Transcriber's Note:
Apparent typographical errors and inconsistent hyphenation have beencorrected.
Footnote 4 is missing, while Footnotes 5 and 6 identical.
FIFTY NOTABLE YEARS.
"And I saw that there was an Ocean of Darkness and Death; but an infinite Ocean of Light and Love flowed over the Ocean of Darkness; and in that I saw the infinite Love of God."—George Fox's Journal.
"Universalism was the evening star of the church as the night of the dark ages came on, and appeared as the morning star at the dawn of the Reformation."—Thomas Whittemore, D. D.
Painted by H. Pratt.
Engd. by J. Andrews & H. W. Smith.
Hosea Ballou.
Fifty Notable Years
VIEWS
OF THE
MINISTRY OF CHRISTIAN UNIVERSALISM
DURING THE LAST HALF-CENTURY.
WITH
Biographical Sketches.
By JOHN G. ADAMS, D. D.
ILLUSTRATED WITH PORTRAITS.
BOSTON:
UNIVERSALIST PUBLISHING HOUSE.
1882.
Copyright, 1882,
By Universalist Publishing House.
University Press:
John Wilson and Son, Cambridge.
PREFACE.
Every intelligent reader of thatexpressive line of Longfellow, "Let the dead past bury its dead,"understands that if "the dead past" may be buried, as itdeserves to be, the living past will be remembered, recorded,celebrated, honored in all time to come. It is well, always, that wehave our eyes open to this fact.
Among the many voices heard in the discussions going on in thereligious world during the last half-century, has been that ofChristian Universalism. It is still speaking more emphatically andwidely than ever. A brief and comprehensive notice of itsmanifestations is surely worthy of consideration at the present time.It is the intent of this volume to keep in sacred remembrance some ofthe preachers and defenders of the Gospel of God's impartial grace,who in times when it was frowned upon and misrepresented in and out ofthe churches, had the Christian courage and loyalty to avow andmaintain it. They have made the past not "dead," but gloriously alivein their faith and works.
In addition to the biographical sketches here given, other kindredmatter of interest to the general reader{ii}will be presented, such asthe rise and progress of the Universalist church in America; itsgrowth in agreement with the genius and civilization of our republic;its place in the reformatory work of the last fifty years; its presentstatus; its educational resources and aspects; its definite organizedwork; its missionary spirit and intent, with an outlook into thefuture.
The reader will understand that the views here taken are from thestandpoint of a New England minister's observation, and do not embraceparticulars which a wider survey might have included.
Furthermore, the author would say, that in the account of ministershere given, nothing like a complete biographical encyclopædia is