UNIVERSALIST DISSENTERS: See Purves, James.

UNIVERSALISTS.

1. Doctrine and Organizetion

Doctrine (§ 1).

Standards; Conditions of Fellowship (§ 2).

Polity (§ 3).

2. History.

Universalism in the East (§ 1).

In the West (§ 2).

In America (§ 3).

Present and Future of the Church (§ 4).

I. Doctrine and Organization: Universalism is the characteristic doctrine of those who believe that all souls will some time be induced to repent and turn from their sins, and that so all will be saved. Advocates of this doctrine are found in nearly all denominations of religion, Christian and heathen. Some of these advocates differ from their parent religion or sect only in holding that the benefits of salvation will finally be enjoyed by all men. Even among those organized as a Christian church and called Universalists nearly every variety of doctrine is represented except as to the distinctive and confident hope of universal salvation. Yet a large majority of them hold a definite system of doctrine which may be indicated as follows: the Bible contains a revelation from God mingled with elements entirely human and fallible, and has authority such as experts have in their special line of activity. Other good books have the same kind of authority, but in a lower degree. God is a person of infinite excellencies. His nature is best expressed in the one word love; at least the other attributes are entirely consistent with this one. As to the nature of Christ the Universalists are divided. The younger clergy commonly regard him as a man born of Joseph or some other human father and Mary. The older Universalists have commonly regarded him as a being ranking, so to speak, half-way between God and man, born of God and Mary, according to a literal understanding of the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. The Holy Spirit is either God the Father himself or is impersonal. Miracles are the constant or occasional action of God in (human or other) nature for its betterment. Providence is therefore both general and special. Salvation is from sin and its sequences and from all other forms of evil and unto righteousness, holiness, and a perfected humanity, and is constantly going on under the impulse of God and other good spirits and agencies. This is the so-called moral salvation, and contains no element of substitutional satisfaction or transfer of guilt or merit. Punishment is a sequence of sin, is divinely appointed as a remedy therefor, and is consequently one of the agencies of salvation both in this world and in the next. The clergy have no apostolic succession, but are merely the special agents of God in the salvation of men. The Church universal is the great body of all professing Christians, of which body a humble member is the Universalist Church. Religion is right relations with God, and therefore includes right thoughts about him, right feelings toward him, and right acts in the service of him and his children. Hence the Universalists have always been zealous for doctrine for the honor of God and for social reforms and charities. The sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper) are chiefly sacred symbols and distinguishing marks of the Christian life and of membership in the Christian Church. Future life is substantially a continuation of the present life, but without the present body of the flesh. There will be no resurrection of this body, and no general judgment, no annihilation of the wicked, no endless punishment in the usual sense of the term, and no second coming of Christ, except in the improvement of souls and of the usual means thereof in this life and in that to come.

The Winchester Profession of Belief has been commonly regarded as the creed of the Universalist church, but in fact it has not been at any time adopted and used as a creed by more than a small fraction of the local churches. In order to have the law of the church conform to the consent and practise of the people, the general convention in 1899 thought best to adopt the following statement:

1. The profession of belief adopted at the session at Winchester, N. H., 1803, is as follows:

Article I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God and of the duty, interest, and final destination of mankind.

Article II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is Love, revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and happiness.

Article III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order and practise good works; for these things are good and profitable unto men.

2. The conditions of fellowship shall be as follows:

A. The acceptance of the essential principles of the Universalist Faith, to wit: 1. The universal fatherhood of God; 2. the spiritual authority and leadership of his son, Jesus Christ; 3. the trustworthiness of the Bible as containing a revelation from God; 4. the certainty of just retribution for sin; 5. the final harmony of all souls with God.

The Winchester profession is commended as containing these principles, but neither this nor any other precise form of words is required as a condition of fellowship, provided always that the principles above stated be professed.

B. The acknowledgment of the authority of the general convention and assent to its laws.

The polity of the Universalist Church may be described as a composite of the Congregational, Presbyterian, and Episcopal systems. Primarily it is democratic, and is modeled somewhat after the constitution of the United States. In each state of the union there is a convention, meeting yearly and made up of the ministers in fellowship and residing in the state, and lay representatives chosen by the parishes. Each of these conventions has jurisdiction within the borders of the state, in matters of fellowship, ordination, and local missions. Over all is the general convention of Universalists, which meets biennially, and is composed of delegates, clerical and lay, in definite proportions, chosen by the state conventions. This body has a national charter and a permanent board of trustees who have charge of general interests during the interim of the conventions. For the further administration of affairs and for the quickening of spirit a system of superintendency has lately been adopted. First

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(in time), the several states appointed each a secretary or superintendent of churches as its servant in the promotion of religious life. Then the general convention appointed a general superintendent of all the churches in its communion. These officials correspond respectively to bishop and archbishop, especially in the original meanings of the words, and without formal authority except to counsel, advise, and encourage. Thus, on the whole, it will be seen that the Universalists are nearly related to the liberal Congregationalists. In popular estimate they are often associated with the Unitarians, but they differ from them in assigning more value to the Bible and to religious life, and in laying emphasis on the personality of God and the endless life of every soul, whereas the Unitarians (q.v.) include many who teach that God is impersonal and that the wicked will be annihilated, and some who doubt the future life altogether. More effectively, perhaps, the Universalists are separated from the Unitarians in having different traditions and in belonging mostly to a different social class, the middle class.