The fleshy instrument...

As a denomination we talk much about "Social Justice" often to the detriment of the spirit. It is a phenomenon that is not new. The liberal religionists of the 19th century began the process and it's one that James Freeman Clarke warned against. In this excerpt from his "the Christian Doctrine of Prayer" he argues not against working for the betterment of people and the world, but for a remembrance of the spiritual source of that effort.

"Every human being is an immortal soul in a mortal body. That mortal body in a few years will be laid aside, and will have gone to the earth whence it came. It is an organ, for a few years, through which the undying spiritual force within it shall be manifested and shall be developed. That spiritual force, that immortal soul, can draw its life only from God, its fount of being. Without a constant, steady communion with him, it is drawn down by its fleshly instrument, it is immersed in sense, it is buried already in the body which itself is to -be buried in the grave. Inward, toward God, we must go continually for spiritual force, — outward, toward man and life, to exercise it. We must come to know and love God, the sum and substance of all spiritual life, or it is idle to talk of loving man or doing any thing for him. We must have, to give. We must drain from an eternal fountain, from a well that never becomes dry, in order to water the smallest garden or plot of ground."

Blessings

Confusion and every evil work...

My devotions for today included:

Day Unto Day (a 19th Century Unitarian Devotional)

Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and thee. — Gen. x iii. 8.

Blest we the suns of peace,
Whose hearts and hopes are one;
Whose kind designs to serve and please
Through all their actions run.
Watts.

To learn to bear and forbear, to prefer to lose the argument rather than the temper, to be willing to suffer a great wrong rather than do the least wrong, to give way to the unfortunate temper of others rather than to gain a point at the cost of a war of words, — a few such plain habits would prevent a world of trouble, and spread joy and happiness throngh scenes where every blessing may be poisoned by the corrosion.of imbittered feelings. — A. A. Livekmore.

Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace,
To silence envious tongues.
Shakespeare

For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace. — Jas. iii. 16,18."

and this from James Freeman Clarke's "Messages of Faith, Hope and Love"...

"The root of the difficulty is the same in all these cases. Indignation against wrong is not joined with sympathy for the wrongdoer. Those who are opposed to each other in opinion keep apart. They know nothing of each other's motives, and hence do injustice to each other. Any amount of intelligence will not save a man from this ignorance of his opponent's motives if he keeps away from him. Meantime the simplest person who hears both sides, and talks with both parties, has a much deeper and wider view of the subject than either. The eloquent leaders, with all their powers of oratory, resource of wit, and trained faculty of speech, have often less real insight of their subject than the unpretending but candid seeker for truth, who refuses to be a partisan, does not abuse his opponents, and can join charity toward the evil-doer with indignation against the wrong."

Blessings

neither justice nor wisdom...

The very first time I stepped foot in a Unitarian Universalist church was to give a lay sermon on Unitarian Piety. Invited by a couple I had met through a public library book group, I was then an Episcopalian but had read, studied and loved the 19th century Unitarians (the Boston Unitarians) for years. I was listened to respectfully but remember the looks on most of the people's faces who clearly thought I was bringing a message from another planet. I thought of this yesterday when Bill Baar used the words of James Freeman Clarke on Piety to illuminate the massive contrast between the Unitarianism of our past and the UUism of our present. I appreciated that because all these years later, it is still my "mission" to put forward our rich and wonderful history as well as to promote a way of being religious that is so important to my life.

I have also sought to do so with respect. A defining trait of the "Boston Unitarians" though, of course, one not universally shared-one thinks especially of Andrews Norton and Theodore Parker, was their lack of desire to engage in vilification and extreme partisanship. James Freeman Clarke provides a good example of why...

"THE conservatives in our community are a well-disposed set of men, meaning to be just, but, instead of making themselves acquainted with the spirit and motives of reformers, they avoid them, and refuse to associate with them. Instead of noticing the proposition, they impute a bad motive to the proposer. They say that the man is a demagogue; that he seeks notoriety; that he wants office, he wants money. Many others are led by their example into a like unreasoning scorn and invective.
But, if conservatives understand the art of scolding, reformers understand it likewise. This habit has grown to be one of the chief obstacles in the way of reform. A man who is not a reformer goes into some reform meeting, wishing to hear a calm, strong statement of the evils under consideration, the steps tp be taken, practical measures to be discussed, and the duties of friends of the cause. Instead of this, he often hears ridicule and sarcasm against the churches, and sharp witticisms against every person of influence who is supposed not to sympathize with the reformer. He sees neither justice nor wisdom in this torrent of invective, and he is repelled by it. Meantime this is what is most liked and applauded by the reformers themselves. The man who says the sharpest thing is the favorite orator. And, as each class of reformers talk only with each other, this habit increases all the time; and so you have, instead of a great league made up of all the friends of truth, a little coterie who spend their time in scolding, and a great public which goes on its way indifferent to the whole subject."

Not a bad description of what politics and religion has become in America. Its long been my belief that, in their lives and words, people like Clarke and Channing had the only real antidote.

