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About Morning Oregonian. (Portland, Or.) 1861-1937 | View Entire Issue (April 22, 1901)
TF, MOUSING 0KEG0NIAN, MONDAY, APKIi;. .22, 1901 . MR. M1LLS-HIS CRITICS "WITH. IICCIDEXTAIj RBPJjY TO DR. E. P. HILIi. . Dlscaurae "by XUtbbl Stephen S. 'Wise Iiast Friday Evening. I am not ashamed of the fact that I presented Mr. Mills to a religious gath--eriner in this city. iNor do I apologize for having done so. I am proud of it, I glory In It. I -would do so again, if oc casion offered, and If Mr. Mills comes to Portland again, he shall stand in my pulpit, if he can be Induced to accept a, most hearty invitation.- If an honest anan of any faith comes to Portland, he shall receive a hearing in my synagogue. JSven though he should advocate teach ings opposed to the thought of Juda ism, what harm or evil -can result? If "the faith of my people is so weakly and Jnsecuredly grounded, that it can be up rooted .and destroyed by whosoever chances along, so be it. Such faith is aot faith. Better, by far, honest and ra tional doubt, than intellectual Inertness or slothfulness, calling Itself faith. I hava pursued the same practice in New Tork City. Mrs. Balllngton Booth, for example, and eminent representatives of the different churches have, from time to time, addressed my New York congregation.' I desire my people to hear anany expressions and statements of the truth. I am not fearful of their stray ing away; nor need I be, for I do not hold that my was' is the only way, that If a man walk not with me, he must be lost he cannot be saved. I leave that fear to others. I, too, was present at the union re ligious services, on the first day of the year and of the century, and the recol lection is Indeed, precious to me. I prayed then, and I pray now. not for the coming of a universal Judaism, nor even ior the coming of a universal Presby terianism, but for the dawning of a faith broad and catholic enough to embrace a.nd welcome all men. Let no words spoken, tonight, lead you to imagine that my people and I have receded from our position on the first day of the year. The synagogue is as tolerant as the sky, and intolerance shall find no lodgment in this temple, least of all in this pulpit. "Mr. Mills and his critics." "Fighting again? Oh, no; it's the same old fight." Hy. wish, however, to emphasize at the eery outset, that although Dr. Hill, as trepresentatlve of Mr. Mills critics, and I disagree essentially and fundamentally in some things, we shall continue to bat tle shoulder to shoulder for the good and against the evil. I honor Dr. Hill as man and minister, and I prize his friendship, but we would not "be worthy of the respect of each other, or that of the community, if, though we differ In creed and worship God under different aiames, we would not continue to stand together and strive together for the things of the higher life. "Whot is this "awful Mr. Mills," that lias called forth such eloquent and co pious wrath? "What has he said or done to inspire these stirring sermons in de fense of "the infinitely more of Chris tianity"? One of the main reasons for this Tesentment, I take to be the fact that Mr. Mills was at one time an or thodox Christian and evangelist, and now is a "heterodox" or Unitarian. This is ot expresriy stated, but none the less obvious. Dr. Eliot and Mr. Lord preach the same, or similar things, but they are spared, as far as I know, anger and Invective. The truth is, that the moment fl. Christian leaves his church and de nomination, doubt and distrust attach Themselves to him. A most dangerous position for a church which teaches, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall moke you free." Is the church ready to admit that it must aban don this position and amend the teach ing of Jesus into "free but not free to forsake Christianity"? Israel believes in. the liberating influence of the knowl edge of truth. If needs be, I would rather have freedom without Judaism, than Judaism without freedom. If a non Chrietlan is converted to Christianity, Jbe is hailed with joyous welcome and gratitude, forasmuch as he has come o the light and to liberty. Mr. Mills leaves the Presbyterian church, and at once he is proclaimed by various min isters of the gospel in this city, '.insin cere," 4unfalr," "notoriety-seeker." One personal word I would speak to 'zny friend and brother. Dr. Hill. I deep ly regret, for his sake, that in order to point his moral, he found it neces feary to adduce a New Testament tale, nd make both Mr. Mills and myself play an apparently despicable part. It jaeems rather "un-Christ-like" to label cne Caiaphas, because I do not accept Ir. Hill's Jesus. I regret Dr. Hill's com parison, because In other days, such words as his have brought evil and ca lamity to the house of Israel. Who was Caiaphas? (I do not wish my question to imply the admission, on my part, of the historicity of all the events and Inci dents alluded to in the pages of the New Testament, with "which question I shall deal some other time.) Caiaphas is represented as a stern, merciless, hate ful, high priest and judge. In coun tries -such as Galicla, Austria, Roumanla, Russia, it is not infrequently the ut terance of some such word by a Chris tian minister that Influences the passion of the anti-Semitic mob and leads in the end to pillage, rapine, murder. Thank ixm we live in a land of liberty and cnlightment, and such words "like ashes thrown to windward, recoil on the head of the thrower." The history of the world ha6 been changed by just such an utterance. Ferdinand and Isabella, of Spain, urged on by the dignitaries of the church, resolved to expel the Jews from their dominions in 1492. The Jews begged end begged for a revocation of this de cree. King and Queen were, at first, ob durate, but later seemed about to yield, when the leading Jew of his generation! Isaac Abarbanel, presented himself be fore the King and Queen and offered enormous sums, in the names of the Jews, 4f the edict were removed. It Is related that the grand inquisitor, Tor quemada, burst into- the room holding up e crucifix, and cries aloud, "Judas sold Christ for 30 pieces of