WHEREVER there is a defined conception of God, the religious thought finds manifestation in some outward form of worship. Men in their helplessness realize the necessity of an appeal to a higher power; and when a number in one place agree in their conceptions of this power and the manner of approach thereto, the result will be a congregation of worshipers, or a church. Following out this thought it would seem that there would be just as many varieties of churches, or denominations, as there were bodies of worshipers differing in their conception of God and man's relation to Him. This is precisely the case, and for this reason we have hundreds of creeds, some differing widely, and some separated only by slight lines of demarcation. This does not argue the existence of more than one God; it merely indicates the fact that humanity as a whole has had no scientific or provable conception of God and of man's relation to Him, and that therefore the opinions of any man might become at any time the foundation for a new faith. It is axiomatic that there can be but one infinite God, and one true interpretation of Him; and therefore it is not venturing too much to say that the numerous religious beliefs and the practices growing out of them, both in the Occident and the Orient, are an evidence that men have not actually worshiped the one God, but merely their conceptions of Him. Were it otherwise Brahminism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism, and many other Eastern beliefs, as well as denominationalism among professed Christians, would be obsolete; there would be but one church, and this would be the church triumphant, marching onward in infinite progress, peace, and power.
In ancient times, even among those considered enlightened, the worship of more than one God was a common practice. Men had then no conception of God as the infinite Principle, and hence various human attributes were deified in their attempts at worship. The Bible records how Moses led a people from polytheism to monotheism, and through various rites and ceremonies symbolically defined God and indicated the nature of those profound truths regarding God, man, and the universe which were afterwards to be unfolded and demonstrated by the Nazarene. As human thought progressed and gained higher conceptions of God, outward worship took on more meaning, and occasionally, when flashes of divine light illuminated consciousness, "signs and wonders" followed. Prophets pointed out the possible realization of a glorified existence by obedience to one God, and gradually humanity advanced in the understanding of true worship. Beneath all this anxious seeking to know God, lay the cherished hope of immortality, but none who had ever crossed the shadow-land of death had returned to give tangible evidence of hope's realization, and declare unto men one God and the truth of immortality with the authority of a victor. Such an one alone could unify human conceptions of God, and thereby establish a church which would embrace all mankind through its application to human needs, because none other could set aside human traditions and conceptions by declaring God and His eternal laws aright through the indisputable logic of demonstration. Until this should be done there was no logic or evidence which could appeal to the whole world, and so men's varying beliefs would necessarily find expression in varying forms of worship.
In the fulness of time the flower of hope burst into bloom; the Son appeared to declare the Father; immortality was revealed and demonstrated, and through the unmeasured love and unparalleled sacrifice of the Saviour the church universal was established on earth. That this church is not more in evidence is due entirely to the fact that humanity has not yet fully accepted the ideal pointed out by Jesus. When Jesus brought his earthly career to a close by his triumphant ascension above the flesh, the highest proof of his teaching was given, and the dwellers on earth had no longer a valid reason for entertaining a diversity of opinions concerning God and His relation to man and the universe. Jesus was the greatest harmonizer of human thought that ever trod this globe, because he declared the absolute and divine Truth, and in divine Truth alone can mankind arrive at but one conclusion, worship one God aright, and in such worship manifest the ideal and universal church. Jesus not only declared the nature of God and man, but he stated a truth of stupendous import to humanity when he declared that such as believed his words, and received an enlightened understanding of them, should not only overcome every sort of discordant manifestation, even as he did, but should like wise receive a present realization of immortal existence. Here, then, was the hoped-for and dreamed-of victor over death, himself offering to men not only a means of salvation from the ills that beset them, but a way by which they could realize their most cherished hope. Those who truly under stood Jesus and the condition under which these attainments were possible, were comparatively few, and they came to be called Christians and their assemblies were known as Christian churches, or churches of Christ. Those who adhered to the teachings of the Master realized that they were practically demonstrable, and history records the fact that the early Christian church continued for many years to perform the wonderful works which Jesus said should follow those who became his disciples. The revelation had been given, its divinity proved, and it only remained for the whole world to accept it and receive the blessings it bestowed. That it did not do so was neither the fault of the revelation nor of the revelator. The fault was entirely with those who endeavored to construe the teachings of Jesus according to their own personal conceptions, and from a material viewpoint; whereas Jesus declared that only through the door of the Christ, the spiritual idea, could entrance be found into the heavenly kingdom. When Jesus revealed the one God, he also declared that there was but one Way to approach Him. Back of all his wonderful words and works lay his profound understanding of the unity of God and the brotherhood of man. Unity in love, and obedience, were the keynotes of successful discipleship then, and they will so remain until the end of time. The great Metaphysician knew that God must be understood as divine Principle, Love, and the brotherhood of man realized, or the universal Church of Christ would not become dominant on earth. He knew that when men realized that they all had the one Mind, even the tender Father-Mother God, brotherhood would no longer be a meaningless word, and men would no longer strive to exalt self, but would seek in another's good the unfolding of hope and joy. He knew furthermore that this self-abnegation would lead to spiritual discernment, prevent divisions, exalt the true ideal, and keep the church united in the bonds of peace. Thus the unfolding of spiritual thought could go grandly on, and the church prove a beacon to earth-worn travelers, casting out sickness and sin. Unity in spiritual love was deemed so important to the very existence of the true Christian church, that its Founder made it one of the tests and evidences of discipleship and said "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." With out this, spiritual progress in the church would be slow or impossible; for without the meekness and might of spiritual love to act as a protection against aggressive material mentality and the subtleties of sin, there would be no sure safe guard against the introduction of material concepts and personal aggrandizement into the church, and the consequent loss of that spiritual discernment which alone could perpetuate the true understanding of Christ's revelation. The answer to the oft-repeated inquiry, "Why did the spiritual power manifested in the early Christian church so early die out?" is here indicated. The apostles knew that personal interpretations of Jesus' revelation would work disaster, and St. Paul sounded an oft-repeated warning when he said "Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. There fore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears." Alas, that this warning should not have been heeded! Through slightly opened doors of consciousness the multifarious suggestions of evil found entrance and, like evil seeds, found lodgment in the soil of personal ambition and desire for leadership. These unholy desires culminated in a clouded understanding, and later in misinterpretations of the Word through scholastic theology, so that eventually the church of Christ grew dim in the distant perspective, and churches of men, founded on creeds and traditions, and lacking in the power of demonstration, loomed up darkly in the foreground, and in their lengthening shadows obscured the heavenly church and the fair ideal of Christ's revealing. Passing centuries have witnessed the birth of scores of new interpretations of the Master's teachings, but the very existence of this great number of creeds and dogmatic forms of worship evidences the fact that the true ideal has been lost, and the power over evil, promised by Jesus to his followers, has become a mere tradition or a dream of what might be. Now as before the time when the glad tidings were given, men are appealing to the churches for a reasonable evidence of faith, and are met with the reluctant and mournful admission that they have it not.
