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FouKTH Series.] [No. 108.

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

BY

REV. HOWARD N. BROWN.

AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION, BOSTON.

*' The object of the American Unitarian Association shall be to diffuse the knowledge and promote the inter- ests of pure Christianity ; and all Unitarian Christians shall be invited to unite and co-operate with it for that purpose." — Article I. of the By-Laws of the American Unitarian Association.

University Press John Wilson and Son, Cambridge, U. S. A..

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. — Matt, xxviii. 19.

It is scarcely possible to consider these words as a summing up of Christian faith without some reference to the dogmatic use that has been made of them. At the present time, however, that branch of the subject may be dealt with ver}' briefl}^ and with no design to revive use- less controversies ; in order that we may go on to see, if possible, something more in this triune sj^mbol than dogma alonfe has thus far made of it.

All Christendom is perfectly agreed on one doctrine, that of the unity of the Godhead. There are not many gods, or several gods ; there is but one true God, maker of heaven and earth. All the creeds of the Church state this with an emphasis that marks their sense of its impor- tance. But it has come to be the generally accepted belief of the Church that, in this One, there are three persons, or three "eternal distinctions," as it is sometimes expressed, and that recognition of these three persons, correspond- ing to the terms of the ancient baptismal formula, is essential to an}^ true thouglit of God.

Of late years many people have come to question whether this belief made any part of the first preaching of Christianit}' ; to doubt whether it has, in reason or revelation, a basis adequate to support the claims that are made for it ; to deny that, be it true or untrue, it is of

4 FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

sufficient importance to be made the test of Christian fel- lowship. This last is the only point which there is now much need to debate.

The heat of an old battle having much subsided, no one an}' longer considers it necessary to work for the entire destruction of a belief that has so woven itself into the historj^ of the Church. The question still remains to be answered, however, whether or not they who, for one reason or another, cannot hold that belief are to be gen- erally regarded as belonging to the Christian fold. Let it be, if 3'ou please, their misfortune, or their defect, that they are unable to believe with their fellows on this point ; is their failure of so much consequence that they should be denied the Christian name?

Even ver}" broad and liberal men either do not answer this question at all, or seem to say that without accep- tance of the trinitarian belief no one can have the root of the matter in him. Let the real point at issue be clearly and unmistakably stated. Their own right to hold the dogma goes entirely' unchallenged. But we deny that others who fail to see the force of arguments by which their minds are convinced are therefore less true followers of Christ ; and we make this denial, not in the name of an}' foolish independence of thought, but in the interest of Christianity itself, which suffers from such rigidity of speculative belief.

The Church still has the power to punish terribly those whom it regards as heretics, — to visit upon them a con- tempt and suspicion, and to compel them to a separation from the vast currents of its S3'mpath3', from which they sometimes suffer as keenh' and disastrousl}^ in spirit, as ever the victims of the Inquisition suffered in body under the thumbscrew and the rack. The Church has, moreover, the same tendency that it has manifested all along to delude itself by thinking that the weakness and the pain.

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. 5

which are the fruit of its own injustice, are the very proofs of iniquitj' in the heres}" it chooses to condemn. As the Jews said to Jesus, ^'If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross," so the Church seems to say to those whom its own intolerance has crippled, "If 3'ou have the divine truth in 3'our possession, triumph over this persecution ; " and when the persecution leads many to lose heart, it interprets the defection as a vindication of its course.

That all this is cruel is the least to be said of it. In the end it is as fatal a policy as that which led France to crush the Huguenots, or Spain to exclude the Moors. The Church in this fashion is alienating and excluding some of the best elements of modern life. That its doors are still closed against a small band openly bearing a heretical name, is not in itself a great matter. But let one look about him and see what classes are now totally estranged from the Church ! This scornful intolerance which says to the world, '^ Think as I think, or claim no part of a common Christian inheritance," is not onlv false to the spirit of Christ, but is working a serious damage to Christ's cause, which must be one day bitterlj- repented.

The time has gone bj' in this free land of ours for an enlightened man to feel justified in attempting much criti- cism of his neighbor's creed so long as that other shows a due regard for the rights of his fellow- Christians ; but when the claim is made on behalf of a dogma that there can be no Christianit}^ without it, they to whom it seems less than essential truth are bound to state somewhat carefull}^ the grounds of their objection.

