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    • You are All Wizards Now: Commencement Address, June 13, 2021
    • My TIA, Winter, 2024
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Earl Clement Davis
    • The Manuscripts
      • String-Bound Collection from 1906
      • Four-twine-bound Collection of Manuscripts, 1909-1911
      • Three-Top-Brad-bound Collection of Manuscripts, 1912-1918
      • 1918 Four-brad Bundle of Manuscripts
    • Before, -1902
      • Early Genealogy of the Davis Family
      • First Sermon Preached: The Church as a Social Institution, 1901
    • Harvard, 1902-1904
      • Divinity School Class Papers and Thesis, 1902-1904
        • Theology I: Borden P. Bowne’s Philosophy of Theism, December 15, 1902
        • Philosophy V: The Country Manufacturing Plant: A Solution of One Aspect of Housing the Poor, December 16, 1902
        • History VI: Saint Columbanus, January 20, 1903
        • Theology I: Being of God, February 9, 1903
        • Sermons I: The Leadership of Jesus, February 19, 1903
        • Church History VI: Suppression of the English Monasteries, May 16, 1903
        • Homiletics II: The Conquest of Unconscious Sins, January 7, 1904
        • New Testament II: Greek, February 2, 1904
        • Thesis: A Prophet of Democracy, June, 1904
        • An Unknown Sacrifice, No Date
      • Sermons, 1902-1904
        • Simple Religion, No Date
        • The Motive Power of Vision, 1903
        • Feed the Whole Man, 1903
        • Labor and Brotherly Love, 1903
        • The Renewal of the Spirit, No Date, probably 1903
        • Education the Means; Religion the Dynamic, 1904
        • The Roots of Victory, 1904
        • Sympathy, 1904
        • The World of Fancy, No Date
        • Authority in Religious Life, No Date
        • Action and Reaction, No Date
        • Some Helps by the Way, No Date
        • From Confusion Unto Faith, No Date
        • Not Alms, But a Friend, No Date
        • Community of Purpose, No Date
        • The Modern Pioneer, 1904
        • Man’s Responsibility, 1904
    • Pittsfield, Unity Church, 1905-1919
      • 1905-1907 Sermons & Manuscripts
        • Sermons, 1905-1907
          • A Plea for the Principle of a Creedless Church, 1905
          • Growth and Salvation, No Date
          • The Richness of the Religious Life, No Date
          • Obedience to the Will of God, No Date
          • Why Does One Go To Church?
          • What is Christianity? The Letter Killeth but the Spirit Giveth Power, No Date
          • The Compelling Power of the Christ Like Life, Sermon Notes, No Date
          • Choosing the Noble Life, 1906
          • The Missionary Spirit, 1906
          • Abraham Lincoln and the Needs of the Times, 1906
          • Religion in a Democracy, 1906
          • Broken Ideals and Discouraged Worshippers, 1906
          • The Relation of Religion to Health, 1906
          • The Finality of Christianity, 1906
          • Take Time to Live, 1906
          • The Rejected Corner Stone, 1906
          • From Smoke to Pen, 1906
          • Jesus, The Lover of Human Nature, 1906
          • Temptation, 1906
        • Manuscripts, 1905-1907
          • Origins of Modern Religion, Modern Charity and Modern Labor Problems
            • Lecture One, Freehand Charity of the 14th Century, 1905
            • Lecture Two, [Late Medieval Period, Frederick II, John Wyclif]
            • [Lecture Three:] The Peasants Revolt, [Late Medieval Period 2, 1350-1381]
            • [Lecture Four:] Charity, A Degrading Influence of the 18th Century, [18th Century]
            • What Authority has Experience Over a Man’s Religious Life? [Early Modern Period, Methodism, George Whitefield, John and Charles Wesley]
            • [Lecture Six:] The Iron Law of Wages, The Poor Man Pushed to the Wall, [Early Modern Period, Late 1700s]
            • [Lecture Seven:] The Beginnings of Modern Charity, [19th Century]
            • [Lecture Eight:] The Place of Charity in a Democratic Community, 1905
          • Rise and Development of the Congregational Polity and Spirit
            • Lecture I: The Church at Scrooby
