The Universalist. [volume], March 19, 1887, Image 1

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4 CHICAGO AND CINCINNATI, ajATURDAY, MARCH 11', 1887. •_P^T'^SSPrP'N No. 1-2.
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.4.> 1
THE POETIC ELEMENT IN JESUS.—11.
Bv Kev. M t). Shutter.
(Minneapolis, Minn.)
Carlyle, in treating of the poet, mates
much of tlie “seeing eye,’’—“the fac
ulty which enables him to discern the
heart of thing3 and the harmony that
dwells there.” IIis advice to the poet
is, first of all, to see. The poet must
see more than the common-place in the
common. The ordinary thing is, after
all, the true miracle. Jesus pre-emi
nently possessed this “seeing eye.” He
(iuds hie heroes where we would not
think of looking for them; the publi
can in the temple, the prodigal among
the swine, the beggar upon the door
step of Dives’ palace. He sings of the
true, the beautiful, the good, even when
found in the poor and humble. From
the “deep unfathomed caves” of every
ocean, he draws forth “gems of purest
ray serene.” The humblest deeds and
customs he has transfigured. The shep
herd seeking his lost sheep in the wil
derness, illustrates the seeking of God
for the lost of the race. The wedding
banquet is a picture of the final joy of
the kingdom. Thus has the idealizing
power of Jesus lifted common men and
common things from the ordinary level
and invested them with immortal life
and Geauty.
The poetic nature of .Jesus is still
farther shown by bis sympathy witli the
bards and prophets of his own nation,
who lived before him. How often does
he quote the lofty strains of Isaiah 1
The passages in which the prophets
sang of a light that should shine forthe
Gentiles, of one who was to preach de
liverance to the captives and bid the
oppressed go free, of the suffering ser
vant of Jehovah, these were frequent
ly upon his lips. The symbols in which
the old prophets delighted, he uses when
he speaks of judgment; blaring trum
pet, retinue of angels. The processes
of retribution that evermore take place
in the soul, where also the reward is
given, are set forth in terms of imag
ination. Falling stars and bloody moon;
darkened sun and quaking earth;
thrones, heralds, chariot and trumpet,
! h -se were all borrowed from those
before him who spoke of God's judg
ments upon men and nations. They
were ilie poe’ic imagery in which the
idea of eternal justice was clothed.
Jesus used them as those before him
had done. He never meant to teacli
that literally “this brave, overhanging
lirmament” should shrivel as a parched
scroll, and this goodly frame of things
be dissolved. Who reads him, in these
passages, by the letter, must read to his
own confusion.
This poetic life of Jesus which, in
some of its manifestations, we have en
deavored to describe, he lived in an
ideal world. While upon the earth,
sharing its joys, tasting its sorrows,
dealing with its sins, he lived in a
higher realm,—a region which the eye
co ild not see, nor the feet enter. He
was one with the Father. He had meat
of which his hungry disciples knew not.
The unseen world breathed its life and
beauty about him. His cheek was
fanned by breezes of Faradise. His
eye caught glimpses of the beatific vis
ion. The things that moved before
him on earth, were propelled by invisi
ble forces. He himself was a king;
not as men accounted royalty ; in a re
gion far above the roofs of palaces lie
reigned. When men asked for ills creden
tials, his banners, his heralds, he replied:
“The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation; the kingdom of (iod is with
in you.” In an age when the outward
was everything, he invited men to fol
low him, though he was poorer than
birds and foxes. When Dante walked
the streets of Florence, “with that al
together tragic, heart-affecting face.”
men looked upon him and said. “11
hold the man who has been in hell!'
When Jesus walked the streets of Je
rusalem, his countenance lighted by
the sun behind the sun, beholders might
have exclaimed, “The man who lives in
heaven
Into this higher world where he
dwelt, and whose glories he constantly
beheld he sought by all means to draw
humanity. He had a vision of a realm
in which justice and '.ove prevailed,
where men were brethren, where life
was pure, where God was honored and
his beneficent rule had unimpeded sway,
where evil was unknown. Here he
himself abode, and to this lofty level he
strove to lift the impure life, the surful
and sorrowing race. For this he wrought
through weary years, never doubting
that the time would come when his
ideal would he realized. “For the joy
that was set before him,” this joy, “he
endured the cross.” This faith in the
outcome of humanity Jesus shared
with the prophets who were before him,
and all subsequent poets have shared
it with him. Mr. G. W. Gooke, in his
recent book on “Poets and Problems,”
says : “The poet is a builder of worlds,
and the progenitor of ideal beings.
