Freethought & Rationalism Archive

mountainman · 08-05-2006, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Delivered before the Senior Class in Divinity College,
Cambridge, Sunday Evening, July 15, 1838

The Hebrew and Greek Scriptures contain immortal sentences,
that have been bread of life to millions.
But they have no epical integrity;
are fragmentary;
are not shown in their order
to the intellect.
I look for the new Teacher,
that shall follow so far those shining laws,
that he shall see them come full circle;
shall see their rounding complete grace;
shall see the world to be the mirror of the soul;
shall see the identity of the law of gravitation with purity of heart;
and shall show that the Ought, that Duty, is one thing
with Science, with Beauty, and with Joy.

This journey into the Authors of Antiquity, as all things,
requires a balance of perspectives, and so this thread
concerns the 19th CE author RWE.

The above quote has been taken from here:
http://www.emersoncentral.com/divaddr.htm

He seems to have advocated "transcendentalism"
and the "wealth of nature".

I am impressed by his writings. Compared to
Eusebius et al, it is very refreshing.

Comments?

Pete

S.C.Carlson · 08-05-2006, 08:45 PM

That's Emerson's famous Divinity School Address, a major turning point in UU history.

gnosis92 · 08-05-2006, 08:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.C.Carlson

That's Emerson's famous Divinity School Address, a major turning point in UU history.

what happened to uu before and after this address?

mountainman · 08-05-2006, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.C.Carlson

That's Emerson's famous Divinity School Address, a major turning point in UU history.

Thanks Steve, and I too am interested as to what happened
before and afte this turning point.

Additionally, FWIW, I am attempting to understand why such a
brilliant and educated man would be quoted (REMSBURG) as saying:

"We must get rid of that Christ!
We must get rid of that Christ!"

He must have had a reson for this vantage point upon the
world (as it was in his times). Any illumination on this one
would be appreciated.

Pete Brown

S.C.Carlson · 08-06-2006, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mountainman

Thanks Steve, and I too am interested as to what happened before and afte this turning point.

Though the history of American denominations is not one of my strong points, I'll give it a brief try. IIRC, prior to the Divinity School Address, Unitarianism was pretty much a liberal branch of (Protestant) congregationalism. Afterwards, it became inclusive of insights from all world religions, not just Christianity, eventually culminating in its non-credal approach to organized religion. For more details, you might considering reading George N. Marshall's Challenge of a Liberal Faith (or via: amazon.co.uk).

Stephen

Jobar · 08-06-2006, 08:18 PM

I'm sure that there are college professors who've spent a lifetime specializing in Emerson's life and works. Have you tried searching for such experts?

That's certainly a beautiful and powerfully poetic quote, but I don't know if anyone here can answer your questions about it. (But hey, I could be wrong; I rather hope I am!)

mountainman · 08-06-2006, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jobar

I'm sure that there are college professors who've spent a lifetime specializing in Emerson's life and works. Have you tried searching for such experts?

That's certainly a beautiful and powerfully poetic quote, but I don't know if anyone here can answer your questions about it. (But hey, I could be wrong; I rather hope I am!)

Hi Jobar,

Yes, I have spent some time both reading Emerson and some of
his commentators, but as you can appreciate, some tasks could
easily last a few life-times.

For example, I believe he has influenced a number of fields of discipline,
that may not be relevant here. Commentary indicates that he lived at
a time in the US, between independence from the british regimes, and
before the civil war, when the US was trying to establish its own unique
identity in literature, and many other areas.

Most of his work, I think generally, can be described as beautiful
and powerfully poetic.

Best wishes,

Pete Brown

mountainman · 08-06-2006, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.C.Carlson

Though the history of American denominations is not one of my strong points, I'll give it a brief try. IIRC, prior to the Divinity School Address, Unitarianism was pretty much a liberal branch of (Protestant) congregationalism. Afterwards, it became inclusive of insights from all world religions, not just Christianity, eventually culminating in its non-credal approach to organized religion. For more details, you might considering reading George N. Marshall's Challenge of a Liberal Faith (or via: amazon.co.uk).

Stephen

I believe Emerson had access to Buddhist and Hindu literature,
such as the Gita and the Vedas, etc, in his position, and was
impressed with the integrity of this. He appears to have repudiated
exclusionary rights of the christian religion, which was an amazing
thing for him to have expressed and followed, in his age.

Thanks for the summary, I will reserve some time to follow up the
above references, and the evolution of Unitarianism after Emerson.

Best wishes,

Pete Brown

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08-05-2006, 08:45 PM	#2
S.C.Carlson Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: USA Posts: 1,307	That's Emerson's famous Divinity School Address, a major turning point in UU history.

08-06-2006, 08:18 PM	#6
Jobar Veteran Member Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: secularcafe.org Posts: 9,525	I'm sure that there are college professors who've spent a lifetime specializing in Emerson's life and works. Have you tried searching for such experts? That's certainly a beautiful and powerfully poetic quote, but I don't know if anyone here can answer your questions about it. (But hey, I could be wrong; I rather hope I am!)

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