We sa}', then, that the expression "three persons in one " has to-day become most unfortunate. "Whatever the word may have signified in other times, a " person " means to us a distinct and separate individual being ; and it is only by constant, ceaseless explanation that the Church

6 FATHER^ SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

can prevent such language as the Nicene Creed emploj'^s from degenerating into tri-theism. We can see no gain to be won commensurate with the power that must be expended in maintaining this apologetic attitude.

It is somewhat a question of strategy. A good general will not needlessly waste anj' of the forces under his com- mand in defending a post that is no vital part of his line of fortifications. If, as we affirm, this dogma is not essen- tial to the Christian life and the Christian hope, then it were far more wise to place it among questions concern- ing which the followers of Christ have perfect liberty to disagree.

We say, again, that if any have been so full}^ informed of the nature of infinite mind as to be able to declare that there are so many and no more " eternal distinctions " in- volved in the being of God, we are ignorant of the sources of their wisdom. What they tell us may or may not be true ; we know not how the question can be determined. The whole speculation seems to us to lie so far beyond the range of finite intelligence, that we would rather not try to be sure on so profound a theme.

Moreover, when we are asked if God is to be our Father only, and if we are to find nothing in Deit}^ answering or corresponding to the filial and social relationships of life, we ask in reply what any of these relationships can be, other than an expression and outgrowth of God's eternal love. We do not see that any of our structures are left hanging in the air without divine basis and support while we conceive that both the home and society at large are held together by the indwelling divine love which is the life and strength of every bond by which heart is joined to heart. We think there might as well be three kinds of gravitation — one for the man, one for the child, and one for the multitude — as three distinctions in that eternal power which is essentially the same, whether it be the love

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. 7

of parent for child, of a son for his father, or of friend for friend.

If, to any, these distinctions do seem to open up the mysterious deeps of being, how can we object? Our only plea is that, as Saint Paul has spoken of God ^'dwelling in a light which no man can approach unto," they who simply realize how little they know of the wonders which that light hides, are not to be ranked with the heathen on that account. We make this plea, not on personal grounds, but out of our solemn conviction that the Church is only heaping up obstacles in its own pathway bj^ erecting bar- ricades at a point where no vital question is at issue.

And now, to leave this somewhat unpleasant and un- gracious task of criticism, for the more inspiring endeavor after positive statements, what, from our point of view, do we find in the command to baptize all nations in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost? These words were first spoken long before the theology of , the Church had crystallized into dogmatic form. The}^ provide a kind of summing up in a single phrase of ftie great truths which Christ had taught, — the father- hood of God, the divine sonship of man, and the close presence of a divine life, or spirit, pervading and enfold- ing every human soul. Used in this way, these words will forever be glorious in Christian memor}^ and dear to Chris- tian thought. Indeed, we have abundant reason to believe that long after the schoolmen of the Middle Ages and all their works have faded out of sight, these words will live upon the lips of men, the treasured symbol of might}^ truths whose height and depth we have scarcely begun to measure.

The Fatherhood of God ! Have we, as 3'et, more than explored the narrow coast of that great truth, as it was taught and lived b}^ Christ? It stretches before us still, a whole new world, containing boundless possibihties of

8 FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

spiritual wealth ; and we dwell onl}' on its outmost bor- ders, mere pioneers of the cit}' of God that is to be.

"Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him," was all that the devout Psalmist could find courage to say. Human life then, for the most part, cowered and trembled before that King of heaven, whose wa3^s were past its finding out. The Jews were indeed sons, but sons of whom? Of Abraham, and of Isaac, and they dared to link themselves with no holier source. The}^ had not yet come to consciousness of some- thing within them which established a bond between their souls and the supreme majesty of the skies, and none had told them to claim as their father him who held their lives in the hollow of his hand.

But when their last great teacher came to them, his word w^as no timid comparison between God's merc}^ and an earthly father's pity ; he taught his disciples to say boldly, *' Our Father who art in heaven." We use the words so often, that perhaps it is a little difficult to realize how they have changed the whole spiritual attitude of mankind, and what far-reaching thoughts are contained in them, "^od the Father of men ! giving to them his nature ; surround- ing them with his spirit ; leading them by his almighty hand ; not only ruling and judging them, but loving them with an infinite desire to lift them up and direct their paths toward good ! Do we imagine that such a conception could be widel}' taught to men, and received into their hearts, without producing profound changes in their life? If we have the least idea what deliverance it wrought from terrors that had long hung upon the footsteps of the race, like iron fetters upon a prisoner, the wonder is not that Saint Paul found much occasion to rebuke the libert}^ that degenerated into hcense ; it is that Christianity itself was not lost in a ver}^ delirium and intoxication of jo}^ over the escape that had been effected.