What is, he shapes to new fashions and
brings to a more consummated expres
sion. He reveals the heart of the ac
tual, and he forecasts the ideal. What
is to be, delights him as well as what
has been. What is to be, he know's
from what is, for he reads the prophetic
meaning of all life and nature. He is
man's forerunner and God’s foreteller.
The world is a development and man a
becoming; but the grandeur of this
growth through endless ages, the poet
makes known by the spirit of aspiring
life, which is at the heart of hia noblest
song. There is no faith too great for
the poet and no hope too large.”
The great themes upon which Jesus
spoke, are essentially poetical, and the
forms in which he clothed them are
those of the imagination. He told of
God as a loving Father, and put the
truth into that touching parable of the
Prodigal Sou. He spoke of men as
brethren, and the Good Samaritan is
immortal. The worth and dignity of
man are conveyed to us in the story of
him who proposed to build larger barns
for his increasing harvests, while his
own soul was neglected. He spoke of
his own truth as the foundation of char
acter, and lol the picture of the two
builders 1 He told of the repentant
sinner, and at the touch of his imagina
tion’s wand heaven opens with its ful
cess of angelic song and gladness. The
more critically we examine such pas
sages as these, we more clearly see that
we have iu them both the poetic spirit
and the poetic expression. If we take
specific instances of those qualities
which inhere iu poetry, where shall we
find a passage of profounder pathos
than the lament over Jerusalem ?
Where is there a passage of greater
tenderness and breadth of sympathy
than that in which he calls himself llie
good shepherd V Where is there a bol
der flight than his description of the
judgment ?
Thus, we liud that, in his own life
and its various manifestations; in the
ideal sphere where he dwelt auiid ini
ages of beauty and glory; iu the thoughts
that he spoke for men from I he bosom
of that higher realm ; and in the lan
guage that clothed those thoughts, 1
Jesus belonged to the tiue race of poets.
The thought unfolded must he kept ;
in mind in all our interpretations of the
words of Christ. Very little did lie put |
in sharp, didactic style, lie taught us ,
truth, but not as a college text-book
would teach it. When he said that
whns ever had faith as a grain of mus
tard seed might a move mountains, we
are not to suppose that he meant to.
teach us that we might tumble hills j
fiom tln-ii bases, but that the power
of faith was great. When he spoke
of cutting off the offending hand and
foot, of the camel and the needle’s eye, j
he did not mean to teacli self-mutila
tion, or to imply that even Almighty
power could effect a passage for the
camel through so insignitlcant an aper
ture: but the necessity of removing
every evil habit, and the difficulty of
freeing from its chains the mind that is .
fastened to the dust. Here we must '
bring those passages that speak of bliss
and suffering. The joy of the righte
ous is represented by banquets, man- .
sions, thrones, and other images associ
ated with gladness and honor. We
read beneath these outward symbols
the peace of conscience, the sense of
triumph that tills the spirit victorious
over evil. So, too, Jesus looked upon the
: valley of Ilinuoni. -'(lehenna.” where
; the ref use of the city was consumed by
! tires that were kept burning night and
| day ; to Ins mind it became a symbol
i of the soul tilled with iniquity, where
burned the tires of remorse. How, for
centuries, the world has stumbled over
his meaning 1 Those to whom he orig
inally spake would never have made
! the mistakes that have turned a gospel
i of hope into a theology of despair ; that
have reversed the promise of the profit
| and given ashes for beauty; the gar
| rnent of heaviness for the spirit of
; praise!
Hut the method of Jesus, though lia
ble to be misunderstood, is after all the
true method. When he speaks, we
must hear. The arrow does not stop
till it has passed through the intellect
and lodged in the heart. Hy stimulat
ing the imagination, by placing before
us visions of something brighter and
better, by addressing bis words to the
noblest sentiments and feelings of the
heart, by arousing our latent capacity
for truth and lieauty and goodness,
: Jesus moves us toward the perfection
of our Father who is in heaven.
THE UNIVERSALISM OF ORIGEN.
By Rev. G. K. Barnes.
(Tidioute, Pa.)
