People's Pilot, Volume 6, Number 26, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1896 — THEY HATE NO CREED [ARTICLE]

THEY HATE NO CREED

POLITICS AND RELIGION COMBINED BY A STRANGE SECT. Kovel Church In California—The Mother Organization In Lot Angeles Has Branches In Three Towns—Total Membership Is One Thousand. There is in Los Angeles a church movement so extraordinary in the character of its creed as to be without parallel or anticipation by the creed of any eocleaiastioal idea ever before brought ■into the world. In point of fact, the only semblance of eoolesiasticißm which this movement bears abides in its name of “ohurch M and in the fact that it expresses itself to be a form of the worship of God. Other •than this there is nothing about its officers, its meetings or any ceremonies thereof which might suggest it to embody a phase of religious thought, as religious thought comes to us today through articles of faith, psalters and edifices. This newly originated institution is called New Era ohuroh, and it was brought into being through a state charter granted upon the filing of articles of incorporation in 1894. Dr. W. C. Bowman was the originator of the idea of such a church and stood at the helm while it was getting into shape. He calls it a “civic church,” and as such it has spread until the Los Angeles body now numbers about 700 members, and there are churches at Compton, Azusa and Clearwater, each of them haying as great a membership as any of the “old line” churches which are in those towns. Altogether it might be said that the membership of the church is about 1,000, but from this nucleus the ohuroh offloers declare the faith will spread, as the present activities show, until it becomes the most conspicuous church movement in the state.

The idea is recognized by some as about the same sort of breaking off from the orthodox faith as Protestantism was from Catholicism. It is based upon the claim that the ohurohes of today assert that their only purpose is to care for the souls of individuals and have no concern for their earthly well being further than obtains to morality and charity, the last of which graces the New Bras declare is “in its church acceptation and practice simply a fraud. ” In short, this New Era church mingles politics with religion, and of the two runs mostly to politics. There is no regular preacher, and the sermons bear no flavor of theology. Twice on Sunday the members gather to hear discourses. A brother or sister will rise and deliver a prepared or extemporaneous address. He may take some Bible theme for his base of argument, but if he does he will use it only as a wall from behind which shots will be taken at political questions of the day. After this is finished some member will arise and comment upon the words just spoken. This will continue until a dozen others have spoken. All sorts of subjects will be talked on.. Socialism comes in for a large part of the speechmaking, for many of the members are socialists. Then there are protectionists, ardent and excitable free traders, Single Taxers, goldites, silverites, those who want the railroads owned by the government, those who want only the roadbeds owned and the traffic management thrown open to competition, those who wish government ownership of the telegraph and who are otherwise opposed to socialism. One of the sections of the constitution of this church reads:

“In matters of belief and opinion there will be absolute liberty of mind to aocept whatever is proved or seems probable and to reject whatever is disproved or seems improbable, and that its range of investigation and instruction will be unlimited, drawing freely from all sources—scientific, literary, historic, ancient and modern, sacred and profane, Christian, Jewish and pagan—drawing most largely from those sources which seem instructive and helpful, freely handling every question in the problem of human life and aspiration, whether relating to this life or the life to come or whether concerning the body or the soul of man. ’ ’ The expressions of its founder, Dr. Bowman, as to the beliefs of the church are much in line with the above. He says, “We believe that the surest way to take oare of another life is to make the best possible sucoess out of this one; to make earth itself as much like heaven as possible—a place of equal rights to all and special privileges to none. ” The absolute lack of theological dootrine in the structure of this ohurOh appears, however, in what is specifically declared to be its creed, which reads as follows: “I believe in the eternal principles of justice and righteousness, embosomed in the infinite soul of the universe, revealed in the faoe of nature and the expert essences of human life. I believe in the betterment' of the world by endless progress. I believe in the triumph of light over darkness, good over evil and life over death. I believe that the earth, with its stored resources, its bounties and civilization with its blessings are the rightful heritage of the people, and that all should have fair play and an equal showing s for plenty and comfort. I believe it is wrong for the few, Whether by inheritance, shrewdness or unjust laws, to have more of life’s substance than they can earn or need while the multitude have Iras than they can earn or need. The literature of this new cbprch does not seem as yet to have narrowed to any particular sacred book. It has neither Bible, Book of Mormon or Talmud—in faofc, the whole range of written words which the past has produced is recognized as being its stock of publications, its reservoir of food for thought. The church has no pastor, but 1b govtrned by a president and a board of trustees.—San Francisoo Gall.