            • Lecture II. Earliest Traces of Congregational Churches
            • Lecture III: Brief Definition of Certain Terms Used in the History of Free Churches
            • Lecture IV: The Pilgrim Church in Holland
            • Lecture V: The Pilgrim Church at Plymouth
            • Lecture VI: The Puritan-Pilgrim Church
            • Lecture VII: The Forces Without the Theocracy
            • Lecture VIII: John Murray and the Beginning of the Universalist Movement
            • Lecture IX: Thomas Paine and Theology Without the Church
            • Lecture X: Henry Ware and Harvard University
          • Biographical Sketches of Important 17th and 18th century New England Congregational Preachers
            • Cotton Mather [1663-1728], No Date
            • John Wise [1652-1725], No Date
            • Charles Chauncy [1705-1787], No Date
            • Charles Chauncy [1705-1787], Continued, No Date
            • Jonathan Edwards [1703-1758], No Date
            • Samuel Hopkins [1721-1803], No Date
            • Nathanael Emmons [1745-1850], No Date
          • Industrial Cooperation, 1906
          • Boston Herald: “Church Fairs and Suppers Graft and Blackmail, Says Minister,” January 20, 1907.
      • 1908 Sermons and Manuscripts
        • Address at the Lincoln Celebration Held Under the Auspices of the Colored M.E. Church, 1908
        • In the Service of the Country, May 22, 1908
        • The Open Way and the Life of Man, May 31, 1908
        • The Motive of Right Living (Outline of a Sermon), June 7, 1908
        • The Moral Significance of the Evolution of Religious Faith: From the Idea of God as an Occasional Visitor, To the Idea of God as the Indwelling Goodwill, June 14, 1908
        • The Place of the Church in the Life of the Individual and in Society, June 21, 1908
        • Mountain Climbing, June 28, 1908
        • The Spirit of the Evangel, July 5, 1908
        • The Moral Conscience and the Needs of the Times, July 12, 1908
        • The Bearing of Burdens, July 19, 1908
        • Helping the Other Man: The Moral and Religious Problem of the Present, July 26, 1908
        • For the Joy of Living, August 2, 1908
        • The Educated Good Will, August 9, 1908
        • Keeping Back a Part of the Price, August 30, 1908
        • The Conservation of Resources, September 6, 1908
        • Some Religious and Social Ideas of Tolstoy, September 13, 1908
        • Faith in Life, September 20, 1908
        • The Value of Doubt in Religious Life, September 27, 1908
        • The Religion of Humanity, October 18, 1908
        • The Need for Extending More Rational Methods in Dealing with the Small Offenders Against the Social Order, October 25, 1908
        • Record [of Experience of Psychic Phenomenon], 1908
        • Practical Politics and Civic Righteousness, November 1, 1908
        • Our Growing Hunger for an Absorbing Service, November 6, 1908
        • Clear Thinking and Right Living in the Individual, November 13, 1908
        • The Puritan Spirit in the Life of Today, November 26, 1908
        • The Motive of Conduct in a World of Righteousness, 1908
        • Report to the Parish, 1908
        • Report to the Unity Workers, 1908
        • Lincoln Steffens to Speak at Colonial Theatre, 1908
        • The Social Unrest, 1908
      • 1909 Sermons and Manuscripts
        • The Value and the Limitation of Allegiance to Religious Leaders, February 14, 1909
        • The Spiritual Realities of Everyday Life, February 28, 1909
        • The Inevitable Compensation of Thought and Conduct, March 14, 1909
        • The Nature and Function of the Church, April 4, 1909
        • The Festival of the New Life, Easter Sunday Service, April 11, 1909
        • Moral Responsibility and Moral Accountability, April 25, 1909
        • The Travail and Pain of Human Life, What Can It Mean? May 2, 1909
        • The Adventurous Task of the Church, May 16, 1909
        • The Fate of Tomlinson, May 23, 1909
        • The Making of Reality, June 13, 1909
        • Our Debt to Thomas Paine, Patriot and Freethinker, June 27, 1909
