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The Puritan Spirit In The Life Of Today, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908. A handwritten note on the side of the manuscript says, “Published.” There has been no evidence found of a publication of this sermon.

A Thanksgiving Union Service preached at the South Congregational Church. Davis first discusses the misunderstandings of the Puritans -- as religious fanatics and dogmatists -- and urges instead that we see the Pilgrims as spiritually powerful and consecrated to changing life for the better against the corruption of the Court of King James. He goes on to urge that "we …

Clear Thinking And Right Living In The Individual, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

In this sermon, Davis argues that one's character is ultimately determined by one's clear thinking. He says, "Remember this above all things else, that the true nature of our work, its ultimate influence, and its final worth, is determined by the true nature of our inner and secret thoughts, our personal beliefs, our deeper convictions."

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary …

Our Growing Hunger For An Absorbing Service, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

As a consequence of industrialization -- among other things -- Earl Davis believes that people have lost the sense of their own personal worth, instead seen as just a cog in a machine, entirely replaceable. This has created a great hunger for feeling and being of value. Davis says, "However hard we may struggle against the fact, do we not have to admit to ourselves at times this feeling of the relative unimportance of our individual personal lives? Does not this hungering sense …

Practical Politics And Civic Righteousness, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

A discussion of the principles underlying democracy and the threats from "practical politics and practical politicians" whose lack of integrity to the common welfare undermine democracy.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

The Need Of Extending More Rational Methods In Dealing With The Small Offenders Against The Social Order, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

In this sermon, Davis proposes to consider criminal justice from the position of two key principles: (1) Humans are each individually the sites of divinity, or "the Great Good Will" and (2) Human experience over history, and in each person's lifetime, is a disciplining of this Great Good Will. With these two principles in mind he goes on to consider current practice in criminal justice where there is an increasing shift from a focus on the societal impacts to the impacts on individual …

The Religion Of Humanity, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

In this sermon, Davis discusses the religious ideas of 19th century Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini. Mazzini suggested that change is ongoing in both religion and faith. Old dogmas and old forms die as new ideas and new forms are created.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing …

The Value Of Doubt In Religious Life, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

In this sermon, Davis criticizes the notion that faith is opposed to doubt, calling it perniciously false. He discusses one of the most successful works of 19th century literature, Robert Elsmere by Mrs Humphry Ward (Mary Augusta Ward), as well as the doubts of 19th century English divine Frederick William Robertson. The manuscript of this sermon is incomplete.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features …

Faith In Life, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

Davis traces the evolutionary instinct to live to the human faith in life. The sermon includes stanzas from The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

Some Religious And Social Ideas Of Tolstoy, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

Discusses the radical religious ideas of Leo Tolstoy, particularly his doctrine of non-resistance.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

The Conservation Of Resources, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908.

While Davis does reference problems with natural resources -- forest depletion and other natural resources -- his focus here is on the depletion of human resources -- "solid, honest, healthy human beings." His concern is the corruption of wealth-seeking. His primary target is the church, which he claims has failed to honor Jesus' second commandment, "Love thy neighbor as thyself." The focus here is on the church's stance toward the labor problems of the day. He concludes quoting Ely Moore's 1833 address to …

Keeping Back A Part Of The Price, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from August 30, 1908 to November 26, 1908. A handwritten note on the first page of the manuscript says, “Adams, March, 1910; ???, March, 1910.” Evidently, Davis reused this sermon at least twice, once in Adams, Massachusetts and once in another — unfortunately unreadable — location, both times in March, 1910.

This sermon is a discussion of the story in Acts 5:1-11, where Ananias and Sapphira seek to join the early Christian church, giving away most of their possessions while keeping some. The idea that they could purchase their way into …

The Educated Good Will, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

Davis defines the "uneducated good will" as having good will towards family and fellows. He defines the "educated good will" as good will towards all. He defines education as "that knowledge of facts and principles of life that enable one to live the better and the richer life."

