Evening star., 1928-10-10

another picture of the Creator of HEAVIER
and earth.
Now, the Bishop of Washington 81
years ago left an enviable position as
chief accountant of the New York Gen.
trail Railroad to enter the Christian
ministry-and surely the conception o1
God which was then in his mind was
something far removed from mere
abstraction and even further removed
| from a childish conception comparable
to that of a st. Bernard dog or an ole
man with white whiskers.
What would influence man of ma
| ture mind, with a substantial expert
ence in practical affairs, to turn to the
ministry? What was his substitute fol
| the anthropomorphic God of children
and countless millions of devout adults
of all sects?
The Bishops God.
Bishop Freeman's God, as he ex-
planned, is expressed in the leadership
the philosophy and the goodness OF
Christ. He goes no further There is
his picture of the Deity he serves and
whose message he is trying to promul-
gate smong men. Science and philoSo-
ply, he holds, have no more than
scratched the surface of the profundity
of Christ's wisdom. His anthropomor-
phic God is the carpenter of Nazareth
This conception is the keystone of his
philosophy and his faith. In the broad
ness of Christ's wisdom he sees no room
| for intolerance and injustice.
Thirty-five years ago, when Bishop
| Freeman entered the ministry, the world
was less ChriStian-in his view of the
term-than 1t is today 1t required
courage for young man of tolerant
! views to become a clergyman in those
days 1t was time of narrowness COM
pared with which, he says, the narrow
ness of today is almost inconsequential
Some of the best equipped young mer
| OF the day with inclinations toward the
ministry could not see the way clear te
take such a step in the face of the in
tolerant attitude of the churches which
they could not reconcile with their con-
ceptions of the teachings of Christ. The
world still was picturing God as a dos
or an old man with white whiskcrs
rather than as sovereign OF infinite
compassion and infinite wisdom. Suct
an instance. Bishop Freeman points out
was that of the late Secretary of the
Interior Lane, who was strongly i'm
PEELED to enter the church. but was re-
PEELED due to the bigotry and intolerance
of the period.
So throughout his ministry Bishor
Freeman, who knew the human as well
as the metaphysical Christ, ha;
preached tolerance. sometimes in situ-
| ations where it has taken a great deal
of courage to do Sc. That, to the gen.
eral public at least has been the most
prominent note of his preaching. And
he has seen the world change. 1t still
has long way to go. The dog and
the old man with white whiSkerS will
not down, but they are much less ir
evidence.
Sees Greater Tolerance.
"These "a years." says Bishop Free.
man, ''have witnessed the growth of a
finer spirit of fellowship among Chris.
! tian peoples. From a period of prouC
isolation we have come to fairer day
We have not reached the ideal Never
theleSs, bigotry and intolerance disclose
themselves less frequently and are less
| emboldened in expression and I look
forward in the coming years to finer
understanding and better agreement
among Christian churches than we have
ever known.
1.-THE great world conference at Lau.
same a year ago, while it did not effec
immediate results, gave evidence of G
universal desire for Christian comfy
and closer rapprochement among
churches of every name. Before the
Christian Church as a whole can effec.
lively attack such problem as worlc
peace it must show more united front
and common agreement My owl
church has taken a forward steI
through its commission on faith anc
order. 1t has sought in a statesman.
like way to press the claims of Chris.
tian unity. The great conference al
Lausanne was one of the issues of thi:
commissions work.
I'VE may be long wav from any.
thing approximating Christian unity
but there are more signs of it today
than we have ever known before
Where once men boldly expressed theil
bigoted and narrow positions, today they
express them with caution and reserve