In the issue of The Universai.ist
for Feb. 19, I was much interested in
the admirable editorial, bearing the
same title as this article, and written
in defense of Origen’s Universalism, as
against the intimation of Bishop Mer
rill, in a recent controversy, that “Ori
gen only cherished a dim hope of the
final salvation of all souls.”
Now, conclusive, though the edito
rial evinced itself in its line of argu
ment, and while the expressions of
Origen may be familiar to the student,
if space be allowed me, I would like to
give, for the benefit of the reader in ;
general, a few expressions of Origen
from his writings, both “On The Prin
ciples,” and “Against Celsus,” sub
stantiative, not of his “dim hope,” but
rather his manifest, decided belief in
the ultimate redemption of all man
kind ; and which must be as clear to
any one as language can make it.
On proceeding to the purpose in hand,
it may, indeed, be well to state at the
outset that, while the expressions of
Oiigen, to be herein quoted, may be
necessarily few and brief, they do not
comprehend, by any means, the only
ones which imply his clear belief in the
“Larger Hope.” Those which have
been selected have only been chosen
because they are deemed best suited to
the object in view.
Accordingly, in his work, “Ou The
Principles,” Book II., Chapter X , un
der the introductory words: “Let us see
what is the meaning of the threatening
of eternal tire,” and in reference to the
nature and object of punishment, as a
whole, “That the understanding of this
matter may not appear very difficult,”
Origen writes : “And when this disso
lution and rendering asunder of the
“soul shall have been tested by fire,
“a solidification, undoubtedly, into a
“firmer structure, will take place, and a
“restoration be eff-cted.” While again
in the same connection with the above,
though in another paragraph, we have
these words : “By which it is certainly
“understood that the fury of God’s
“vengeance is profitable for the purga
tion of souls. That the punishment
“also, which is said to be applied by
“fire, is understood to be applied with
“the object of healing, is taught by_
“Isaiah who speaks thus to Israel:
“ 'The Lord will wash away the filth
“of the sons and daughters of / on, and
“shall purge away the blood from the
“midst of them by the spirit of judg
ment, and the spirit of burning.’
(Isa. iv. 4). Of the Chaldeans, he thus
“speaks : ‘Thou hast the coals of fire ;
“sit upon them ; they will be to thee a
“help.' (Isa xivii. 14,15). And in other l
“passages he says : ‘TheLord vill sanc
tify in a burning fire;’ (Isi. x. 17),
“and in the prophecies of Malachi lie
“says : The Lord sitting will blow, and j
“purify, and will pour forth the cleans- 1
“ed sons of Judah.”’ (Mai. iii. 8). j
lVvhaps now, to lend further strength
and definiteness to these expressions, if
such can he done, a quotation or two
from the same Hook as the foregoing,
Chapter V , “O ; Justice and Goodness,"
rnay not prove amiss. Thus we read
therein: “But why, in afflicting those ;
“whq are deserving of punishment,
“does he not alll cithern for their good?
"Who also says to Chaldes, ‘Thou hast
“coals of lire; sit upon them; they
“will be to thee a help ’ And of those
“also who fell in the desert, let them hear
(those whom Origen is addressing)
“what is related in the seventy-eighth ’
"1‘salm, which bears the superscrip
“tiou of Asaph ; for he says, ‘When he j
“slew them, then they sought him.’ :
“(l*s. Ixxviii. 34). He d >es not say
“that some sought him after others had j
“been slain, but he says that the de
struction of those who were killed,
“was of such a nature that, when put
“to death, they sought God. By all
“which it is established, that the God
“of the law and the gospels is one and
“the same, a just and good God, and
“that he confers benefits justly, and
“punishes with kindness; since neither
“goodness without justice, nor justice
“without goodness, can display the (real)
"dignity of the divine nature.”
Hut sufficient citations being made
from this “ work,” let us now turn to
Origen’s celebrated writing “Against
t'elsus,”—from which two references
alone will he given; they being so con
clusive are all that are necessary.
