OCR Text |
Show j ' I Errors of a Local Unitarian I Article IV Concluding Criticisms of Rev. Air. Thacher's I Review of the Character of Jesus, and Some Re- j j marks on the Position Taken by Unitarians. The anfhnrity of Jesus was such as I yiatur.'H lly inhered in such a man the j authority of character, truth, . and j juriiy. The Wood of the human race j v;ip throhbing in his heart, and other ; -'n felt ili.' power of his manhood. ; There w.ts no novelty in his teachings, but he welcomed all truth from what- I f.-r-r s'-urce it came. He was a Jew ; f-r.i never changed from the Jewish f;iiih. hut took its great truths to his 'I h' a-t. an 1 w ai med them into life. They j vt-re hs tough diamonds, in his sermon I tiny are uems cut and polished and set I in a ryal diadem. He loved the beau- tiful in nature, and his parables prove ; "hat he was a poet and a philosopher. J H- n. vtr made any creed. The only i;;i"n of membership in his king- f- C:u of ;nd. as he announced it,, is ; p.mdncss. Yet he has been made the c-nier of elaborate metaphysical and theological speculations, which prevent ; j.f-nj.le from seeing the real Jesus. He I hade all men love their enemies, and his ciying words breathed a prayer of for- i piveness. And yet, this tender, loving ! man. has been lifted on a flaming I thi'iie. and turned Into a cruel and 's inexorable judge, who hurls thunder- S l i'ts of wrath at his enemies, and im- prisons them in everlasting torture. ' This is the Jesus Jhat has been held . l"T'!!e the world for centuries! Rev. 'j Philip Thacher in Salt Lake Tribune. 1 "The authority of Jesus" was more than that inherent in any man that j Kf-,'fled or succeeded him, be they I prophets, scribes and Pharisees or re- l.cii. us teachers. When he spoke or lA laid down the law, he did so by virtue j if that power and authority which Iv.ere ni icinal in him. He did not preface pre-face his remarks by saying, ,-the law or the prophets said this, or the church f 1' ai hes so and so, ' but he frequently 5 lis'-d ih phrase: "But I say to you." f For thirty years the life of Jesus i v. a. hidden save on one occasion, at the i K' of U, when he appeared in the i imt-l? disputing with the learned d m tors of the law. The questions 5 whuh he propounded and the answers vhirh he gave to all questions asked I v"''e so far-reaching and lucid that "all i that h'ard him were astonished at his j ''loni and his answers." His mother, S a'ways accustomed to her son's filial I 1- ve and obedience, was worried at his i J i'seine, and when she found him dis-5 dis-5 put'.np; with the doctors, made known j 1:'T anxiety and worry, and asked: "Son, j !; hast thou done so to us? Behold j tiiy father and I have sought thee, I i-'Trou ii.e." The answer is the first of j IN recorded in the gospel. It is an ; ! ss"i tion of his divine authority: "How I :s it th:u you sought me? Did you not that I must be about the things Is ihat are my father's?" The evangelist jl ; i is that aftr this, "he went down fj w;;h them, and came to Xazareth, and j as suliject to them." His subjection j ':it:.-ist'-d his boyhood days, being pro- '""CH 'r nineteen years, long after he I 5 'ad reaehed full manhood. Those I -a-s were spent in obscurity and I f--rve as an object lesson to the three U 'a-s nf his public life when he com-iiardf-d the hfiief of the whole world, j -M'Hrt from divine wisdom his hidden ;it oi.scure life for nineteen vears ! ' iiid b, f ntiredy opposed to his claims pvM.-nsionp nf being a reformer of 11 human race. Humanly speaking, 5' :s without narallel in the annals of ' tuntan ambition, for one aiming to be 'aeh-r and reformer to spend thirty -s out of a life of thirty-three in atp. j ;rr's shop, where he had no e; P'?rt it' : t y of influencing those whom 'ish. j to convert. Then, when he . : r-s i, s authority it is not confined 10 ary e. .. people or nation, but to the ' v '' !d. The decrees and laws of J '' a! parliaments, congresses or any J' u s!;.;:v. assembly were confined to j "I " lr-'-ular nation, but when Jesus : J ''ni. u 1 his ambassadors he issued t !'. tif-rvrdous proclamation: "Go ye I 3;:'' ""e whole world and preach the i- ) 1 , every creature ." (Mark xvi, ; ' 'a : this authority "such as natu- y I' h.evirj in such a man?" Hu-3 Hu-3 ' r y --..-;!king there is no authority ,r"l! v-'"u:i justify such a command. To sr, .- there was no novelty in his " tef,Ujro! a distinction, name-i'ef name-i'ef ...... r,o,j no, since faith and re- ' ".. vbeihor under the patriarchal ';u '" 'h.