silver; will you do the same for 300,000 ducats? Here he is, take him and sell him." The edict re mained fat force and the Jews, who had risen to places of honor and distinction in Spain, were driven out. Oh, the shame and the cruelty, the sufferings and the horror that followed. Who was the Judas that betrayed his Lord? Ferdinand, that would have spared and saved the Jews, or Torquemada, insisting upon their exile? Still, Torquemada might have said: "I take my stand with Je uus." But did -Jesus take his stand with Torquemada or with his poor brethren In Israel, lashed, scourged, exiled? My brother minister says that he takes his siana witn Jesus and he calls me Cai aphas. because I honestly deny the di vinity of Jesus. Let my brother ask himself: "Would Jesus have called me Caiaphas?" "Father, forgive them; for they Tcnow not what they do." Mr. Mills says that the essential thing in religion Is not "credo." "I believe in the gospel of the crucified Son of God. and the Messiahshlp of Jesus," but "amo" "I love." Dr. Hill holds that the cardinal thing is a "belief in the gospel of the cru cified Son of God," that "man's hope of salvation is in the cross of Calvary " Mt Mills declares that religion must ever Btow and ever learn: Dr. Hill believes that Christianity is an authoritative and final expression of religion. Mr. Mills be lieves in the early dawning of a. universal religion, -which will be a religion of love. Dr. Hill holds that the universal religion has come for all centuries, in the form of Christianity. Mr. Mills did not hesitate to admit that his and my religious views were largely the same: Dr. Hill points out that I "repudiate the divine Messiah- I shlpr of Christ." Dr. Hill complains that Mr. Mills kicked around the dead bodies of buried beliefs In theological graveyards. My contention shall not be with a man of straw, but with the living body of a vital belief of jorthodox Christianity. I meet Dr. Hill's challenge and I accept it. I do repudiate the Messiahshlp of Jesus Christ. In thus repudiating the Messiahshlp of Jesus, I do not stand alone. I take my stand with the Unitarian church, with thousands upon thousands of enlightened Christians and even many Christian min isters of the orthodox churches here and elsewhere. Why do I not accept the su perhuman and divine Messiahshlp of Jesus? The cardinal teaching Involved in the Messiahshlp or Saviorshlp Is that of the atonement for the sins of men by the sacrifice and death and blood of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. I deny the premises, that sin is original and Inborn In man, that sin is inherited from Adam, that every man must suffer for the sin of the first of men. that sin can be wiped out and God's anger appeased only by means of a sacrifice. This belief Is unblbllcal and un Jewish. Israel holds that man Is prone to sin, but thathe may rise to holiness and blamelessness with God; if he sin, he may repent and return to God. "As I live, I have no pleasure In the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his ways and live." And live, not believe! I would speak with such reverence as befits the sacredness of my theme. Still, I cannot silence my deepest conviction that the orthodox Christian teaching with respect to the atonement is unspeakably cruel and cowardly. I agree with Paul, that it Is "unto the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness." To me It is both. If I sin, I must suffer. Let me suffer. None other shall suffer for me, even though he be God. Is God angry with men. that he must be soothed and mollified? I shall be told by many good Christians that I do not understand this lofty, wonderful teaching a very sim ple way out of a perplexing difficulty. It cannot be denied that some scattered ref erences In the Talmud and Kabbala might seem to bear this out, but the body of Jewish teaching is elementally opposed to such a doctrine. Sacrifices were never more than a symbol; Israel's symbol to those for whom the spirit and essence of religion had to be clothed in a visible symbol, even as the characteristic Jewish thought of Jesus, that man is the Son of God, that humanity is divine, had to be embodied in the Christ-conception. Dr. Hill said: "If Jesus was the highest model of religion within the reach of our thought, he certainly would not con sciously He, and to say that he stupidly blundered, whenever he made reference to his relation to God, Is to relegate him to a place among Idiots." I repudiate the Messiahshlp of Christ! What does Jesus say of himself? I take his own testimony. "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God Is one Lord." Not three, nor three in one, nor one In three! "There came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may Inherit eter nal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? There Is none good, save one, that is God." "I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." In the gospel of John, Jesus refers to himself again and again, as "the Son of Man." Paul says: "But we see Jesus, he was made a little lower than the angels." In an other place Paul says: "For there is one God, and' one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." It is sought to attest the Messiahshlp of Jesus by adducing the miracles which Jesus Is said to have performed, the witnesses being Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Paul; but it is forgotten that the writings of these .men are dated much later than the year of Jesus' death, so that the so-called evidence, in legal phraseology. Is nothing more than hear say. If you Insist upon the authenticity of the miracles recorded In the gospel, why not believe in the thousands upon thousands qf mlracle& alleged to have been performed since the New Testament times; the miracles In France, for In stance, the miraculous occurrences at the shrine of Lourdes, attested by hun dreds of witnesses, who declare that they heard the voice of the Holy Virgin? If a Jew be confronted with the question, Why do you accept the miracles of the Hebrew testament and reject the miracles of the Christian testament? he Is justified in making answer that the belief In mir acles Is not