        • What Go Ye Out To Seek? July 18, 1909
        • Two Great Principles of the Modern World, September 19, 1909
        • What To Do? September 26, 1909
        • Confidence in the Amateur Thinker, October 3, 1909
        • Ex-President Eliot as a Religious Thinker, October 17, 1909
        • The Spirit of the Times, October 24, 1909
        • The Individual and Society, November 14, 1909
        • John Brown and the Passion for Justice, November 21, 1909
        • Is Your God Dead? December 5, 1909
        • Robert Louis Stevenson, The Man of an Understanding Heart, December 12, 1909
        • Good Will Among Men, Is it a Fact or a Theory? December 19, 1909
        • That Man May Live, December 26, 1909
        • The Significance of Count Tolstoi, 1909
        • Edgar Allen Poe, 1909
        • Robert Louis Stevenson, the Writer and the Man, 1909
      • 1910 Sermons and Manuscripts
        • An Appeal for Self-Assertion, January 2, 1910
        • Is There Any Sense in Praying? January 9, 1910
        • A Carpenter in the Face of Danger, Easter Service, March 27, 1910
        • Theodore Parker, The Man of Conviction, June 10, 1910
        • A More Abundant Life, June 19, 1910
        • The Democracy of God, September 25, 1910
        • The Democracy of the Bible, October 2, 1910
        • Some Questions of Municipal Housekeeping, December 4, 1910
        • The Joy of a Pagan Christmas, December 25, 1910
        • Socialism: A Reply, 1910
        • Churches for Truth and Justice, 1910
        • The Work of a Church Today, 1910
        • The Class Struggle, 1910
        • What about City Government, Pipe and Pen Club, 1910
        • Marriage and Divorce, 1910
        • The Churches and Socialism, 1910
        • The Social Ideal of the Modern World, 1910
        • Socialism, 1910
      • 1911-1913 Sermons and Manuscripts
        • The Demands of the New Year, January 1, 1911
        • The Essence of Manhood, January 8, 1911
        • Plodding Illuminated by Imagination, January 15, 1911
        • Address Given at the Presentation of Diplomas to Members of the Graduating Classes of Grammar Schools in Pittsfield, 1911
        • Robert Burns: The Poet of Common Life, 1912
        • The Influence of Democracy on Religious Thought and Practice, 1913
        • The Court Jester to King Bourgeois, 1913
      • 1914-1919 Sermons and Manuscripts, including sermons During the War
        • The New Era, 1914
        • The Social Message of William Ellery Channing
        • The Other End of a Shad Dinner, 1916
        • The Dream of a Christmas Shopper, 1916
        • The Church as Fellowship for Common Purpose, April 8, 1917, Easter Sunday
        • A Sermon on Patriotism and The Spirit of ’76, April 15, 1917
        • The Undercurrent of the Times, April 29, 1917
        • The Great Tradition Becomes The Great Faith, 1918
        • Five Months at Camp Devens, 1918
        • Peace Service Sermon: A Dynamic Peace, 1918
        • The Significance of Labor Strikes from the Point of View of Evolution of Religion, 1918
        • Review of God of the New Age by Eugene W. Lyman, 1918
        • Religion, In Life and In Reality, 1918
        • Democracy and Socialism, 1918
        • Liberty and Responsibility in Religion, 1918
        • The Democratization of Industry, 1918
        • The Strike of the General Electric Company Employees, 1919
        • Letter to the Pittsfield Eagle Comparing the French Revolution with the Russian Revolution, April 8, 1919
        • Channing, The Apostle of Liberty, 1919
        • Report of a Survey of Industrial Relations, September 22, 1919
      • 1916, History Manuscript: The Origins and History of the Bible
        • Lecture I: The English Bible
        • Lecture II: History of Early Bible Manuscripts
        • Lecture III: The Origin of the Books of the Old Testament, Part 1
        • Lecture IV: The Origin of the Books of the Old Testament, Part 2
        • Lecture V: Amos and the Prophets
        • Lecture VI: Finding the Book of Instruction in the Temple
        • Lecture VII: When and Where did the Hebrew Bible Become a Canonical Text?