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. 9

Yet so great is the task, to plant a new truth in the mind of man, and to bring it to bear its fruit in the life ; and so slow is the work of following out such a sublime thought in its meanings and bearings upon the conduct of practical affairs, — that those earl}' Christians no more saw the whole truth involved in Christ's teaching of the Fatherhood of God, than our slaves, a few years since, realized the whole meaning of civil liberty, when their bonds were suddenh' stricken from their limbs.

As they felt in some dim way that their life had been raised to a nobler plane, but there were long years of toil to be endured before they could really know much of the grandeur of free manhood, so the first Christians cele- brated a triumph that signified almost infinitely more than they could comprehend ; and we, even now, have but the most shadowy idea what life on earth mB,\ be like when men live here, full}' and consistently, as under a Heavenly Father's care.

We are sometimes asked if we do not consider this a poor and cold idea of God ; if we do not need to make distinctions that will show God to the world, not onl}^ as Father, but as Redeemer and Friend. To which we can only reply that he is indeed a poor kind of father who is not both redeemer and friend to his children ; who does not with great gladness of heart assist them to find deliv- erance from evil, and attend them with loving solicitude in all their ways. We have really said it all in that one word, "Father," if we will give to tlie word the signifi- cance which our best human life enables us to put into it ; for that love of God, which is the very life of our life, is fountain of all light, and purity, and strength.

The second word of the old baptismal formula is but the other side of this same great truth : the Fatherhood of God means the Sonship of Man. "The Spirit itself beareth witness," writes Saint Paul, " that we are children

10 FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

of God : and if children, tlien heirs ; joint-heirs with Christ." The belief that the Christian Apostle who framed that sentence recognized but one Son of God, is too pre- posterous to be seriousl}' debated.

God incarnate in Christ, reproduced in him, as the like- ness of the Father's mind and spirit may be reproduced in a son ; and this one supreme incarnation the t^'pe and S3'mbol of God's work in the hearts of all his children, when that work can be made complete, — such, as nearly as we can state it in the language of to-day, we ma}^ as- sume to have been the thought with which Christianity began.

Let us frankl}' confess a difficult}^ which the religious life encounters in trying to reach up to the stature of this thought. So far do our hopes, and dreams, and anticipa- tions outrun our power to realize the divine things set before us, that, when we say we are children of God, there is a certain tendency to think and speak as if we had alread}' reached the mark of our high calling. The mis- chief which this works is in some loss of sense of the transcendent difference between the life of Christ and the common life of the world ; so that people who ought to be looking in humblest adoration upon an image of divine perfection which is perhaps ages in advance of anything that they can boast, become disposed to question whether that glorious pattern of divine manhood has not been already equalled or surpassed.

The hard, frozen buds of winter might as well assume equality with midsummer's open and resplendent j3ower, as for us to think that we have come near the moral and spir- itual attributes of the mind of Christ. Powers and capaci- ties still latent in our hearts have yet to be awakened, and disciplined by many a hard experience, before we can be sons of God on the same level with that wondrous teacher of mankind.

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. 11

Unless the life of Christ retains its supreme significance before the mind, it seems that, being no longer fed from the glory of his nature, the light is apt to fade from the conception of a divine humanity. We confess this ditli- cult\' \yhich has to be met in preaching the gospel that all men are sons of God.

But, on the other hand, what can it mean to you and me more than the narrowest kind of salvation, into a stale and profitless heaven, if only once have God and man come togetlier in the same tabernacle of flesh ? Unless we also bear a divine life in our souls, there can be no example for us in him wlio, confessedly, did what no man can do except God bo witli him ; and that in out place, though we are far removed from the Father's house, we have the Father's spirit to direct us home, is our one reasonable ground of hope for forgiveness, for welcome, and for everlasting life.