essential to the Jewish faith, Judaism does not rest upon miracles; the superhuman or miraculous Is not pivotal to the. religion of Israel, In the same way as the superhuman In the life of Jesus is essential to orthodox Chris tianity. The question Is oft-times put Is not the divine Messiahshlp borne out by prophecies, the so-called Messianic pas sages of the Hebrew Bible? I believe that Jte legend of the Messiahshlp has been made to fit these verses but Inaptly and blunderingly. Verses are arbitrarily tak en from out their context, and as arbi trarily Interpreted. These things are not read out of the Bible, but read Into the Bible. In the near future I propose to devote a series of sermons to this prob lem; In the meantime, let me single out a few random verses, bearing upon this question. "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son. and they shall call his name Emmanuel." In the original Hebrew, the word which is translated by "virgin" does not mean virgin but a marriageable woman. Ac cording to the most learned and Impartial students of the biblical text, the Hebrew word "almah" does not denote virgin. Again, Jesus is not named Emmanuel, and, in the third place, this prophecy has reference to a very near future, and not to a future far-off. Again, the verse, "Out of Egypt have I called my Son," refers not to Jesus and Mary and Joseph, but to Israel in Egyptian bondage. Fur thermore, "In Rama was there a voice heard," refers not to the Herodlan mas sacre of babes In Bethlehem, but to Israel's exile In Babylon. But my argu ment Is aside of the real question, in that I believe the attempt to force the New Testament story of the life of Jesus Into Imaginary lines laid down by He brew prophecy entirely misunderstands the spirit and nature and purpose of prophecy. The Hebrew prophet was not a fore-teller, but a forth-teller. The He brew prophet was not the sooth-sayer, but the truth-sayer. He was not an augur to forecast the things of a distant fu ture, but to speak forth mightily touch ing the moral and religious questions of the Immediate present, I repudiate the divine Messiahshlp of Jesus, because Israel never awaited a Messiah in the form of a superhuman being. A divine character was never at tributed by Israel to the expected Mes siah, nor was the Messiah to forgive and atone men's sins. Witness the circum stance that Cyrus, a foreign King, is called "God's messlah" or anointed. The orthodox Jews still look for the coming of a personal Messiah, a man; the re formed Jew awaits the dawning of the Messianic era, an age In which every man snau De a messian to hl3 brother. Mr. Mills stated that the backbone of orthodox Christianity Is, "God has given us an authoritative and ultimate mani festation of himself In a man and a book." Dr. Hill accepts this definition. To say, I hold, that God has revealed himself authoritatively and finally In a man or In a book is Idolatry. The wor ship of a book, though It be the Bible, the adoration of a man, though he be Jesus, Is not the worship of God; such worship and adoration substitute the works of God for God. himself. I do not accept the Hebrew Bible as an authori tative and ultimate manifestation of God. If it were necessary that I 'should do so, if this were essential to the re ligion of Israel, I would cease my min istry this very night. Will you limit God and say to him: "Thlsmah and this book are final and authoritative?" Has God exhausted Himself? "Is they fount of revelation sealed?1 Dare you say to God: "Thus far hast thou gone; no fur ther canst thou go or shalt thou go," lest perchance Judaism be disturbed or the authority of Christianity Impaired. Verily, Irreverent familiarity with God and his purposes In lieu of reverent awe and wor ship! Dr. Hill may not agree to this, but his attitude .towards Jesus and the Bible leads logically and Inescapably to that of the Roman Catholic church, an organ of which, published in this city, the Catholic -Sentinel, would forbid The Oregonian discussing religious problems, and presuming to question the divinity of Jesus C.nrist one step this side of the Inquisitorial attitude even threatening to forbid the members of the Roman Catholic church from reading It, a threat which I trust the Roman Catholic church members and The Oregonian alike will have the courage -to defy. Concede su preme authority to a man or a book and the position becomes inevitable, as an nounced to The Oregonian by the editor of the Sentinel, "the supremo and Infal lible teaching authority In religion be longs to the chair of Peter." How differ ent is this position from that of Judaism, which teaches that we are not called upon to believe anything out of accord with our reason. Reason Is to test, revise and sanction faith. "What think ye of Christ? Whose son Is he?" This question, according to Dr. Hill, indicates the line of a cleavage. "Is Christ a mere man or the uniquely divine Son of God?" A mere man! A mere man! As if It were necessary to degrade man In order to exalt and mag nify God. How splendid are the lines of Goethe: "Vcrmewse DIch, die Pforten aufzurelssen. Vor denen Jeder gem vorueber schlelcht! Hler 1st es Zelt, durch Thaten zu bewelsen, Das Manneswuerde nlcht der Goetterhoehe welcht" Jesus, "the mere man," lived to show what man could achieve. Make him out to be God and not man and you rob him of every element of power and help fulness and Inspiration. As Felix Adler declares: "His true grandeur Is In the pure and noble humanity which he Illus trated in his life and teachings. . . . It was the humanity, not the dogma of Jesus, by which Jesus triumphed." "I am an Hebrew of the Hebrews," and I accept Jesus, the man, but I repudiate his divine Messiahshlp; the critics of Mr. Mills : eject him. I take my stand with Jesus, as he would be stood by; I accept Jesus and all God-like men; the critics of Mr. Mills reject him, for as much as they call him the "man-God, Judaism ac cepts its own, Jesus of Nazareth; It re pudiates Jesus the divine Messiah. Why was Jesus of Nazareth deified? The deification of the man Jesus, I be lieve, helped to win over the heathen world, which required something to look upon and to lay hold