Blessings to all

Spring of improvement...

The nature, qualities or even the existence of a peculiar "Unitarian Piety" was often discussed by the Boston Unitarians. It is not often spoken of today. And yet it is an idea so crucial to living a religious life. Here is the start of James Freeman Clarke's "Five Kinds Of Piety"

"We love God when we love the highest and best' thing we know; that is, when we look up, not down; up to the Infinite, not down to the finite; up to goodness, not down to wickedness; up to truth, not down to error. By thus looking up to what is higher and better than ourselves we refresh our souls, we purify our hearts, we open them so that Divine influences come in.
A man of piety, therefore, is essentially one who believes in and who loves goodness. A man without piety is one who either does not believe in it or does not love it. The natural culture of piety, therefore, consists in looking up, not down, — looking up to good things, not down to evil things; in contemplating truth rather than error, right rather than wrong, nobleness rather than meanness. Every good and generous act done by man makes it easier to love God and to believe in him; every lie we tell, every act of dishonesty we perform, makes trust in God more difficult, not only to ourselves, but to others. Such great scandals as have recently occurred in the financial world not only make men doubt of human honesty more, but also distrust Divine truth. Every bad action which men do makes humanity seem less lovely, and so makes it harder to love, not only the brother we have seen, but also the God we have not seen.
We see why piety is essential to all real worth. A man without piety is only a part of a man, and is incapable of growing into anything better. A man who never looks up to, adores, reverences superior goodness, has in him no spring of improvement.

Blessings

Salvation!

Its all about salvation. As always, James Freeman Clarke says it best for me...

"IN every age and every land it has been the universal and profound conviction of Christians that Jesus has been made to them the open way to God; that through him, somehow, they find forgiveness; through him, hope; through him, a new life in their heart and soul.
This is the key to the ardent language of Paul. This is why he forever repeats the name of Christ. This is why he says, We are rooted and grounded in love. To Paul there came from Jesus this divine revelation of a great Fatherhood, and it broke the bonds of his Pharisaic literalism, of his routine religion; took him out of his ritual, ceremonies, texts of Scripture, into a new life of perfect trust and hope and joy. "To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." "The life I now live I live by faith in the Son of God." "I live, but not I: Christ lives in me." Christ to him was the manifestation of a divine tenderness of which he had never before dreamed. So that, no matter what happened to him, he was sitting in heavenly places with Jesus; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast down, but not destroyed.

And this unspeakable gift was not given to Jesus alone or to Paul alone, but it is given to you and to me. To us the word of this salvation is also sent. Salvation! for what can be more safe than to feel ourselves in the embrace of an infinite love. Salvation! for we know that our sins will be destroyed and our evil cleansed by coming into this heavenly atmosphere of love. Salvation! for how can we continue to sin if we are kept in the presence of our Father?"

Blessings

Happy birthday Sir Walter Scott...

Yesterday was the anniversary of the birth of Sir Walter Scott. Happy birthday and
Many blessings

All the angels of God...

Part three of
Rev.Bellows on Practical Righteousness.

"We have got, therefore, to believe that while morals are dependent upon faith, and while faith is to be purified by morals, we must keep the two great commandments together, and learn at last that you cannot love man unless you love God, and that you cannot love God unless you love man; that you have got to love in God what is human, and in man what is divine; and that the two commandments must be kept and held close together; that there is no divorce between them possible, and that a mere morality is no morality at all, and a mere piety is no piety at all; but that faith and works, love for God and love for man, are to be kept close, united, inseparable; and that through the strength that faith gives we shall at last do the works of practical righteousness; and through practical righteousness purify and illumine piety. And when our Unitarian body rises to the full dignity of this conception, it will despise all questionings and all doubtings about its having inherent and evangelical piety. It will manifest its evangelical piety in its practical righteousness; and the sect that does that will command the attention of the world. And it is probably only because we do not manifest it in any very eminent degree that we have not the possession of that first place and that leadership that we are always wondering slips out of the hands of people who have such intelligent and rational and simple conceptions of Christian truth and Christian life. Let us live the Unitarian gospel, and it will show itself to be the original gospel of Christ. Let us live the Unitarian gospel; it will be a gospel of practical righteousness. Let us really have the practical righteousness— which we sometimes boast of having — in our personal lives, in our homes, in our business, in our ministry, everywhere that we are; and I tell you, you will not have any longer to wonder, to mourn, or to grieve that your cause does not move forward like lightning towards its final triumph. All the angels of God, all the divine passions of Christ, all the inspirations of the Holy Ghost, follow the track of righteous living; for righteous living is alone possible in the eternal faith of the divine truth and in the image of the Almighty God. Morality is the life of God. It is no earth-born thing. Its roots are in the divine nature. It is living in justice, in truth, in mercy, and in love; and that morality will be the life of heaven; and we shall find that' piety and morality are one, and that they are both bound fast to the throne of God."

Blessings