And so we come to tlio third great woi-d of this time- honored compendium of Clnistian faith, the Holy Spirit, — a term which under dogmatic treatment lias sunk to so low estate that apparently nobody cares, or tliinks much about it, from tliat point of view, save as it sonorously rounds out the phrase ; but which in a more vital thought and experience still lives, with all its ancient thrill of joy and hope.

Tiie world is full of a wondi-ous presence of which we try to make no exact image in our thought, — a presence which so besets us behind and before that if we ascend up into heaven it is there, and if we make our bed in the grave, behold, it is there. We do not think of this form- less spirit as being the whole of God. It is, as it were, the hand of God especially reached out to us ; it is the power of God put forth to enlighten and cleanse our souls ; it is the living bond between that mysterious One who sums u[) all being and that other e(|ually mysterious unit of existence which each one calls himself.

12 FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT.

We cannot separate or distinguish between this spirit and the etei-nal love ; but none the less the word answers to something in our own experience ; it serves to bring nearer to our consciousness a divine might which has for us its special meaning, and its particular work to do in our hearts. What impression the energy of the sun would make upon us if we could stand midway in the celestial space above us, we do not know ; but there is much reason to think that it w^ould neither illuminate us, nor give us warmth. Yet, reaching our atmosphere, that energy is light to our eyes and vital heat to all that live. So the Holy Spirit is God in our present human world, — God round about us in these shadowed ways, the healer, the comforter, the inspirer of this earthly life. Would that the time sufficed to show at length how large a part this idea is coming to play in the best religious life of our time ; and how many, to whom God and Christ are not now very near, are being fed from day to da}^, as the lonely Prophet of Israel is said to have been ministered to by birds of the air, through the instinctive reliance of their souls upon an ever present Hol}^ Spirit !

But though the emphasis may thus shift from age to age, from one to another of these three great words, so that now it is God the Father, and now it is he who holds such pre-eminence as might belong to God's first-born son, and now it is a more vague and cloud-like presence called the Holy Spirit, in which some portion of the Church cliiefl}' believes and trusts ; yet Christianitj' has need of all these words which have so much shaped its histor}', and it is a wise tradition that holds fast to them, as they stand joined in one of the most ancient expressions of our faith.

They will live long after present doubts as to the reali- ties for which they stand have drifted away, like shadows of clouds passing across the sk}' ; for the long past is too sure a warrant of future continuance to permit us to lose

FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT. 13

heart among the changes of our time. Because, in close study of the methods of life, men have for a little while lost something of their grasp upon the higher philosophy of existence, that does not impl}' that the mind will never again ask questions as to the source and meaning of it all. And when men do ask these questions, with intent to find an answer, the}' are certain to come back at last from all their wanderings to that profoundest teaching which the world has ever received, given by him who bade his disci- ples go among all nations, teaching and baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.

"Full of thought, kindly, vigorously, lucidly expressed,^ *' Wonderfully timely,''

STEPS OF BELIEF;

OR,

Rational Christianity Maintained against Atheism, Free Religion, and Romanism.

By JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE,

Author of ^^ Orthodoxy: its Truths and Errors;''^ '■'■ Christian Doctrine oj

Prayer J ^ &'c.

The book is a i6mo of 312 pages, and is sold, in accordance with the low scale o£ prices adopted by the Association for its publications, at one dollar, with the usual discount of 25 per cent to clergymen. Sent, postage paid, on receipt of the price.

Opinions of the Press.

This little volume has a great deal in it that will be welcome to thinking men of all sects, whether they accept its conclusions or not. It deals in a fresh, vigorous, manly way with topics which just now are of the utmost interest to all Christians. — Tribune, New York.

Whatever views may be entertained of the theological beliefs of James Freeman Clarke, his stoutest opponent must concede to him frankness and simplicity of statement, a power of condensation which is well-nigh marvellous, a style in writing which is fairly fascinating, and a scholarly manner which never leads him to invective, and never carries him beyond the bounds of dignity. — Tribune, Chicago, III.

No man is surer of an audience than James Freeman Clarke. Having no party to speak of that exactly follows him, all parties in theology are his debtors. . . . The first part of the book might be circulated by an Orthodox tract society without offence ; and, indeed, so good a tract on theism for popular reading cannot be found. — Independent, New York.