upon. The deiflca-, tlon of Jesus, though modern Christen dom know It not, 'was a compromise, con scious or unconscious, with the heathen worship and mythology. The world of the first century of this era was not ready for a simple, spiritual, reasonable faith, any more than it was prepared for rational science, for astronomy, geology, anthropology. The mission of the man Jesus, as has well been said, was not tp overthrow the Pharisees, not to preach to the heathen world, "I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel," not to substitute the law of love which was for the law of retribution -which was not, but prophet-like to in sist upon righteousness as the regnant principle of living. Jesus was not in fluenced by the past; he tells us so. He was the child not alone of Mary, but of Judaism, the Inheritor of the treasures of Mlcah, Isaiah and Daniel. His life was not the literal .fulfillment of Old Testa ment prophecy, but he helped men the better to fulfill the prophetic, "Thou shalt." The burden of his message was righteousness, the sanctity and Inviola bility of the moral law. The real tri umphs of Christianity have been those of the Jewish lawgiver and prophets, tho triumphs of the law of love, of love for God as faith, and of love for man as righteousness. This naturally leads to the oft-mooted question, "Is Christianity a more spirit ual religion than Judaism?" My answer is the command laid 'down in the He brew Bible, "Ye shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God. am holy." Is it true that "Christianity Inculcates law, where as Judaism Impresses fear"? The fifth verse of the sixth chapter of Deuteron omy reads: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might." Was not Christianity the first religion to lay emphasis upon the love of man? Con sider the words of the Hebrew lawgiver, "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thy self." Some Christians take the stand that the principles of Judaism and Chris tianity are nearly alike, but that Chris tianity is advantaged by the possession of a supreme moral example In the person of Jesus I have already made answer to this claim. If Jesus be a man, he means as much to me as to you. If he be God, he means nothing to me, and nothing to you. What Is the thought of Judaism re specting Jesus? Dr. Max Nordau has said (the Christian Register, volumo 79, pages 428-429): "Leaving the Messianic mission aside, this man Is ours! He honors our race; and we claim him, as we also claim the synoptic gospels, flowers of Jewish liter ature, and nothing If not Jewish. We claim as our own, Jesus, his doctrine of morality, his conception of life, and the gospels with the exception of the book of John. We have' no need to revise his trial, since Jesus could never have been condemned and crucified according to Jewish law." Rabbi J. G. Emanuel, of Birmingham, England, declared in 1S85 (the Jewish Pul pit. London, 1886, pages 45-46): "I freely confess that the founder ' of Christianity was a noble man. I willingly admit the grandeur of his character. What Jew would wish to deny It, to con, ceal It? His greatness is our glory; for he was a Jew by birth, by education, by conviction. His morality and piety, his all-embracing love and boundless pity, his renned spirituality, sprang solely from Jewish sources. He was a disciple of the grand Jewish prophets, and the obo-icij ino &ituiu jcwish sages, txe was a Jew and lived) as a Jew. His triumph Is our triumph. His dominion over the millions that revere his name Is the measure of the creative influence of the principles contained in the law, of which we are guardians. Dr. K. Kohler, of New York, one of the most learned and emi nent of American rabbis, in a recently published pamphlet, entitled 'Jesus of Nazareth From a Jewish Point of View,' declares: 'Jesus, the living man, the teach er and practlcer of the tenderest love for God and man, the paragon of piety, hu mility and self-surrender, whose very failings were born of overflowing good ness and sympathy with the afflicted, the Jews had no cause to reject. He was one of the best and truest ones of the synagogue. A veritable prophet, a true religious genius. He was a bold, religious and social reformer, eager to regenerate Judaism. The Jew of today beholds In Jesus one of the highest types of hu manity, an Inspiring idea of matchless beauty.' I am proud of these words. It Is a cause for just pride that Jews should think and speak in this way of him, whose followers have for 1900 years persecuted the brethren of Jesus. Jesus may have come into the world to be a 'prince of peace; so-called Christians have made him out to be a prince of war by their acts, and have warred upon and terrorized and tortured members of the house of Israel. Oliver Wendell Holmes said, respecting such Christians as have persecuted my race: 'Instead of remembering -that they were entitled to form their own judgment of the teacher, as they had judged Hlllel and other great Instructors, Christians, as they call themselves, have insulted, calumniated, oppressed, abased, outraged the chosen race during the long succes sion of centuries, since the Jewish con temporaries of the founder of Christianity made up their minds that he did not meet the conditions required by the subject of the prediction of their scriptures.' Then Mr. Holmes quotes Emerson's telling ar gument, 'This was Jehovah come down out of heaven. I will kill you if you say he was a man.' "Israel has never been the persecutor In the same way In which Christendom has persecuted the children of Israel. Israel has not proclaimed, but has prac ticed this better than golden rule, 'Who soever doeth the will of my Father, which Is In heaven, the same Is my brother.' As for the claims of Christianity, touch ing the divine Messiahshlp of Jesus, Israel's .position is typed by - the poor Mahommedan in the mosque of Omar at Jerusalem. Pere Hyacinthe relates that a Christian guide, being shown the al leged footprints of Jesus, knelt reverently upon the floor to kiss them. The old Mahommendan guard looked at them, and soliloquized, 'Jesus, good prophet, very good prophet; Moses, Jesus, Mahomet, all three