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription …

For The Joy Of Living, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

Expresses the view that every life -- every day of every life -- should be joyous in celebration of each of our individual divine natures and purposes. He writes, "Your very soul hungers and thirsts for the life that satisfies, for the life that shall bring joy and deep returns as each day passes, and accumulates a potentiality for life that shall make you feel that it is worthwhile to be immortal. If you would realize that satisfaction, banish from your mind from …

Helping The Other Man: The Moral And Religious Problem Of The Present, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

Follows up on the previous Sunday's sermon ("The Bearing of Burdens, July 19, 1908) specifically the need for a living wage for all workmen, a wage that would allow women to be homemakers. Davis also suggests that part of the problem is open-door immigration, which drives down wages. He also states that the pursuit of wealth, at the expense of human personality, is another part of the problem, but remains optimistic that once recognized, the problem will be fixed.

Date refers to Date …

The Bearing Of Burdens, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908. This sermon again (see "Man's Responsibility", November 27, 1904) addresses the passage from Galatians 6:5 "For every man shall bear his own burden." The first burden is that of determining what kind of person one will be and one's moral and religious views. Davis sees this as a matter of individual responsibility (Universal priesthood, see "Mountain Climbing", June 28, 1908). But then there are daily burdens for oneself and for one's community and society. Davis is sharply critical of …

The Moral Conscience And The Needs Of The Times, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

This sermon uses the process of gardening as a metaphor for figuring out what to do morally to improve society. Davis insists that the church must be more than a fine fellowship. It must stand for and prompt action in support of the principles of Jesus.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis …

The Spirit Of The Evangel, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

This sermon focuses on Universal priesthood and the implications of this responsibility. Davis focuses on three elements: (1) One must listen to the world and to others in the world, listen with an understanding heart. (2) In light of what one learns with the understanding heart, one must develop one's moral purposes in the world. (3) One must act on these purposes. This is a full life of the living God.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original …

Mountain Climbing, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

Earl Davis begins with a quote from James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans to the effect that God is to be found in nature. Davis suggests that at some point everyone feels an urge to get to the hills and commune with nature. Included is a lengthy passage from Rudyard Kipling's poem "The Feet of Young Men". What is the draw? It is a desire to feel the "depth and the glorious mystery of life." But this "mountain climbing" is also …

Moral Responsibility And Moral Accountability, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection—“bundle #4”—that includes sermons from February 14, 1909 to December 26, 1909.

In discussing the moral responsibility of man, and using the theological system of John Calvin as a framework, Earl Davis says that since God is only manifest in the actions of humans -- the "living God" -- the urgency of this responsibility is that much more evident: "in the affairs of human society, the voice of God speaks in the voice of man and the will of God is manifested in the will of man. It is doubtless true that the moral and …

The Place Of The Church In The Life Of The Individual And In Society, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

A published pamphlet of one of Earl Davis' sermons. Jesus gathered volunteers who understood and supported the kind of life that Jesus advocated; that is the beginning of the Christian church before institutionalization. Davis discusses the implications for assessing the current value and use of the church. Man is not made for church; church is made for man. The kingdom of God was to be a kingdom on this earth. The church -- then and now -- must serve human personality and reality.

Date refers to Date Given

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. …

The Moral Significance Of The Evolution Of A Religious Faith From The Idea Of God As An Occasional Visitor To The Idea Of God As The Indwelling Goodwill, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection, Bundle #1, Manuscript #3, that includes sermons from May 22, 1908 to August 9, 1908.

This sermon characterizes the change in the idea of God from a "big man" who was fed and feted at festivals and who helped secure good outcomes from wars and other needs --"an occasional visitor"-- to the idea that Jesus shared of God as spirit, best understood in analogy to the relation of a father to his children. One "finds God" in everyday life, in the beauty of nature and how nature provides and in the loving relations of …

The Motive Of Right Living [Outline Of Sermon], Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

Outline of a sermon that deals with the problems with various kinds of selfishness -- of the body, of the mind, of money and property, of power -- and altruism. Christ is discussed, but only with a broad meaning: "Christ is a word which was applied to one who was a minister to humanity, whose great absorbing passion it was to labor to the end that men might see the way to the great and rich life."

