ptism always means immersion,
indicating no other doctrine by which that body is known, or its method
of government. "Congregational," no doctrine significance there. It
simply means a church whose power is lodged in the congregation. It is
democratic in its methods of government. "Methodist,", applied to the
members of a particular church because they were considered over-exact
or methodical in their ways. There is no governmental significance
there. The name Catholic? or Universal? is chiefly significant from the
fact that the claim implied by it is not true. Now let us look for a
moment at the word Unitarian, and see whether it has a right to be
placed not only on a level with these, but infinitely above and beyond
them in the richness, in the wonder of its meaning. Let me lead you to
a consideration of it. I want you to note that unity? is the one word
of more significance than any other in the history of man; and that it
is growing in its depth, its comprehensiveness. What have we
discovered? We have discovered in this modern world, only a few years
ago, that this which we see, the earth, the stars, and all the wonders
of the heavens, is one, a universe. Not only that. We have discovered
the unity of force. There are not, as primitive man supposed, a
thousand different powers in the universe, antagonistic and fighting
with each other. We have learned to know that there is just one force
in the universe. That light, heat, electricity, magnetism, all these
marvellous and diverse varieties of forces, are one force, and can be
at the will and skill of man converted into each other.

Next, we have learned that there is one law in the universe. Should we
not be Unitarians? Should we not believe in the unity of God, when we
can see, as far as the telescope can reach on the one hand and the
microscope on the other, one eternal, changeless Order?

Another point. We have learned the unity of substance. We know how
Comte, the famous French scientist, advised his followers not to
attempt to find out anything about the fixed stars, because, he said,
such knowledge was forever beyond the reach of man. How long had Comte
been dead before we discovered the spectroscope? And now we know all
about the fixed stars. We know that the stuff we step on in the street
this morning as we go home from church is the same stuff of which the
sun is made, the same stuff as that which flamed a few years ago as a
comet, the same stuff as that whi