prophets but God alone Is God.' God alone is God! "We will not be like the minions of Herod's court, and, 'Sentinel against the truth and guard against reality.' We shall not, Herod-llke, hide from ourselves the cropse of ancient and absolete belief, nor embalm a lifeless creed In honey In order to make It appear to live. We would be sentinels of the truth, and guardians of reality, watchmen on the lookout, to welcome from the heights of the new and larger hope the dawning of the day that shall bring to all men the blessed, supreme, enfrcedomlng truth, which alone Is the knowledge of God. A learned Jewish teacher of our generation tells us that the name, 'Nazarene,' may, in view of its Hebrew derivation, signify 'watchman.' Jesus is not God; he is God's watchman, standing on the summit of immortality, and pointing to the ap proaching day, when the earth shall .be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. May not the mes sage of this watchman be, Let there be many windows in your soul, That all the glory of the untverso May beautify K. Not the narrow pane Of one poor creed can catoh the radiant rays That shine from countless sources. Tear awa The blinds of superstition; let the light . Pour through the windows broad as v truth Itself, And hlch as God. . . Be not afraid To thru aside half-truths and grasp tho. whole. And ye shall know the truth, and the" truth shall make you free. A FREE CHURCH JUSTIFIED. ,Dr. Lord .on the Reasonableness pf the Unitarian 'Faith. " " At the Unitarian Church yesterday .morning Mr. Lord spoke In substance as follows, taking his text from First Thesr salonlans: "Prove all- things; hold fast that which-Is good." Hesald: "I have no choice today. Circum stances have given me my subject. Con troversy Is not to my taste; and Is against my Idea of the true method of building up men In the spiritual life. Men love the excitement of polemics. They will fill any auditorium to hear a fight, while in the matter of hearing positive spir itual instruction, they will take much smaller Interest. You who have heard my message hitherto, will bear me wit ness that the ever-recurring theme in my discourses has been love, the divine prin ciple of true manhood and of human society, and truth, the light of that love. Love, the motive; truth, the way; beauty, the form. "But, no doubt, such a stir as Mr. Mills' coming has occasioned will do good In several ways. "First It will help people who have been unsettled to see that a' man may leave behind the husks of the old forms, the old theologies, and go forward to something higher and nobler. They will believe Mr. Mills, who has, like some of the rest of us, lived the same life of love under both forms of thought, when he says that the later is Infinitely larger and more Inspiring than tho earlier and narrower. Such testimony given by one en nrnmlnonf ns ATr ATI 11 R hnst hfpn in Hhe evangelical churches, carries great weight, as a mere matter of personal experience. And unprejudiced minds will see that reason Is on Mr. Mills' side. "Second Mr. . Mills has, undoubtedly, given the shock necessary to awaken not a few conventional religionists to a state of mind which will work out for them a vision of the reality of right and truth and love, never before experienced. "Third Mr. Mills' coming gives the opi. portunlty to demonstrate to a large pub lic the reasonableness and even the ne cessity of a free church such as our Unitarian church Is. " 'The Justification of a Free Church" is, therefore, my subject this morning. "First Let me point out that the fail ure to see that the Unitarian church is a free church has been the occasion of much mistaken zeal, futile argument, and personal reference (as it seems to me, personal attack) from the local orthodox pulpits. "The Unitarian church gives the right to every man, ministers or laymen, to think in his own conscientious way about any matter In the universe. "There are men In the Unitarian min istry so conservative In their thinking that they could say like Dr. A. P. Pea body, of Harvard, after Lyman Abbott had stated his thought about Jesus, at a Unitarian Club dinner in Boston, 'I can accept evory word of It,' while, on the other hand, there are In the same min istry men as radical as Dr. Mlnot J. Savage and Mr. Mills. Among our lay men there are people as orthodox cer tainly as those of the new liberal or thodoxy, and people as far on the other extreme as agnosticism. "Now the striking thing about It Is that the conservative In our pulpit not only does not wisn to cast the radical out. nor the radical the conservative, but each Is glad to have the other speaking the truth, as he sees it, to any con stituency who will hear and be helped by him. And amongst our laity, while the man who attributes a unique char acter to Jesus, could wish all his breth ren to be of the same mind, and the strong thelst could wish that his doubt ing brethren the agnostic might see or feel God as he does, all work together, In a spirit of more than tolerance for the things that all agree upon as good. Meanwhile, nearly all joining In a com mon worship. "Moreover, we are not alone willing that others should hold the truth, In all good conscience, as It appears to them, but we are anxious to hear what those who may differ from us have to say. When, therefore, Mr. Mills is Invited to tell his story In our Unitarian pulpit, It does not follow that every one in the whole church (ministers or laymen) agrees with him before or after he is through. On the contrary, there were recognized and great differences between some re sponsible people in the Portland Uni tarian church and Mr. Mills, when he was Invited to visit us. But what of that? In a free church it was the most natural thing to do. "And again, the presence of a Jewish rabbi In our pulpit to Introduce Mr. 