In B >ok iv. Chapter xiii., referring to
the manner of mockery in which Cel
sus spoke of “God coming down like a
torturer, hearing fire.” Origen writes as
follows: “The divine word says that
“ ‘our 1 iod is a consuming fire,’ and that
“ ‘lie draws rivers of fire before him ;’
“nay, he pven entereth in as ‘a retin
“er’s fire, and as a fuller’s herb.’ to pu
“rify his own people. Hut when lie is
“said tube a consuming lire, we inquire
“what are the things which are appro
priate tube consumed by God. And
“we assert that they are wickedness,
| “and tlie works which result from it,
“and whicli being figuratively called
#>)l, nu, stubble.'God consumes
“asa (ire. ‘ Tire liie will try each man's
“work of what sort it is. if any man's
“work abide which he hath builtthere
“upon, he shall receive a reward. If
••any man’s work be burned, he shall
“suffer toss.’ (1 Cor. iiii}3, 15). * * * *
“Therefore our God iss a ‘consuming
“fire’ in the sense in *bich we have
“taken the word ; and tljus he enters in
“as a ‘refiner’s fire,’ ta reline the ra
tional nature, which h^s been filled
“with the lead of wicAdness, and to
“free it from the other impure materi
als which adulterate tie natural gold
“or silver, so to speal, of the soul.
“And in like manner, ‘risers of fire’ are
“said to be before GodJWho will thor
oughly cleanse away the evil which is
“intermingled throughout the whole
“soul. But these re Arks are suffl
“cient in answer to thejkssertion ‘that
“thus they were made Jo give expres
sion to the erroneous o tnion that God
“will come down bearin fire like a tor
“turer.’ ” And now ti the final cita
tion, the most pronoun ?d of all. In
Book IV., Chapter XOl [. is found the
following : “Nor will I evidence ever
“abandon the whole ; : i although it
“shall become more wi ked, owing to
“the sin of the rational >eing which Is
“a portiou of the whole he makes ar
rangements to purify t, and after a
“time to bring back theiwhole to him
“self.”
Thus have been viewef a few of Ori
gen’s expressions. Wh* is to be said
in regard to them ? AreJ they substan
tiative of the claimed Ukiversalism of
Origen, or not V This "inueh evinces
itself as certain, the kreat Church
Father did not believe if endless pun
ishment,—while annihilation is out of
the question ; for, in keeping with the
justice and goodness of God, he man
ifestly believed all punishment, no mat
ter by what name called, “eternal lire,”
or what not, is corrective, healing, pu
rifying, administered with kindness,
and for the good of the one being pun
ished. This unequivocally precludes
all possibility of the maintenance of the
doctrine of endless woe. Hence, this
being so. he must have, as his writings
clearly indicate, been a pronounced Uui
versalist. And, be it observed, his ar
guments are not founded on any mere
hypothesis, but upon an openly asserted j
and firmly established belief which he
sustains constantly by the holy Script- j
ures as he interprets them.
Should objection be mad? to the cita
tions which have been m;^e from, ‘On
work as we have it has been handed
down, in greater part, in the Latin of
Ruflnus, whom Jerome accuses “of un
faithfulness as au interpreter,” there
still remain those of “Against Celsus,”
against which there is no such accusst- j
tion, and which was written in the old j
age of Origen, “and is composed,” as j
Bishop Coxe writes, “with great care ; j
while it abounds with proofs of the \
widest erudition.”
Confronted by such positive evidences j
to the contrary, as shown in the above
quotations from Origen, how can any
one feel warranted in asserting that lie
only had a ‘ dim hope”of universal sal
vation, and that this hope was only
hypothetical V Were one holding the
views of Origen to day, to apply for ad
mission into the ministry of the M. E
Church, and on the strength of the cita
lious that have been gone over, in their
full connections, would such be consid
ered sufficient aud substantial evidences
of his sound orthodoxy, and gain him
admission V I think not. lie would
promptly be adjudged to be, just what
he would be, a dyed-in-the-wool Uni
versal ist ; and told promptly that he
was seeking admission into the wrong
ministry ; that, by his theology, he be
longed with the despised heretics.
Again. Imagine the Prudential Com
mittee of the A. 11. C. F. M., recom
mending to its Hoard for appointment
as missionary to Iudia, a brother whose
soundness in orthodoxy, especially in
reference “to probation after death,”
was based on utterances like those of
Origen,—on Origen's doctrine? Hut
such an event is beyond all imagination.
The idea is ridiculous.
And so, to the reader, is left the de
cision on the plain, honest evidences
herein brought forward : Was Or igen a 1
Universalist, or not ?
UGH f ON THE CLOUD.
