Article January 26, 1907 Issue

LIBERTY

Fairhaven (Mass.) Star

At the Unitarian Memorial Church Sunday, Dec. 9, Rev. Frank L. Phalen, the pastor, preached a sermon on Christian Science, in which he sought to give the belief a "square deal." Mr. Phalen was for seven years located at Concord, N. H., as pastor of the Unitarian church there. He is personally acquainted with Mrs. Eddy, has held conversation with her, and holds letters he has received from her. . . . Mr. Phalen took his text from Luke, 4: i8, i9. He said,—

There are many persons who forget that this is a land of liberty. There are many persons who know this is a land of liberty, but act and speak as if their thoughts, feelings, and conduct exhausted the entire scope of religious liberty. In short, we are constantly amused by the air and tone of the persons who appear to think that religious liberty in America was born to encourage their notions and to condemn the notions of everybody beyond their parish. Now I take great satisfaction in pricking bubble of ignorance, and in calling attention to the fact that religious liberty in Massachusetts, in New England, in this republic, means liberty for every one,—liberty for the Hebrew, liberty for the Catholic, liberty for the agnostic, liberty for the free thinker, liberty for the orthodox, liberty for the heterodox, liberty for the aristocrat, liberty for the democrat, liberty to worship, liberty not to worship, liberty to be a Christian, liberty not to be a Christian. ...

Now, I believe in liberty—and this morning I propose to defend very frankly the liberty of our Christian Science friends and neighbors. ... I am glad they have these rights, supported by the courts, supported by the Bible, supported besides by every true American and every true Christian in this republic. I am not a disciple of Christian Science. There are times when I allow myself the liberty to criticise very freely both the doctrines and the conduct of my friends in that church. ...

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