'Mills or to preach a sermon Is also exactly In harmony with our theory and practice; even If the said rabbi had not been a broad and universalizing man, ready to speak a sympathetic word for Mr. Mills. The most orthodox clergyman In Port land would have been welcomed and In vited to perform the same service, could one have been found willing to do so. He would have been allowed to Bay, 'I do not agree with Mr. Mills and I do not expect to agree with him when he Is done, but I consider that It is only fair that those of us who heard Mr. Mills speak from one point of view formerly, should now hear him from another, though he seem to oppose our most cher ished convlclons.' "Our free church is practically such In the manner of its reception of members. Conservative people come to us under some such covenant as this: You do, In this solemn presence, give ypur sclf up to the true God as revealed In Jesus Christ, and to his people also, 'according to tho will of God, promising to walk with God, and with this church of his, in all his holy ordinances, and to yield obedience to every truth of his which has been or shall be made Downing, Hopkins & Co, ESTABLISHED 1SD3. Room 4, Ground Floor known to you as your duty, the Lord assist ing you by his spirit and grace. "While radical people express their thought in the following manner: You do, by this act, express your desire to unite with others for fellowship In the pur suit of religious and moral truth, the exer cise of love, and the nractlce of righteous ness; and you promise in the fulfillment? of this purpose, to strive to be faithful In the performance of eer thing known to you as your duty, and to use every means In your power toward building up the kingdom of heaven on the earth. "Sometimes persons come to us and to other Unitarian churches under the fol lowing bond of fellowshp: In the freedom of the truth; In -the spirit of Jesus, we unite for the worship of God, and the service of man. "An elderly Methodist minister in St. Paul, after reading the last quoted cov enant, remarked: 'Why, I could join your church.' And he further remarked: 'We are all coming to that some day.' "Second Rut I must point out specific ally some of the main points upon which the existence of our free church is justi fied. "The only ground upon which tho pxist en9.f an' church may be justified is that It Is necessary to minister to the spiritual life of men. And by ministering to the spiritual life, I mean that It makes men more unselfish in their motives, more noble In their thought, more beautiful and gracious in manners. ''Now. I do not say this boastfully, but I think It Is due the cause of truth and a higher faith at this time to say It, that no .church has, In proportion to Its num bers, produced so many superlatively no ble 'men as this free . church which Mr. Mills has Joined. All through the history of the Christian church. Unitarian men hae, been at the same time great in moral character and champions of freedom and tolerance. I pass the others and name today- only our American galaxy of Uni tarian saints. "William Ellery Channingy than whom nqLgreatersaInt, by common'.consent, has America produced, and more than any other, the father-oit American Unitarian ism.' "THeodore Parker, one of the heroic fig ures in our National history, whether he be regarded as the champion of the slave or of religious freedom. The Uni tarian laymen who dared to espouse the anti-slavery cause were more numerous. In proportion to the size of their church, than those of any other religious body. "These great spiritual poets Emerson, the two Longfellows (Henry and Samuel), Lowell, Bryant and Holmes. Can you imagine Lowell writing 'Sir Launfal' within the bounds of an orthodox creed? "Unitarianlsm has produced such states men as Jefferson, the two Adamses, Web ster, Sumner, Greeley, Horace Mann, ed ucator and statesman; John A. Andrew and George William Curtis, the ideal citi zen. "Our free church held these great au thors, whose names are synonyms not alone of genius, but of true manhood: Hawthorne, Bancroft, Motley, Parkman, Bayard Taylor and John FIske. "And is It not remarkable that of the twenty-odd names already recommended by a jury of America's greatest citizens to adorn the Hall of Fame, In New York City, a large proportion are from the rolls of the Unitarian church? "In the philanthropies, since the Uni tarian church began, members of this body have been out of proportion promi nent. Booker Washington, in his auto biography, recently published In the Out look, tells of Boston hospitality to his ap peals for his great school In Tuskegee. Some of us know who these hospitable men are. At the point of greatest finan cial depression, when Mr. Washington thought his school must stop for lack of funds, he went to Boston to a Unitarian minister, who, in a short time, from two Unitarian men, raised the whole amount necessary to meet the emergency. "Dorothea Dlx's name Is synonymous with the establishment of Insane asylums In this country and In the world. She drank her Inspiration from Dr. Channlng. "The contributions of Unitarians, from the beginning, to spiritual literature, have been great. The hymn which Dr. Hill quoted, in defence of a metaphysical con ception of Jesus, was written by a Uni tarian, Sir John Bowrlng, 'In the Cross of Christ I Glory.' Our orthodox friends sing 'Nearer, My God, to Thee,' entirely unconscious of the fact that a Unitarian, Sarah Flower Adams, wrote It. In all of the modern hymn books, the hymns of Samuel Longfellow, Samuel Johnson, William Cullen Bryant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Frederic L. Hosmer and even sometimes one by Theodore Parker, one of the most reverential hymns to Jesus ever penned are found. Out of 150 hymns in a recent orthodox hymn book published In England, 60 are by Unitarian authors. "When we ask In any given locality, where a Unitarian church has had a his tory, who are two or three of the chief saints, recognized as such In the commu nity, would they not be of our free church? "Remember, I speak of this, not to boast, but In the interest of justice, now that an endeavor is being made to dis credit our free church. 