ISv Uev. VV. Hanson, D. H
Olns*ruw, Scotland.)
There seems to he a growing disposi
tion among evangelical writers and
teachers to follow"the line long ago
marked out by O igen. and And, if they
possibly can. something hopeful in the
darker passages of revelation Oiigen
said, in answer to Celsus’s accusation,
that Christians believe in a Are in which
all but Christians shall be burned, that
Cod’s Are poss-sses a purifying quality;
IvitharsioH for all who were sinful.
In the same line are many w ho do not
professlobe Universalists. Speaking of
the rich to ui. in the parable, says Can
i on l'arrar. (Kxcursus ‘•Eternal Hope:”)
“Dives uplifts his eyes not in hell,’
but in the intermediate hades where he
rests till the resurrection to a judg
ment, in which signs are not wanting
that his soul may have been me nwhile
ennobled and puriUed.”
In his “Letters,” Charles Kingsley
says:
“You may quote the parable of Dives
and Lazarus (which was the emancipa
tion from the Tartarus theory) as the
one instance in which our Lord profes
sedly opens the secrets of the next
world; that he there represents Dives
as still Abraham's child, under no de
spair, not cut off from Abraham's sym
pathy, and under a direct moral train
ing of which you see the fruit. He is
gradually weaned from the selfish de
sire of indulgence for himself to love
and care for his brethren, a divine step
forward in his life, which of itself
proves him not to be lost. The impos
sibility of Lazarus getting to him, or
rice versa, expresses plainly the great
truth that each being is where he ought
to be; at that time,interchange of place, \
(i. e., of spiritual state) is impossible, j
But it says nothing against Dives lising j
out of h is torment, when he lias learnt '
the lesson of it, and going where he j
ought to go.
“Fire and worms, whether physical or •
spiritual, must in all logical fairness be
supposed to do what lire and worms do, ;
viz: destroy decayed and dead matter,
and set free its elements to enter into
new organisms; that as they are bene- |
ticent and purifying agents in this life, j
they must be supposed such in the fu
ture life, and that the conception of
lire as an engine of torture, is an un
natural use of that agent and not to he
attributed to God without blasphemy,
unless you suppose that the suffering
(like all which lie inflicts) is intended
to teach man something which he can
not learn elsewhere. * * *
“Finally, you may call upon them to
rejoice that there is a lire of God the
Father whose name is love, burning
forever unquenchably to destroy out of
every man's heart, and out of the hearts
of all nations, and off the physical and
moral world, all which offends and
makes a lie. That into that fire the
Lord will surely cast all shams, lies,
hypocrisies, tyrannies, pedantries, false
doctrines, yea, and the men who love
them too well to give them up, that the
smoke of their bosanismos (V e.) the
torture which makes men confess the
truth, for that is the real meahing of
it, basnnismos meaning the touchstone
by which gold was tested—may ascend
perpetually for a warning and a beacon
to all nations, as the smoke of torment
of French aristocracies, and Bourbon
dynasties is ascending up to heaven,
and has been since 17D3.”
Dean E. II. Plumptre writes (‘‘The
New Testament on the Life after
Death”).
“Even the parable in which the ter
rors of tlie unseen world were set
forth in the most appalling vividness,
represented the sufferer, (the Rich
Man) as having at last learned to care,
more than he had done in his lifetime,
for the welfare of others; of the father
Twencniririg the suf*
ferer in hades as his son.” Luke xvi.
25 28.
Chauncey Hare Townshend, of the
Episcopal church, gives this tine ser
mon in a sonnet, in the same line:
Our si 119 from fli’ea dreadful emblem make
Of punishment, and woes that never tire;—
And yet. now friendly beautiful is tire 1
Truth dress'd in fable, tolls us it did wake
Man from brute sleep, heaven's bounty to par
take.
And arts, and love, and rapture of the lyre,
The cottage hearth, the taper's friendly spire,
Have images to soften hearts that ache.
Virtuous is lire. Tue stars give thoughts of
love,
And the sun chaseth ili desires away.
Fire cleanses too; by it wo gold do prove.
And precious silver hath its bright assay.
Why not then deem the Bible's fires mean
this—
Evil alt melted to make way for bliss?
In the Christiin World Pulpit, London,
1885, is a sermon by R.*v J. B. Heard,
A. M,prep, cued in St..I din’s. Caterham,
August 9, on the text,“Son, remember,”
in the course of which occurs these
words:
“There is,if I must say what 1 believe,
something remedial in punishment.