        • Lecture VIII: The Historical Setting to the Early Origins of the Christian Bible
        • Lecture IX: the Bible of the Early Christians
        • Lecture X: Unfortunately Missing, Likely on the Epistles
        • Lecture XI: The Words of Jesus
        • Lecture XII: Establishing the New Testament Canon
        • Lecture XIII: the Bible as a Whole
        • Lecture XIV: The New Testament Story of the Resurrection
        • Lecture XV: Bibliography
        • Lecture XVI: Appendix: Additional Materials
      • 1908-1919 Undated Sermons from Pittsfield
        • Count Leo Tolstoy: A Tragedy of the Times, undated
        • Behold: A Man, No Date
        • What Think Ye of Man? No Date
        • Sermon on Labor, No Date
        • The Thirst for a Living God
        • The Ethical Significance of the Changing Social Order in its Bearing on the Institution of Government
        • The Ethical Significance of the Changing Social Order in its Bearing on the Institution of Education
        • What is the Nature of Worship and Will it Have a Place in the Coming Age?
        • Sermon: Can the Christian Churches Adjust Themselves to the Coming Age?
        • Reformation Without Tarrying for Any
        • The Ethical Aspect of Socialism, No Date
        • Permanent Characteristics of Liberal Religion, No Date
        • Review of “The Introduction of Androcles and the Lion” by G. B. Shaw, No Date
        • The Hope for a New Age, Sermon Notes, No Date
        • The Relation of Public Schools to Life, No Date
        • The Bible as Literature, 191X
        • Why Cardinal O’Connell is Wrong! 191X
    • Lancaster, Church of Our Father, 1919-1924
      • Sermons, Manuscripts and Publications, 1919-1924
        • God and My Neighbor, September 21, 1919
        • Letter Exchange between C. E. Haupt and E. C. Davis, January, 1920
        • True Meaning of “the Coming Crisis,” 1920
        • Will a Belief in Immortality Survive? April 4, 1920
        • Remarks at Unveiling of the Frieze of the Prophets, 1920
        • Letter to the Editor of the Lancaster Public Ledger, 1920
        • Thanksgiving, Then and Now, November 28, 1920
        • Review of The Behavior of Crowds by Everett Dean Martin, 1920
        • An American Sunday, January 16, 1921
        • Research in Preparation for the Unveiling of a Reproduction of Da Vinci’s Last Supper, March 21, 1921
        • The Dilemma Of the Minister, 1921
        • Music in Religion, Sermon Notes and Preparatory Notes, October 21, 1921
        • Notes on The Mirrors of Downing Street by Gentleman with a Duster, 1921
        • Speech by James H. Maurer, “The Open Shop?” and Maurer’s correspondence with Earl Davis ahead of a meeting on March 9, 1921
        • Questionnaire Responses, “Young People: Why go to Church?” collected in preparation for a sermon on February 5, 1922
        • The Power of Understanding: Not Illusion but Truth is Divinity, 1922
        • Notes on The Glass of Fashion by Gentleman with a Duster, 1922
        • The Fact of God in Human Experience, September 17, 1922
        • Two Sermons for October 15, 1922: Morning Service, “The Mind in the Making;” Evening Service, “The Golden Rule in Religion”
        • The Great Relay Race, Notes on an Address to the Students at the YMCA F+M Academy, October 20, 1922
        • The Well Fed Mind, 1922
        • Notes on Silhouettes of my Contemporaries by Lyman Abbott, 1922.