'By their fruits ye shall, know them.' "Third Sudh a church must be In the Interest of true religious unity. The true bond of spiritual' unity Is spiritual sym pathy, and not intellectual uniformity. Even orthodox churches must get on in this way, for there are wide differences of opinion among their members. Where is the line to be drawn? About the Bible, for example, leading defenders of the old bound do not accept all of the Bible. Where will they stop? Dr. Hill would re ject the passage In the 137th Psalm, 'Hap py shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.' If he may reject that, what other than reason and conscience can determine the truth of any Scripture? "The pastor of the First Presbyterian Church would prove Jesus deity, not di vinity (we all believe in Jesus' divinity), by assuming four things: First, that there 1? no other Interpretation of the Scripture that he quotes than his own, and we must consequently accept the deity of Jesus, or acknowledge him a liar. Second, the his toricity of the book he quotes from. Third, .that Old Testament prophecy is correctly used, when he ..declares that It explicitly points to Jesus; and. fourth, the lnerrant Inspiration of Jiii, quotations. "In regard tp the first, Channlng, James Freeman CJarko and other great scholars, found these very Scriptures teaching the humanity "of Jesus. In regard to such a use. of prophecy, let any one read, for ex ample, the recent publications of an ortho dox professor, of New Testament history In the University of Chicago, 'A History of New Testament Times In Palestine,' 'The Social Teaching of Jesus,' by Shaller Mathews. In regard to the historicity of the fourth gospel, some hint may be ob tained from one or both of these books. The balance of. judgment of reverent scholars Is against tho historicity o the fourth gospel. And with regard to in spiration, It is no longer bad orthodoxy to discover a large fallible human element JImWIIMJIBM Mormon Blahons Pills Church "U Weir iui4simci. Toiiun-iy cures the worst cases In old and youa? arislni; from effects of self abuse, dissipation, excesses, or cigarette saolcin?. Curo Lost Manhood, !m lif tpnoy, Lost Power. Itv. Headache. Unfitness to or LionslDatlan. Stons Oulcknoso of DIs Pr7 8Tl charrro. StODs Ner vous, Twitching Of Eyollde. erery function. Dont eet dcipondnt. organs. Stimulates the brain and nenre centers. sc a box, ex money refunded, with 6 boxes. Circulars free. AdtiresSj Chamber of Commerce In the Old and New Testament Scrip tures. "Does it not follow that the only way Is to leave all such intellectual questions to every man's honest judgment and unite in the fellowship of the spirit of Jesus? "A free church destroys the spirit of theological prejudice, dogmatic suspicion and dislike such- as has been shown by the orthodox churches since Mr. Mills left them. Mr. Mills has been the subject of constant misrepresentation. Private let ters have been written to discredit him. He is now charged with being a seeker after notoriety, a kind of an adventurer, not quite In good standing with the Uni tarian church itself. Recently an In quiry has come to Mr. Mills from nn Eastern community where he once held revival services, asking if the current re port there Is true that he Is becoming a drunkard, and again, inquiring whether he confessed to himself to a Congrega tional minister whom he never met. that he regarded himself as a candidate for an Insane nsylum. Leading ministers who once labored with him pass him on the street without speaking, while he has no bitter word to speak against them, these facts being obtained from him only by pointed Inquiry. "Fourth A free church Is necessary In the Interest of Intellectual honesty and so of moral integrity Itself. A man cannot be false to his convictions and save his moral character. The orthodox churches set limits upon a man's Intellectual free dom. Human nature Is too weak to bear the strain orthodoxy occasions Its minis ters and laymen. At a meeting of a cer tain orthodox body of ministers In Spring field, Mass., some time since, a paper was read taking high critical ground regarding the Scripture. Out of 30 men present, 23 said they agreed, but they each said 'I do not dare tell my people this.' One said, 'I repeat the Apostles' Creed every Sunday and do not believe what am. I to do?' "Dr. Eliot and I could tell tales of Epis copal and other orthodox ministers who have come to us seeking Unitarian pul pits. Such false positions must undermine character and destroy moral earnestness. Thank God we have a free church that encourages a man to tell the truth as he sees It. "I do not condemn all other churches. Any minister who believes his creed, and any layman who does not feel trammeled in the old faiths, should remain. The old churches have their use while the old faiths last." For any case of nervousness, sleepless ness, weak stomach. Indigestion, dyspep sia, relief is sure in Carter's Little Liver Pills. WEAK MEN CURED. Vacuum treatment. A positive cure ! witnout poisonous urugs ior vic I ' tims of lost manhood, exhausting I drains, seminal weakness and errors ! ! of youth. For circulars or infor ' i mation. call or address. Vigor si3 street Correspondence confidential. TRAVELERS' GUIDE. In our anxiety to advertise the St. Louis Special, we are apt to overlook the fact that In the St. Paul-Chicago Limited we have one of the most perfectly appointed trains on earth. It Is lit by electricity, heated by steam, has a compartment sleeper, a diner, a chair and a library car. All transcontinental trains con nect with It. All ticket agents sell tickets by it. TICKET OFFICE: Cor. Third and Stark Sta. R. W. Foster. Ticket Agent lEATf0OTHER) Ticket Office, 122 Third St ' Phone 680 LEAVE The Fler, dally to and xr from St- Paul. Mlnne- r"- apolls. Duluth. Chlcngo 0:00 P. M. jand all points East. ARRIVE No. 3 7 00 A M Through Palace and Tourist Sleeper Ulntnc and Buffet Smoklng-Llbrary Cars. JAPAN - AMERICAN LINE STEAMSHIP TOSA MARU For Japan, China and all Asiatic points will leave Seattle About April 29th AfftNlfrS S.ffl-'MSISSK? eooo v u.iavtvt.. SONOMA &YEMURA SS. AUSTRALIA, for Tahiti.. About April 22 SS. SIERRA, for Honolulu, Samoa. New Zealand and Australia Thursday. May 0, 10 A. II. SS. MARIPOSA (Honolulu only) Saturday. April 27. 