THE REV. R. J. CAMPBELL'S VIEWS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1168, 1 July 1911, Page 10

THE REV. R. J. CAMPBELL'S VIEWS.

>'OT UNITARIAXISM, HUT PAUL'S DOCTKIXE. A statement to the efl'ect that (he Rev. R. J. Campbell had recanted some of his Xew Theology views, and had proclaimed his belief in the doily of Christ, has been going the rounds of the press. At a Congregational Ministers' Conference in the City Temple, I/cmlou, last mouth, Air. Campbell referred to the question and especially lo Hie extremely rationalistic or unitarian view taken up by the Rev. Dr. Anderson. He said that as regarded Ihe personalily of Jesus, a weakness of the position of Dr. Anderson was that he se?med to put it on all fours with such awlhcr historical personality as, say, '.hat <i the Buddha. But it was not on all foiws. The vivid Gospel portraiture, of i. Divine-human personality made an appeal to ordinary men and women such as no other record of any personality made. From that point of view the personality of .Jesus was unique, though he admitted that they did not get the Christ cullus even from the first absolutely identified with Ihe Jesus of Nazareth.' The Epistles came before (lie Gospels. There were only two possible views—the one (ho Unitarian view, which was the instinctive view of the man in the street, who thought Ihat Jesus was in the world like himself, with the same outlook on life; and the view of those who held that the Nov.- Testament was not a Unitarian book. "Whether they agreed with himself or not, the real point at issue was not "Who is Jesus ■" but "Who aro we?" What Christendom had thought of Jesus all the way through ought to be (rut. It was- the result of universal experience.. Falling back upon Paul's theory, there was a side of God which was represented hy the truth nf Hie Eternal Christ, and iii that side of God they were nil included. The basal fact, in them all, the basal fact of personality, was that Christ Eternal, who was. and is, Jesus, and who showed Ilinisolf in Jesusi Christ. Jesus was the earlhly, limited manifestation of that Eternal Christ; who had been Hie light of every man who eanie into the world. He was the fundamental fact of all being, of the being of all of (hem. That was not. Unitarianis™—that, was rani's own doctrine, although perhaps Paul never worked out the philosophy of if. In replying. Principal feline said he thought he might voice the feelings of the meeting, and express Hie hope Ihat Mr. Campbell would come -among them a little more- a remark which, it is reported, was cheered most enthusiastically by (he meeting.