- synagogue or the Chris-,: Chris-,: ' '! p' risation. is the same Cath-' Cath-' ' Jatth. hut in the eyes of the car-- car-- 't 1 !. d, proud, selfish and mam-"' mam-"' "n v " 'shipjiers tb- was and is a r ''' To all j-t.'li res Sermon on the Mount was, is and ever -will remain re-main a novelty. "He was a Jew and never changed from the Jewish faith!" Conceded. Judaism was the true faith, and in him were fulfilled all the ancient prophecies regarding the Messiah, for whose coming they sighed and prayed. "He loved the beautiful in nature" because they were the handiwork Heavenly Father, who is infinitely beautiful. "He never made any creed." yet he was the center and foundation of all creeds. He abrogated portions of the old law, for example, the law of retaliation, re-taliation, which he displaced for one of universal love, mercy and good will: "But I say to you, love your enemies, do good to those that hate you and pray for those that persecute and calumniate you." This was a new creed for humanity. "The elaborate metaphysical and theological speculations," which, Mr. Thacher tells us, "prevent people from seeing the real Jesus," were needed to combat the errors of New England Unitarianism, which was itself a protest pro-test against the rigid exactions and exaggerations of Calvinism. Its first protest was "against irresistible grace and unconditional election reprobation." reproba-tion." This doctrine was opposed to infinite mercy and justice, and so unreasonable un-reasonable that common sense could not entertain it. Their primitive faith, consisting of denials, soon developed into a denial of the incarnation, the divinity of Christ, and, finally, the Trinity. To meet the subtle objections raised against these doctrines and the great mysteries of faith.elaborate metaphysical meta-physical and theological speculations (distinctions) were needed. The Unitarian Uni-tarian regards all mysteries of faith as intrinsically incredible, and no proof, whether from tradition or the Scriptures, will avail against his preconceived pre-conceived ideas of truth. His objection to mysteries is as presented pre-sented by a false system, of theology, which he considers unreasonable, therefore will not and can not believe. There are many mysteries in life which he believes. Life itself is a mystery; the simplest fact in nature is a mystery. mys-tery. We do not understand these, and the Unitarian, as well as the greatest philosophers, must stand in awe and exclaim these simple mysteries of nature na-ture are inexplicable. But he will tell us that the mysteries mys-teries which he refuses to believe are those which appear to him unreasonable. unreason-able. To show tjat he is governed by reason, he alleges the unreasonableness, unreasonable-ness, because opposed to the mercy and justice of God, to represent one S a sinner, who has never sinned: of another an-other being just, who is really unjust: un-just: again, of being justified by faith alone, without good works, or possessing possess-ing any intrinsic holiness; or again, of God revealing that one is three, and three are one, as he interprets the Trinity; or, as the local representative of that creed expresses it, "in lifting this tender, loving man on a flaming throne, and turning him into a cruel and inexorable judge, who hurls thunderbolts of wrath at his enemies, and imprisons them in everlasting ever-lasting torture." That such teaching is unreasonable, being opposed to the justice, mercy and holiness of God, is certain. Therefore, that those who advance ad-vance it were mistaken in God's word is a reasonable conclusion. Passing over the errors put forth in Calvinistic theology, also the Unitarians' Unitar-ians' misconceptions of the Trinity, we come down to the charge made by the local preacher, which, if true, would be opposed to the mission of Christ, 1 amely, the salvation'of sinners. "The Son of Man has come to save that which is lost." (Luke xix, 10.) This is also the teaching of St. Paul, -who wrote to Timothy (1-15), "a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that Jesus Christ came into this world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief." That it is Catholic doctrine may be gleaned from the works of St, Aug'ustine, who wrote: "The only cause of the coming of Christ was to save sinners." On the infinite love and mercy of Jesus, as manifested in his works, teaching and example, there is no controversy con-troversy between Catholic teaching and Unitarianism. Norrowed down to its proper limits, the controversy is regarding re-garding the incarnation, the divinity cf Christ and the Trinity, which shall be treated in turn. |