2 P M. J. D.SPRECXEIS k BROS. CO , General Agents, 327 Uarbt St GeiTl Passenger OiSce, 643 Harht St.. Piar h. 7. Pacifc Jt WHITE COLLAR LINE BAILEY GATZERT (Alder-street Dock). Leaves Portland dally every mornlns at 7 o'clock, ezcerjt Sunday. Returning. leaves As- torla every night at 7 o'clock, except Sunday. Orecon phone Main SSI. Columbia phone 321. Steamers AStona and Pomona Dally (ex. Sunday) for Independence. Salem and all way landings. Leave Portland 0.15 A. M.; leave Salem S A. M.: Independence, 7 A. M OfHcx and dock, fool Tavlor st. have been la usa-over a Ycarj by the leaders of the Momoo Lit by Electricity Nlght-Lossoo, Spormatorrhoea Insomnia, Pains Mnrrv. t-oss of fit53 Samon. Varicoceles Lflects are Immeauie. RAi$ Impart ncor ana potency to &. cure Is at hand. Vmd'iL-i Restores small. umleYelocea 6 f r Ja 50 by mail. w"Wl A written euirantee. to cura Clshop Remedy CO. 8an FranvlsCOi Cal. TRAVELERS' GUIDE. iEGON HOigr MM amd Upton Pacphc Union Depot. Sixth and J Streets. THREE TRAINS DAILY FOR ALL POINTS EAST "CHICAGO-PORTLAND SIECIAL." Leaves for tho East, via Huntington, at Js0O A. JL. arrives at -1.J0 P. M. M'OICVXC FLYEIIV For Spokane. Eastern uduinglun. and Griat Northern puints, leave i o rv -lr arruuj at A. M. ATLANTIC EXPRESS. Leaea for the East, via Huntington, at O'.OO P. M.; arrives ats.10 A. M. THROUGH PULLMAN AND TOURIST SLi.EtEKS. OCEAN AND HIV lilt SCHEDULE. Wuler liuea aiucuulu auucut to luautfo with out notice. UCkA-N DIVISION From Portland. leav Alnioith Dock ul a P. il. . sail every o oay; Steamer Elder aulia April J. 1J. -Ei. suuaior Coiu.nuia aaiU Apiii I. il. r. Front San Frunctaco sail every 0 days. Leave Spear-street Pier HI at tl A. M.: bteamer Columbia sails April 3, U. '!&. ataum er Elder sails April 3. lb. 2d. COLUMBIA RIVER DIVISION. PORTLAND AND ASTOKlA. Steamer Haaio leave. pgru.inu ually. ex cept aunday ut b.Oo P. M., on aaturday at 10.00 P. it, Iteturnlnx. leaves Aatoiia ually. except Sunday, at 7 00 A. M. "WILLAMETTE RIVER DIVISION. POHTLAND AND SALEM. OK. Steamer Ituth. for Salem, lndnuundenao and way points, leaves from Ash-street Deck at 3 A. M. on Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays. Iteturnlngv leaves Independence at 5 A- M., and Salem at d A. 11.. on Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdas. COP.VALLIS AND ALBANT. Steamer Modoc leaves Portland at tf A. M. on Tuesdays, Thuridaja and Saturdays. Ra- turning. leaves Corvalllt at 0 A. M. on iloa- dajs. Vednesdajs and Fridays. .YAMHILL. RIVER ROUTE. PORTLAND- AND DAYTON. OR Steamer Elmore, for Oregon City, Buttevllie, Champoeg-. Dayton and way landings, leaves Portland Tuedas. Thursdays and Saturday at 7 A. M. Leave Dayton for Portland anil way points Mondays. Wednesdays and Fridays at Q A. M. SNAKE RIVER ROUTE. RIPARIA. WASH.. AND LEWISTON. IDAHO Steamers leave Hlparla at .1.40 A. M. dally, arriving at Lewiston about 3 P. M. Returning, leave Lewiston at 8.30 A. M... arriving at Ili paria same evening. A. L. CRAIO. General Passenger Agent. CITY TICKET OFFICE 234 AVaHhlngton St.. Corner Third. portland & asiatic Steamship co. For Yokohama and Hong Kong, calling at Kobe. Nagasaki and Shanghai, taking freight via connecting steamers for Manila. Port Ar thur and Vladivostok. SS INDRAVELLI SAILS ABOUT APRIL 20. For rates and full Information aall on o address otHcIals or agents of O. Ii. & N. Co. EAST m SOUTH Ln e m..... i.1ik .. . . I I Streets. OVERLAND EX PRESS TRAl.sa 8:30 P. M. for Salem. Rose- 7:43 a. M. burg. Ashland, aac- r a m e n to, Ogden San Francisco. Mo Jave, Los Angeles, El Paac New Or leans and the East. 8:30 A. M. 7:20 P., M. At Woodb urn (dally except Sun day), morning tram connects with train for Mt. Angel. Stl v e r t o n. llrowna ville. Sprlngtl eld. and Natron, and Albany Local for Mt. Angel and Sti verton. Albany passenger... 4:00 P.M. J7:30 A. M. 114:50 P. M. 10-.I0 A. at Corvallls passenger. i!3:50 P. M. 118.23 A, M. Sheridan passenger . Dally. UDally except Sunday. Rebate tickets on sale between Portland. Sac ramento and San Francisco. Net rates $17 first class and $11 second class. Including sleeper. Rates and tickets to Eastern polnta and Eu rope. Also JAPAN. CHINA. HONOLULU and AUSTRALIA. Can be obtained from J. B. KIRKLAND. Ticket Agent. 14n Third street. YAMHILL DIVISION. Passenger Depot, foot of Jefferson street. Leave for Oswego dally at 7.20, 0:40 A. M.; 12. SO 1 53. a 25. 4.40, 0.23, 8 30. 11:30 P. M.; and 0.0O A. M. on Sundays only. Arrlvo at Portland dally at G.35. a:30. 10:50 A. M.r 1.35. 3:10. 4.30. 0:15. 7.40. 10.00 P. M.; 12:40 A. M. dally, except Monday. 8 3i and 10.05 A. M. oc Sundays only. Leave for Dallas dally, except Sunday, at 5.05 P. M. Arrive at Portland at 0:30 A. M. Passenger train leaves Dallas to Airlle Mon das. Wednesdays and Frlda at 4.ViU P. M. Returns Tuesdays. Thursdays and Saturdays. Except Sunday. R. KOEHLER. Manager. C. H. MARKKAM. Gen. Frt. & Pass. Agt. CAPE NOME DIRECT PACIFIC CLIPPER LINE will dispatch tho elegant, new S. S. Nome City SAILING FROM SEATTLE APRIL 27, 1001. Finest wooden steamship on the Paelfta; steam heat and electric lights In every room; wltl bo sheathed with Iron bark to work her way through the Ice. Reservations now being made by F. P. BAUMGARTNER. Agent. Couch-street Dock. Portland, Or. Astoria & Columbia River Railroad Co. LEAVES Depot Fifth and URWTVB. I Streetw. ARRIVES For Maygers. Rainier. Claralt.inln m.itnn.r Clifton. Astoria. War rentfin. Flavel. Ham mond. Fort Steven. Gearhart Pk.. Seaside. Astoria and Seashore Express. Dally. Astoria ExpriM, LSiiy. 8:00 A.M. 11:10 A. M. 7:00 P. M. 0:40 P. M. Ticket oftlce 233 Morrison . and Union Denof. J. C. MAYO. Gen. Pass.Agt.. Astoria. Or. Pacific Goast Steamship Co. FOR ALASKA. The Company' aieumshlpa COTTAGE CITY SENATOrt CITY OF TOPBKA leave TAC'OMA 11 A. M.. SEAT TLE 0 P. M . Apr. 3. 10. 15. 20. 25. 30. May 3, lo. 13, 20. -5. uO, Juno 4. Steamer luav.w every fifth day thereafter. For further information obtain folder. The Company reserves the right to chang steamers, tailing dates and hours of sailing. Without previous notice. AUEN13 N. Publ'uN. 240 Washington st.. Portland. Or. F. W CARLETON. N. P. R. R. Dock. Tacoma. Ticket Olllce ills First av.. Seattle. M. TALBOT. Comm'l Agt.. C.W. MIL LER. Asst. OmiM Agt. ocean Dock. SeattU; GOOnALL. PERKINS Si CO.. Gea'l Agents. Ran Francisco. 1?Z SUNSET -n ! O CGKNS; SHASTA I Un ROUTES JQJ Lyi J