Spencer Heath Archive

Item 3181

Carbon of letter from Heath to C. Chester Lane, The New York Times, 27 West 44^th Street, New York 36, NY. Attached note that “Mailing of this letter was postponed owing to my absence from New York and delay in obtaining information as to proper address.”

November 22, 1956

 

 

Dear Mr. Lane:

I was very glad to hear you ask the question that you did at the conclusion of our English Labor representative’s talk last Saturday night.

It seems to me nothing is so important to the spirituality of religion and of man as ministry to that element of human nature that is capable of be­ing inspired. It is above all things the mission of the Church, and also the true function of the esthetic arts, to bring upon men the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. When this spiritual mission is performed, there is no occasion even to admonish men thus inspired, much less than to prescribe and en­force upon them special kinds of behavior, any more than it is the mission of the Church to enforce its own special kinds of beliefs. I even suspect that this latter, bad as it has been for ages past, could do less mischief than the imposition of a special kind of behavior by resort to political laws.

     The Founders of the Unitarian Church certainly had much higher and more spiritual ideals than a great many of those who now clamor for political action to compel the conduct which they prescribe, either unthinkingly or hypocritically calling it “social action” instead of its right and proper name. Perhaps the best we can say of it is that oftentimes good intentions are involved.

     Clear thinkers and spiritual, like Ralph Waldo Emerson, have been under no such delusions, namely, that government can prescribe spiritual behavior. When the “noble experiment” was being urged in the churches, Emerson saw its true significance and the true mission of all spiritual leadership. His own words were:

 

My friend, the Prohibitionist, would deprive Scroggs of his beer, and make him feel the poorer for it; but I, for my part, shall not be content with myself until I have so inspired him that he will give up beer, and know himself the richer for it.

I feel that your spirit is much in accord with that of Emerson as quoted above, and I trust that by your influence and that of others like you, the so-called “social-actionists” will not be permitted to betray the spiritual mission of the Church by resort to worldly power.

With very many good wishes,

 

                          Sincerely yours,

 

                           

                         Spencer Heath

 

 

SH/m

Encl: Statement of Purposes

Copy to Dr. Kring