This is the missing link in jurispru
dence, which legislators are beginning
to grope for and feel after. Am 1 to be
told that man is, in this respect, in ad
vance of God, or that human jurispru
deuce is to he humanitarian, but the di
vine solely vindictive? * * It is this
theology which has taken all heart out
of morality, and made so many skeptics
to the gospel of love. * * We have to
go back to the truth as it is in .1 sits,
and to bis teaching in regard to retri
tuition, which may he gathered from
this parableft heR ch Man and La/, u us.)
*****
If God be the Father of spirits, sure
ly in the world of spirits, we may
look for his presence, chastening, puri
fying and disciplining those who have
escaped that discipline here. This is
this missing truth of theology, the lost
pleiad of the heavenly world of spirits,
which has only lately been recovered and
brought to light. * * These two truths
then, need to be enforced side by side,
the keynote of which is contained in
the two expressions. Sou, remember."
The term ‘remember,’ carries with it
the thought of retribution, exact and
unerring. * * The other phrase ‘soi;,’
carries with it a depth unsuspected by
those who only read the parable on the
surface. It suggests to us that Gives
is still a child of Abraham, still a mem
her of the covenant which cannot be
broken, and that in his case, as in that
of Israel as a whole, though God visits
his offenses with a rod and his sin witn
scourging, yet his covenant he will not
change, nor alter the thing which has
gone out of his mouth. We may then
describe the two elements of future
punishm-nit as retributive aud reme
dial.’’
Uuiver.salists have always claimed
that if this story is to he literally inter
preted, it ail -ids no support to unend
ing woe; and i' is encouraging to see
those who thus understand it, in other
churches, c imirig into the same view ,
and casting the silver light of faith on
the darkest clouds of divine judgment.
Tliis is the tendency of modern Christ
ian thought in all the churches in
Creat Britain.
AVh 11. IssT.
3?!an dUnrc] Mother.
I
Some Estimates of the Great Preacher—And
some Estimates also of the Chicago Congre
gationalists.
Many men in heaven, and many ptill
alive owe their conversion un ler God to
Mr. Beecher’s stirring and heart-search
ing sermons. He always delighted to
speak of the love of God, and in those
happy days when Jesus Christ and Irra
crucified was his all in all, his tender ap
peals were all but irresistible During
many years he was in the pulpit and on
the rostrum what H .race G.eeley was in
the press. The two men were much alike
in their elements of greatness and in their
follies and weaknesses. B ith lost their
stamina with advancing years. * * *
For the good that he ba3 done, for his
hatred of oppression, for his sympathy
with the suffering, for the powerful aid
he reude e.t toward the emancipation of
men, for lr.s intense immunity, he will he
long .nd gratefully .emembe-od by the
American pe iple Interior.
It ought to he set d ifu to the s re-lit -
of Mr. Bsw’p'r. too. 'hat lie did more
than nay o'her m in in bis day to broaden i
the range of pulpit ionics. He emanci- 1
pated the pulpit, fr >m much of fhe old
narrowness, and showed bow it is possi
ble to treat social and political and oo a
me.rcial question - from the standpoint of
Christian shies. Tue dangers of this
broa ie ling out of he pulpit have bee-. 1
seen, and still are seen, in a tendeucy in a
certain elass of shallow minds to sensa
tionalism, but it hardly seams possible
that the pulpit shall ever drift back into
the old indifference !o the moral side of
all questions which c m ien the welfare
of the masses of men. The Advance
- As a preacher he was likean air plant.
His inspiration was drawn, tint from
books or study, but from an actual ob
servance of and contact with men. The
ideas he gathered thus he reproduced in
dazzling forms. He judged that his mis
■ eion and duty ns n preacher were to ac
complish the best pulpit work possible,
and he bent everything to this. A great
head and a great heart, a tender, sympa
thetic nature, quick perception and leni
ent judgment all these enabled him to
see gold m mankind, where others could
discover nothing but dross. His very
presence always struck me as that of a
lion with a big heart having power to
smite to the earth, but disdaining to barm
even the weakest.- - Thomas 0. Shearman
(Brooklyn).