When, having climbed under his guidance from atheism to theism, and from theism to a spiritual Christianity, we sat down to his closing book, " From the Letter to the Spirit," we read under a spell of fascination which few religious treatises pos- sess, and with a constant though unuttered " Amen " rising in our hearts. Christian- ity is more than a creed. From not a few points in Mr. Clarke's creed our judgment dissents; to the generous catholicity of his Christianity we yield our most cordial assent. — Christian Union {Henry Ward Beecher's paper), New York.

The literary merits of the volume, as of Dr. Clarke's writings generally, are very great. He has the art of putting things in a way to make the truths he favors most attractive, and the errors he opposes most absurd. — Congregationalist ( Trinitarian), Boston.

The arguments against atheism and free religion are forcible ; the style is clear, a little ornate, and quite vigorous; and the spirit of the work is commendable. Its treatment of Romanism is fair ; and we think that this part of the book will meet with general favor among Protestants. — Western Christian Advocate {Methodist), Cincinnati, Ohio.

Tins volume is a clear and able defence of Christianicy, as understood by con- servative Unitarians, against the assaults of the atheists, the free religionists, and the Romanists. Even those who do not agree with the author will find a suggestive book. — Christian Era (Baptist), Boston.

We feel an obligation to Mr. Clarke for his work which we can but inadequately express. He has done the cause of Christian truth great service. His book must make a strong impression on every fair mind. . . . Hft has none of the heat of the partisan, and none of the extravagance of the sentimentalist. The reader is impressed everywhere with the strength and the breadth of the mind that claims his attention. — Universalist, Boston.

There^ are hundreds of thousands of men and women in our country who would find in this book, if it could be brought to their notice, the light and help which they need in regard to the great problems of religion. We hope it may have the widest possible circulation. — Liberal Christian, New York.

Fitll descriptive catalogue of its publications, and list of its tractSf sent free, on application, to

AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION,

25 Beacon Street, Boston, Mass.

ORTHODOXY:

ITS TRUTHS AND HRRORS.

By JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE. •

We advise our people, and especially our ministers, to read this book. It is well wrttten and able. It will be to them a rich source of instruction. It is the fairest book, from a Unitarian position, that we have seen for a long time, though abundantly open to criticism. — Congregationalist {Orthodox), Boston.

The author, a prominent Unitarian clergyman of this city, reviews in this work the doctrines of the Orthodox church, and severally treats of them from the standpoint of James Freeman Clarke ; for he makes no pretension that the opinions put forth are other than his own private judgment. It is well worth careful perusal. — ZiatCs Herald {Methodist), Boston.

We have read it with pleasure, even where its conclusions or processes do not fully commerd themselves to our mind. Dr. Clarke writes with great clearness and beauty and force. His criticisms are acute, his spirit conciliatory, his method fair, his expres- sions of faith definite. . • . The volume is full of matter ; and we commend it to every thoughtful reader, not that its conclusions may be accepted, but that its matter may be carefully weighed. — Christiafi A inbassador ( Universalist), New York.

It deals vigorously with the great questions by which the course of religious thought in our times is being agitated. It will naturally have a general reading with ministers. Withal the lovers of truth welcome every such honest discussion. The truth it brings out will live ; the errors it contains will be blown away. — Christian Mirror {Orthodox), Portland, Me.

The reputation of the author of this volume will attract attention to its contents. Whatever may be the first prejudice against Mr. Clarke as a Unitarian, the^ candid reader will concede that he is an honest as well as a strong advocate for his faith. . . . We think that no one will deny, after perusing this volume, that the author has presented his points with zeal and eloquence. — Providence {R. I.) Journal.

Admirable in intention, kind in temper, candid in spirit, earnest in purpose, this ▼olume occupies a place in theological literature which ought to have been filled before, but which until now has remained empty. — The Nation, New York.

These are but a few prominent points of the book, which discusses all the doctrines elaborately, and in a manner to interest and instruct, not only students of theology, but all intelligent Christians. — Republican, Springfield, Mass.

The book is a i2mo of 512 pages, and is sold for the low price of $1.25; and will be sent, postage paid, on receipt of that amount: The usual discount of 25 /^r cenl to clergymen.

Inil/ descriptive catalogue of its publications, and list of its tracts^ ttnt free, on application, to

AMERICAN UNITARIAN ASSOCIATION,

25 Beacon Street, Boston

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