This is from the third bound 1908 collection that includes a couple of reports and several sermons, which duplicate sermons found in 1908 …

The Open Way And The Life Of Man, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This sermon concerns the relationship between humans and "the Unseen," referring to God and/or the underlying principles of order and morality of the universe. This sermon is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 24, 1908 to August 9, 1908. This document is incomplete and only contains the first two of five sections of the sermon. The outline, included in the supplemental materials, gives an overview of the sermon's entirety.

Date refers to Date Given.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document …

In The Service Of The Country, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the bound collection that includes sermons from May 22, 1908 to August 9, 1908. The date for this sermon may be incorrect as Sunday fell on the 24th of May in 1908.

Starts with a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson given on the anniversary of emancipation in the West Indies (August 1st, 1844) which (a) affirms that no human should ever be treated as property, and (b) that the arc of progress is toward justice, confirmed here. The bulk of the sermon is about problems in the relationship between employers and employees, of people not being treated …

Address At The Lincoln Celebration; Held Under The Auspices Of The Colored Methodist Episcopal Church, Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts

In this address, Davis lauds Lincoln for his acts and fundamental integrity, but emphasizes the amount of work that remains with both Race and labor. He writes that integrity, being a truth-seeker, and taking responsibility are necessary.

This is an incomplete copy of this address; one page is missing. It is also unclear exactly which church this event was held at.

The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and …

Report To The Unity Workers, Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts

This is from the third bound collection that includes sermons from 1908, along with a couple of reports, such as this one. So, while not explicitly dated, it is very likely from 1908.

A report to the people who work at the Unity Church and/or volunteer to support Church operations. Opens by thanking them for stopping certain work, almost certainly referencing Earl Davis putting a stop to the running of church fairs and suppers as a means to support the church and its minister. Tells the workers of support provided by outside (see "Report to the Parish" for …

Lincoln Steffens To Speak At Colonial Theatre, Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts

A short piece encouraging people to attend the YMCA sponsored talk by Lincoln Steffens at the Colonial Theatre in Pittsfield. Davis makes reference to Steffens work exposing corruption in municipal government. Steffens was an American investigative journalist and a leading "muckraker" of the Progressive Era. While there is no explicit date for this manuscript, Steffens did give a talk in Pittsfield in 1908.

The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.

Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

Fall 1908 Sermons [List And Announcements], Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

Here is a list of all the sermons for Fall, 1908 made from the subsequent document a series of notices of sermons for September through December 1908. These included several "paragraph pulpits," which gave a kind of one-paragraph abstract of a sermon.

It seems almost certain that these sheets were used for announcements made in the local newspaper about upcoming services. Sermon topics included several on labor problems, problems with wealth accumulation and disparity, discussions of the nature of religion and the place of the church in religious observation (aimed at non-attenders) among others.

Only a few of these sheets …

The Motive Of Conduct In A World Of Righteousness, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1905-1919

This is from the third bound 1908 collection that includes a couple of reports and several sermons, which—except for this one—duplicate sermons found in 1908 bundles #1 and #2. So, while this sermon is not explicitly dated, it certainly is from 1908.

This sermon begins with the observation that for thousands of years people have sought a world of righteousness. Even as progress has been made we have always found more work to do in striving towards a righteous world. The key to righteousness is treating all people as people and not as things. Davis states that "These conditions exist …

The Social Unrest [Twine Bound Bundle], Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts

This is one of twelve sermons Earl Davis kept together in a twine-bound collection. While these manuscripts are undated, internal evidence clearly dates them to the years 1909-1911. The United States went through a recession in 1908, and there was increasing labor unrest, including a general strike in Philadelphia in 1910. These difficulties provide some of the backdrop to these manuscripts.

One of the manuscripts, “What about City Government,” has a clear notation that it was written for the “Pipe and Pen Club,” presumably some periodic gathering to discuss issues of the day. It is possible that all – or …