Mr, Beeohpr wus^oueof the mostjjfc
markable men that this country or this
century has produced. His peculiar ge
nius was developed on American soil, a
it could never have been developed any
where else. He was the defender of in
tellectual, religions amt political liberty.
No man in America lias done more, sin
gle banded, to emancipate orthodox Con
gregationalism from the thrall of its med
iaeval theology. His work for the free
dom of the slave and for the defense of
the Union, at home and abroad, should
secure for him the lasting gratitude of
every lover of the Republic.-- Christ tint
Reijiiter.
The word sympathy would sweep a
circle around most of Mr. Be acker's until
—sympathy for bondage, sympathy fo
helplessness, sympathy for trouble. Teat
gave him bis power. A big heart always
takes anything by storm. Mr. Beecher
put a stout shoulder under tne world’s
burdens, and everybody loves such a na
ture. For eighteen years I have seen
him under all circumstances, and I never
heard him say a depreciating word about
anybody. He was in good humor with
all mankind. He felt there was room for
all, and if there was not he would m,ik*
room. -Rev. DeWitt Talmuye.
—Henry Ward Beecher is dead. Tin
land is in mourning, and the press is
crowded with tributes to the memory of
the greatest pulpit orator America has
ever produced. The final summing up
of his life will find him a Oreat-Heait.
All his instincts were humanitarian He
was always a willing advocate of the op
pressed of every kind and condition. Hit
intiueuce has been a mighty power for
liberal things. All honor to the great
preacher, and all sympathy to the ;>«■
reaved family, and to the thousands wiio
depended upon his weekly ministration-,
for their best help in the life of the spirit.
-Unity.
—Mr. Beecher bad ft leonine bravery.
He was not afraid of man or the devil.
With what superb self forgetfulness and
might did he attack current notion whim,
dishonored the character of God, or de
uouuce the proud and apparently invin
cible m meter of slavery! His impress is
on the e uutry, in religious though!, in
method of preaching, in all the eom .l
and political progre s we have mad*.
The country can never forget Henry
Word Beecher. 1; I. not y-> recorded
h greater name Tin I nl /u ,,,/ :,l
Take him all in all, measure him
brain and heart, Henry Ward Beech*-,
was tire greatest mat* of his day. I'm.
we are sure will be the verdict >f hie orv.
Wo are too near for a perspective. 1
will take the perspective >f a half century
or more to see him in his true propoi
tious. Too near, wt cannot see the ni *ui
tarn; as it recedes, >1 grows larger and
larger to our vision. Fifty year, hence
the world will count H-eehet a great,
man than it reckons him to-day. Th
l •*./<•<.
1 regaul him as o.*r great* at preach*o
; orator and advocute on uli moral qne
; Uoup. While there was an honest direr
1 geuee ..f opinion in our religions doe
trices of late years as well as on some
questions of social reforms, it never pro
duced any break in onr pleasant persona?
intercourse. Ex-President Lincoln once
said to me at Chicago: ‘‘What amazes me
of Mr. Beecher is|his wonderful fertility of
thought, in which he surpasses any man
in this country.” Mr. Lincoln spoke the
truth. —Rev. Theodore Cuyler, It. It.
—Beeeher will live in history as one of
the oratoriul wonders of the century. No
other man has had such magnetic power
on the platform and in the pulpit. No
other man has, in the same length of
time, done so much to make over, and
make almost new, the theology he inher
ited. No other man has so dared to con
front the prepossessions and prejudices
of his co laborers, or has had a tithe of
hie power in compelling a new generation
to accept bis lead Christian Leader.
—W7e who have bowed with him in
prayer know with what might of humil
ity, penitence, faith and love le stormed
the king lorn of heaven. His moral fear
lessness was consistent throughout. It
was in vain to threaten Mr. Beecher.
Having made up his mind, no Luther
was better prepared to face loss, infamy,
or desertion. I never heard him sa> one
unkind word of any enemy.— Rev. Or
Joseph Parker, London.
■-- ♦-*
THE CHICAGO CONGREGATIONALISMS.
Thebe is more of Christianity in the heart
of the man, whatever may be his creed, who
can comfort and console the widow of the
wickedest atheist in the land than could be
found iu fill tlic mustard-seed soul- of these
Chtotgo Pharisees, whose hearts were un
washed of their bitterness, even in the pres
eueeof death.—A’usArilfe (Tenn.) American.
