters. said to be the
illogical, are not theology in our mod
ern sense of systematic divinity.
The New Testament is a book Of re-
nslon: II is the record Of experience;
IL deals with life, not tie theory of
lie. There is, however, in the gos-
pels and epistles what we NAV call a
Tr1nitarian experience. In this text.
Tor example, there is reference to the
comforter, the Father and to Jesus
himself. Father, Son and Spirit in
tnls ana in many other passages are
spoken or as concerned with life, the
life which men are living here on
earth. The spirit which is to be in
men, comforting, guiding, inspiring
them in all the vicissitudes and eff
iorts or life, is said to bear witness
TO Jesus. 1t will take Of Him His
truth and life, and show them unto
men. AS a scholar bears witness to
his teacher, even though he may go
lar beyond him, so the Spirit wit
nesses to Jesus. On the other hand.
the spirit has its origin in God: it
comes from the Father, from whom
Jesus Himself also came. Behind
both Jesus and the Spirit is the Fa-
ther, who loveth all His children.
This is not academic language, but
the words of life, descriptions of
actual experience of Christian men
and women all through the CEN
turtles; all for whom the person of
Jesus has deep spiritual value and
who have confidence in the spirit of
truth and believe in the fatherhood
of God have shared this three-fold
NrE H"' perience of the men of the
New .a ment.
lis experience which forms
I've foam. alton of the Christian re-
!igI"n very man who shares 1t be-
long o. lie church by virtue OF this
.iin. : the misfortune. nay, the
ci'aI..r Of the church that il has