        • The Essential Christ, 1922
        • Notes on “The Renaissance of Prayer” by Samuel McComb, November, 1922
        • The Need For A Spirit of Broad Fellowship. What shall we do with the Heretics? 1923
        • Did Christ Have the Power of God, February 25, 1923
        • Mennonites: Notes for Talk Given at Wilmington, Delaware, March 1, 1923
        • Is Protestantism in the Midst of a Revolution? March 18, 1923
        • The Lost Stream of Frankness and Freedom, 1923
        • The Land of Promise, October 21,1923
    • Concord, Unitarian Church, 1924-1933
      • Sermons and Manuscripts, 1924-1933
        • Life Has Meaning, 1923
        • The Search for Life, 1923
        • The Great Experiment in Religion: A Church Without a Creed, 1925
        • Into the Great Silences, 1925
        • Report to the Second Congregational Society, 1929
        • The Results of Protestantism, February, 1931
        • Abigail Adams Makes a Suggestion & Brooks Adams Asks a Question, 1932
        • Final Report of the Commission on Free Publications of the American Unitarian Association, September 24, 1932
        • Mutual Aid a Factor in Evolution, 1933
    • Petersham, First Congregational Parish Church, 1933-1953
      • Sermons, Manuscripts, Publications 1933-1937
        • The Beginning of a Long Trail, March 4, 1934, Loomis School
        • The Next Step for Our Unitarian Churches, c. 1934
        • A Pilgrimage to Senexet, 1934
        • Centralization of Denominational Government: Do We Need More or Less? 1935
        • A New Note in Fiction, 1935
        • Democracy Versus Authority in Church (and State), 1936
        • Norman Hapgood, Editor, 1936
        • Order of Worship for Children’s Sunday, June 7, 1936
        • A Man in Search of New Saints, 1936
        • The Congregational Genius of Our Churches, 1936
        • Memorial Remarks: Norman Hapgood in Petersham, 1937
      • Sermon Notes for 1938
      • Sermon Notes for 1939-1940
      • Sermon Notes for 1941
      • Sermons, Manuscripts and Publications, 1942-1943
        • Sermon Notes for 1942 and 1943
        • Remarks at Tenth Anniversary, 1943
        • From Copernicus to Galileo, 1943
      • Sermon Notes, Publications and Manuscripts for 1944
        • Sermon Notes for 1944
        • The Village Church, 1944
        • Modern Christianity at Work in the Country, 1944
      • Sermons and Manuscripts, 1945-1946
        • Memorial Day Union Service, May 27, 1945
        • Community Peace Service for Praise and Thanksgiving, August 15, 1945
        • Union Thanksgiving Service, Petersham, November 18, 1945
        • Service of Commemoration, 1946
      • Sermon Notes and Sermon for 1947
        • Sermon Notes for 1947
        • Not Revelation but Discovery, Not Forms but the Holy Spirit, 1947
        • Channing Day by Day, 1947
    • Undated Materials
      • No Title. Notes on the Ministry, No Date
      • Communion Service, No Date
      • Notes on Mutual Aid: A Factor in Evolution, by P. Kropotkin, No Date
      • Outline of Points on English Bible, No Date
      • Grounds for Faith in Religious Liberty, No Date
    • Funeral, 1953, and After
      • Funeral Service for Earl Clement Davis, May 21, 1953
      • Obituary for Earl Clement Davis, American Unitarian Association Yearbook
      • Obituary for Earl Clement Davis, May 21, 1953

Democracy Versus Authority in Church (and State), 1936

This address, written with Carl Heath Kopf, minister of the Mt. Vernon Church of Boston, was delivered at the Massachusetts Convention of Congregational Ministers in King’s Chapel, Boston.

36DemocracyVsAuthorityInChurchAndState11May1936

36DemocracyVersusAuthorityInChurchAndState11May1936Transcribed

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