It is an exhibition of the “odium theo
logicum ” tor which there was no occasion,
and of which the irreligiously inclined will
be ipiick to make use. t )nce more the cry
will go up, “See ■-ov these Christians love
one another!" ant in this way the cause
aliko of religion and humanity will suffer
an injury.—Philadelphia North American.
Tub u mister* who were afraid to condole
with Mrs. Beecher in her fillliction le-t they
might be suspected of sympathy with her
husb aid’s heterodoxy ought to read Ihe para
ble of the Good Samaritan. There is some
thing in it about a priest and a Cavite which
may interest them.—Detroit Free Frees.
It is a mem, and narrow spirit which can
refuse some recognition of the greatness and
splendid service'to humanity of Henry W ard
Beecher, merely because of what are by some
considered religious heresies, or denomina
tional errors.—Clereland Leader.
These men, pretending to teach Christ’s
u^erm,, objected to offering sympathy to the
wife of a man on his death bed, beoause that
man’s opinions were not their opinions.—
Quincy Herald.
In the presence of death ail animosities are
generally hushed. It is to be regretted that
theological differences alone should be the
Exception. The measure of Mr. Beecher’s
orthodoxy is not an issue at this time, — lias
ton Globe.
\\ hebe ,-ucli brntal and contemptible big
otry misrepresents Christianity is it any woe
der that sinners who possess any self-respect
or manliness are repelled and disgusted?—
Jackson. .Mich. j Republican.
ffuE Congregational ministers of Chicago
who opposed the sending of a resolution of
condolence to Air. ft eoher, seem to lit
ipitte lonely in their attitude. — Milwaukee
Sentinel.
" e can imagine that fneh men. had they
lived at that time, would iiave di-sentod
when I he Saviour told the erring woman to
depart in peace and sin no more.—Peoria
Transcript.
Think of olergymen refusing to sy mpathize
Witti Mrs. Beecher io her aill ction because
'h.y did not believe m her husband’s the
ol gy Can if be true? Philadelphia Ledjer
Fob shame! For shame! Small wonder
those Chicago preacher - were anxious to
keep the report of their proceedings ont of
too papers.— Milwaukee Wisconsin.
run death of Henry Ward Beecher calls
oat expressions of sy mpathy from all source
except from the ministers of Chicago.— Sr.
I.OU is Post- I tispaich.
What a lamentable exhibition of anchris
iiau feelings on lie part of a body supposed
to be pre-eminently Christian.—Minneapolis
Journal.
Is it Christianity? Commend ns to some
tiling that has more of the Christian spirit in
it, more humanity, more decency.—Ouincp
Whip.
Mb. Bkkiiike has spent most of his life in
preaching d.-wu aud living down just thu!
spirit of intolerance. — Rochester \ i. .
Herald.
Vnm yet such m-n wonder why the people
appear to h- losing their interest for preachers
ami pulpits.- Hnffitln I'lmnuercial.
To the Congregational clergymen of Chi
ago most ha awarded the palm for narrow
m ud- amt lack of charity. — f'/icii
H \"en help their narrow -onl Moody
otiinot commence his missionary work there
a, too soon.—Toletlu Itee.
Chic .too i he i ih,i.MUre for n any il mg,.
‘* mgregatiouai 01 tlaaloxy au.m g then..—
' ’iiii'ii'/*> llernlil.
Ttifitk i- a devotion to the letter of n
treed that sometimes kiileth the epint.
IlneUii’jtnu lluiel.ei/e.
The most gl iriug example of unchristian
bigotry ami nariow m idled ness. r.trr.
limit \ i’o. i Imles.
V MlNi-i'i i: of the gospel, whatevi i hi- rr
itie creed, should not foiget hi.n airily.
him In t II m i lil.
* l->ut> have mercy on them, for Huy
anew nil whirl they do." Ih 'mil /,,t
The air of Chi :go seem- to l,e Ireighteu
vith hiliousrie— i'lnii'i i\t,ixlilu
I hi ih action w as n iri-uly. tea.-onal'ie or
thrift! i in like ’ , i
I cm.i '-m> g.crel Ike r. c lurch oiiarre!
• mho a • fi> ■ in ./«*»<, /,
Itt.n HU. did not deserve such hatred
\Hunin (
\.vn tin* i- tin r c-tufuri!
I i f*//. II n/ .tf.