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CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE SOCIAL BRETHREN CHURCH.

THIS is a small body of about twenty congregations in Arkansas and Illinois, which had its beginning in 1867. In that year a number of members of various bodies, whose views concerning certain passages of Scripture and certain points of discipline were not in harmony with the churches to which they belonged, came together and organized a church and subsequently an association of churches. In 1887 a discipline, containing a statement of doctrine and rules for the government of the churches and the ordination of ministers, was adopted. The Confession of Faith, which consists of ten articles, sets forth the commonly received doctrine of the Trinity, the Holy Scriptures, the evangelical doctrine of redemption, regeneration, and sanctification, declaring that he that endures unto the end the same shall be saved; holding that baptism and the Lord's Supper are ordinances made binding by Christ, and none but true believers are the proper subjects. Three modes of administering baptism are recognized, and candidates are allowed to choose between them. The eighth, ninth, and tenth articles declare the right of lay members to free suffrage and free speech, that candidates shall be received into full membership by the voice of the church, and that ministers are called to preach the gospel, and not to preach politics or anything else. The associations correspond in general

There are two classes in the

usage to Baptist associations. ministry, ordained and licensed, also exhorters and stewards, as in the Methodist churches, and ordained deacons, as in the Baptist. It is quite evident that the denomination was originally formed of Baptists and Methodists, the ideas of both these denominations and some of their usages being incorporated in the new body.

There are 20 organizations, with 11 edifices, valued at $8700, and 913 members; 6 halls, with accommodations for 600, are occupied.

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CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE SOCIETY FOR ETHICAL CULture.

THIS Society was founded in New York in 1876 by Prof. Felix Adler. It was announced as "the new religion of morality, whose God is The Good, whose church is the universe, whose heaven is here on earth, and not in the clouds." Its aims have been thus defined by Professor Adler:

"I. To teach the supremacy of the moral ends above all other human ends and interests.

"II. To teach that the moral law has an immediate authority not contingent on the truth of religious beliefs or of philosophical theories.

"III. To advance the science and art of right living." Meetings are held on Sunday, at which addresses or lectures are delivered. Societies having been organized in Chicago, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, as well as in New York, a convention was held in 1886, and "The Union of the Societies for Ethical Culture" formed, with a constitution calling for annual meetings. The four societies report an aggregate of 1064 members. The New York society has a cash fund in hand of $60,000. The 5 halls occupied have a seating capacity of 6260.

In connection with the New York Society considerable educational and philanthropic work is carried on, both by

men and women, who seek the necessitous and endeavor both to relieve and elevate them, and also to prepare them to get their own living.

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CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE SPIRITUALISTS.

WHAT is known as modern spiritualism began with "demonstrations" in the Fox family in Hydesville, N. Y., in March, 1848. The same phenomena had been common in Shaker communities before that date, and, indeed, in almost all ages and among many different peoples; but it was then that these demonstrations, generally in the form of rappings, began to be interpreted as communications from the disembodied spirits of men and women who had, in the ordinary course of nature, passed away, but whose spirits were still in a living and active state. From this time individuals began to investigate these spirit manifestations, circles began to be formed, mediums were discovered, lecturers recognized, and a literature established.

Spiritualists claim that the miracles of Christ are explained by the central doctrine of their belief, and they regard the demonstrations of spiritualism as establishing by evidence the fact of a future life. They do not hold that God is a personal being, but that he exists in all things. Eternal progression is the law of the spirit world, and every individual will attain supreme wisdom and unalloyed happiness.

A few spiritualist societies employ permanent speakers, but usually they appoint lecturers for limited terms, varying from a week to several months. A large proportion of the

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