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John, of the psalmists and prophets and evangelists all. It will engrave on our hearts the ideals set forth in the Psalms, the Sermon on the Mount, the Saviour's Parables, the thought and the life of the Master of Men. When we fall under the spell of temptation, the mighty admonitions of its pages will be as the very persuasion of God on our souls. When sorrow darkens or crushes our lives it will be the great bringer of comfort to our loneliness and anguish. In the supreme crisis of the human spirit when the eyes grow dim and earthly comfort fails, its divine promises will bear us triumphantly through the mystery till we see the light of the everlasting day.

We search the world for truth, we cull
The good, the pure, the beautiful
From graven stone and written scroll,
From the old flower fields of the soul;
And, weary seekers of the best,
We come back laden from our quest,
To find that all the sages said
Is in the book our mothers read!

XLIX.

What is Universalism?

The principles of Universalism as declared by the Universalist Church are The Universal Fatherhood of God; the Spiritual Authority and Leadership of Jesus Christ; the Trustworthiness of the Bible as containing a Revelation from God; the certainty of Just Retribution for sin; the Final Harmony of all Souls with God.

HE name which expresses our Christian faith was originally intended to designate those who believed in universal salvation, as distinguished from a partial salvation the deliverance of the whole human family from sin and suffering, not a mere remnant of it. But when the men who held it began to attempt to justify this faith and to seek its foundation in reason and in scripture, they realized that it involved certain other beliefs concerning God and his relations to man, in regard to which the same comprehensive adjective must be used.

The belief in universal salvation, for instance, rests upon the belief that God is the Father of all souls, the faith in his Universal Fatherhood. That relation of man to God and God to man, is universal, not partial. It extends to all souls. But an inevitable inference from this relation

of God to man is that he will deal as a father should with his children. He will be as loving, as patient, as self-sacrificing, as persistent in their behalf, as any earthly father. And he will not permit any one of his children to suffer eternally. God's providence means universal good. Another inference involved is the brotherhood of man. If God is the Father of all men,

then all men are brothers. If God is honored and loved, all his children are entitled to the same respect and affection. Moreover, as Jesus is God's messenger to man, appointed to lead him out of his sins home to his Father, he must be the Saviour of all men. God could not limit Christ's saving work to a portion only of his family. He is a universal Saviour.

A universal Father, a universal Brotherhood, a universal Saviour, a universal scheme of Good, a universal triumph of Good over Evil - these are the great universals which converge and come to their great conclusion in the doctrine of Universal Salvation.

L.

What is the Universalist Church?

A united band of Christians, who believe in Universalism.

6

HE Universalist Church is a modern American movement and organization. It was practically founded by John Murray, an Englishman who came to this country in the year 1770, and first preached in Thomas Potter's meeting house at Good Luck, New Jersey. The first organized society was the "Independent Christian Society" formed in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in 1779. The denomination grew but slowly, in the Middle and New England States, until about the year 1800. Then, with the restatement of its theology by Hosea Ballou, it began to spread more rapidly. The Winchester Profession of Faith, adopted at Winchester, N. H., in 1803, was a statement of the principles which began to make their way, in spite of intense hostility on the part of the popular and established churches. While the spread of these doctrines was much more rapid and extensive than the numerical growth of the church would indicate, nevertheless the Universalist Church itself is

a body of respectable membership, influence, and working efficiency.

It consists of nearly 1,000 parishes, 55,000 families, and more than 300,000 adherents. Its governing body is the Universalist General Convention; and there are twenty-four State Conventions, and a Provincial Convention in Ontario, Canada. Besides these bodies there are ten State Conferences where there are not yet parishes enough to form conventions. These various conventions hold funds to the amount of nearly $1,000,000; and the churches and parishes own property aggregating $10,000,000 more. The affairs of the Church are administered by a Board of Trustees, a Secretary, and a Superintendent. The Women's Centenary Associations and the Young People's Christian Union are auxiliary bodies of great usefulness and vitality.

This Church is enlarging and improving its working machinery, deepening its religious life, expanding its thought and its faith, and preparing itself to enter more vigorously and effectively into the life of the new century, in the spread of Christ's Gosepl and the truths of God's universal fatherhood.

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