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The Search For Life, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1924-1933

Earl Davis gave two sermons at the Concord New Hampshire Unitarian Church before taking his position there. One was on Sunday October 28, 1923, and then a week later on Sunday November 4, 1923.

These are Davis' outline notes for the latter sermon, and perhaps the second job talk for the Concord ministry.

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 …

Life Has Meaning, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1924-1933

Earl Davis gave two sermons at the Concord New Hampshire Unitarian Church before taking his position there. One was on Sunday October 28, 1923, and then a week later on Sunday November 4, 1923. One of the supplementary files you can download here is the Church flyer for October 1923. His name is featured on page 2.

This is a short sermon outline, and perhaps a job talk for the Concord ministry. With hundreds of thousands of years of evolution behind us, "saturated with spiritual essence", we carry forward. Davis asks "What shall I do to give life meaning? To …

The Land Of Promise, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1919-1924

Not a full-text sermon, but an outline. What kind of world should we want to live in? Not a world without hardship and tragedy; that is inconsistent with evolution. Davis wants to strive for greater simplicity and deeper wider knowledge of the higher conceptions of the meaning of 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 by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.

Notice Of Service For The Unitarian Church, October 1923, Unitarian Church, Concord, New Hampshire

Publications, 1924-1933

Pamphlet for October 1923 at the Unitarian Church in Concord New Hampshire. Features information on the order of worship, the pulpit, and various upcoming meetings.

Mennonites: Notes Of A Talk Given At Wilmington, Delaware, Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts & Correspondence

The notes for this talk are quite sketchy, with no obvious “through-line” indicating what Davis spoke of. It is worth noting that Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where Earl Davis was then serving, was home to a large population of Mennonites.

One nice surprise: In addition to the notes for this talk, the envelope contained a playbill for the comedy “Tillie.” at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster. It is nice to think of Earl and Annie Davis attending this performance shortly before or after this talk. Included in the supplementary files is a scan of the playbill.

Date refers to Date Given. …

Did Christ Have The Power Of God?, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1919-1924

This sermon provides a detailed discussion and study of the source of Jesus' power -- a faith tried and tested in experience, not a transcendent faith. The scene of the Garden of Gethsemane is the sublime height of Jesus' moral courage and leadership.

Earl C. Davis clearly worked on this sermon. Two envelopes containing text for it survive. The first, with the note on the outside, “Did Christ Have the Power of God?" was preached Sunday evening, Feb., 25, 1923 and contained a beginning-to-end text of the sermon. The second envelope had two sets of extra notes, broadly similar, but …

The Need For A Spirit Of Broad Fellowship. What Shall We Do With The Heretics?, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1919-1924

This sermon starts as a historical discussion about dealing with heretics and resolving doctrinal differences of opinion. He talks a lot about "heresy hunters". Davis argues against creeds and argues for engaging with different opinions productively. He argues that this is part of the essence of the Protestant Reformation. A handwritten notation indicates that he also read this sermon on September 25, 1949 in Petersham.

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 …

The Need For A Spirit Of Broad Fellowship. What Shall We Do With The Heretics?, Earl Clement Davis

Sermons, 1919-1924

This sermon discusses the history of dealing with heretics and resolving doctrinal differences of opinion. Davis is against creeds and promotes engaging productively with different opinions. He argues that this is part of the essence of the protestant reformation. According to a handwritten notation on the manuscript by Earl Davis, he also read this sermon in Petersham on September 25, 1949.

Date refers to Date Give.

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 …

The Lost Stream Of Frankness And Freedom, Earl Clement Davis

Manuscripts & Correspondence

“The Lost Stream of Frankness and Freedom” is a manuscript for a text that Earl C. Davis submitted to The Atlantic Monthly for publication. His letter to the Atlantic is below. We do not believe that the article was accepted for publication, or ever published.

Davis argues that the history of thought, governance and religion in the West is a history of moving away from Galilee and Rome, authoritarianism, and the infallibility of Christ and the Bible. He discusses what he sees as two clues. The first are the implications of the letter of greetings sent to the poet Goethe …