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AUSTIN'S HAWAIIAN WEEKLY
i
QcftoeA of SefigiouA Jftougftf.
BY W. K. AZBILL.
The Coming Theology.
A writer in The Interior
(Presby.), has this to say of the
reformers who have appeared
on the religious arena since
Luther's time:
The present condition of theology is that
of a great number and variety of partialisms.
We have had no great theologian since the
Reformation, who was not a p.irtialist, con
fining himself tp one truth with its immediate
foothills, and antagonizing other partialists
who were esalting some other truth. Per
haps the most striking example is seen in
Arminius and Cahin, both of them extreme
partialists ; the one carrj ing freedom to the
extent of absolute self sufficiency, and the
other c.rtring Diine sioereignty to the
extent of fatilUm. Eery denomination stands
upon a p-irtialisni, some of their Miechlties
so small and insignificant as to diidc the
Disciples of Christ into waring sects, which
can have no othei source or motive than
human obstinacy, egotism and perversity.
It is true that each sect rallies
all its forces about one or anoth
er point of theology which is held
up in the denominational name
as the clan's battle Hag, with the
result that such Scriptual names
as ''Christian" and "disciples-of
Christ," which would honor
Christ as the head of his church,
are pushed aside for the names
of men and of dogmas. But it is
too much to say that no other
motive than human obstinacy,
egotism and perversity has mov
ed the various parties to these
unhappy contentions. Of course,
all the contending parties can not
be right, and some may be bad
at heart, but most of them think
themselves to be "contending
earnestly for the faith once for
all delivered to the saints."
Setting forth the outlines of
this article on the present condi
tion of theology, the Literary
Digest, Sept. 16th, says:
The writer points out that just as in secular
and in religious history, the new tendencies
of the times h.ve been materialized and
brought into play by some great man as a
Copernicus, a Luther, a Bacon, or a Darwin,
so now we may expect the appearance,
sooner or later, of some great modern religi
ous interpreter and prophet, who shall har
monize the new spirit of religion with the
new life and ideals of mail.
What is this ''new spirit of
religion" but the spirit which
was the characteristic of the
Founder of Christianity and with
which he always inspires his real
followers? That it is being mani
fested more and more by Chris
tians in these days is a delightful
truth; but to pure and undefiled
religion it is no new spirit. And
what are "the new life and ideals
of man" but the ideals of Christ
being now somewhat more fre
quently seen in the lives of his
disciples? The way to bring
about the harmony here hinted
at, but seemingly not clearly ap
prehended, is for every professed
follower of Christ to bring his
own life into perfect harmony
with the teaching, the ideal the
life and person of Jesus of
Nazareth. The interpreter, the
prophet, who shall be most suc
cessful in bringing this state of
thing to pass in Christendom, will
do most for the peace, the har
mony and the progress of the
Church.
SoIohioii'h Mines.
Here is a clipping from the ac
count of Dr. Carl Peter's recent
great 'find' in South Africa:
For many jean hardheaded and prosaic
but enterprising capitalists hae been encour
aging and helping biblical scholars, antiquar
ians and geographers, to puzzle out the
problem of the territory in which the mines
of Ophir probably are. And an immense
mass of testimony has been gathered, with
the result that enough money was forthcom
ing from shrewd and unimaginatie men to
fit out this expedition The world soon will
near remarkable news from the Zambesi.
The news is that Solomon's
Mines have been re-discovered.
Thus the good work of confirm
ing the historicity of the Old Tes
tament goes on. Almost every
year brings some new surprise of
this sort to help the unbelieving
world to set their proper value
on the facts recorded in the
Scriptures.
With reference to Admiral
Dewey's reception, the editor of
the Pacific Commercial Adver
tiser says:
Hut he ields to the popular feeling, which
seems to be ns intense among the people of
this great Christian nation in crowing about
the ictoryover a lot of miserable, half armed
ill supplied badly "manned Spanish ships, as
the Roman people, two thousand years ago,
crowed oer the ictories of their legions, and
crowned with laurels the brows of generals
who leduced the men, women and children
of nations into slaery, but called it giwng
them the blessings of Roman civilization.
With the attempt to belittle the
achievements of our nay in Ma
nilla Ba', this department of the
Hawaiian Weekly will not deal ;
but of the sneer at the Christian
ity of our nation, and of the im
plication that we are reducing the
men, women and children of the
Philippines to slavery while pro
fessing to give them the benefits
of American civilization, we may
remark that when the editor of
the Pacific Commercial Adver
tiser writes in this vein, as he
does too often, he is letting his
sentiments get the better of his
judgment. He ought not to write
in this way, and we are glad to
have heard that he is shortly to
quit.
I Rawei spoke last Sunday aft
ernoon at the Y. M. C. A. hall,
I and will speak there again to
morrow afternoon. lie will
preach at the Christian church
tomorrow evening, Oct. 8th.
The night school for young
men at the Y. M. C. A. reopened
on the 2d inst, at the association
hall on Alakea and Hotel streets.
A thorough course of instruction
is given in each of the branches
and the instructors are practical
and capable.
A plan is on foot for holding
meetings every Sunday evening
at the Progress Hall, in the special
interest of the strangers whom
we have with us always. The
object of The Meeting of the
Strangers, is to afford opportu
nities for making and for renew
ing acquaintance, for giving the
community an opportunity to
hear gifted visitors who ma3" be
induced to speak or sing or play
or entertain in any way, and for
affording visitors who are not
habitual church goers a pleasant
and profitable evening once a
week with exercises in all re
spects suitable for Sunday even
ings. We shall be able next
week to announce more definitel'
the plans for these meetings.
THE
Queen Hotel , ,
Nuuanu Street.
Best Family Hotel in Honolulu.
On Honolulu's Main Residence Thoroughfare
ROOMS BY
DAY, WEEK OR MONTH.
Rates for Board and Lodging:
S2.00 per clay.
$to.oo per week.
$35 to $40 per month.
P. O. ISox 749. TelephoneSon.
G. BREWER & GO., Ltd.
GENERAL MERCANTILE
AND
COMMISSION AGENTS.
LIST OP OFFICERS:
P C. Josts, President.
Gr.o, II. Ronr.lt 1 son, Vice-Pres. and Mangr.
E. V. Btslior, Treasurer and Secretary.
Col. V. F. Au.l.N, Auditor.
DIRECTORS:
C. M. Cooke, II. WAn.uitousc,
G. R. Cakiek.
Wke iawaiiapi tiel
Hotel Street Honolulu.
-j.ijyjV.I :V i ' ' " 'SiffiX'iKBiSf
The grounds upon which it stands comprise an entire square fronting on
Hotel Street. There are twelve pretty cottages within this charming en
closure, all under the Hotel management. The Hotel and cottages afford
accommodations for two hundred guests.
BRUCE WARING & CO.
Promoters and Dealers in
Rev. Wm. D. Westervelt, as
sistant pastor of the Kawaiahao "R I? A T TTQT A TF
church, read an able paper be- -TllL.1 ILO 1W1U
fore the Honolulu Ministerial
Union last Monday morning on
Taao the famous high priest who
came in the eleventh century to
the Island of Hawaii from Upolu,
Samoa, introducing Pili, a high
chief from Samoa. ( The paper
pointed out that Pili was the an
cester of the Kamehameha family.
CI.AUS SPR1.CKUI.S
WM. O. IKWIN
PROMOTERS OK
PACIFIC HEIGHTS.
Rooms 6 and. 7 Progress Block.
Telephone 678.
Claus Spreokels & Co.,
BANKERS,
HONOLULU, H. I.
San Francisco Agents:
The Nevada National Bank
of San Francisco.
