E P Powell IS THERE A PERSONAL GOD? c. 1885 Rare Sermon

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An Original Religious Pamphlet from the Late Nineteenth Century Written by a Congregationalist / Universalist Minister "The Latter-day Thoreau" IS T A PERSONAL GOD? A Sermon Delivered in Utica City Opera House by Rev. E. P. Powell Second Discourse on our dity from God Undated ~ Circa: 1880 - 1886 No Place or Imprint ~ Likely Utica or Clinton, N.Y. The First Edition A Pamphlet once Housed in the Personal Collection of the Author, Edward Payson Powell. Single sheet, folded twice forming 8 pages, seven sides printed; approximately 7" x 10" CONDITION CLEAN AND PRESENTABLE WITH THE FOLLOWING NOTED: This leaflet was uncirculated. The paper is a bit toned. T is a small, near-negligible damp stain to the foot of the spine - a small chip to the bottom edge of the rear exterior else clean and presentable. The pages have not been separated. THIS IS THE ORIGINAL DISCOURSE, NOT A MODERN FACSIMILE. Edward Payson Powell (1833 - 1915), who wrote as E. P. Powell, was a Professor at Hamilton College, ordained a Congregational Minister, and eventually assumed pastoral service in the Unitarian Church. A leading thinker of his times, Powell was the author of articles, books, and pamphlets on matters of historic, political, economic, intellectual, spiritual and agricultural interest He was a frequent contributor to a variety of magazines, including Unity (of the Unity School of Christianity) of which he was a contributing editor. Powell was a scientific agriculturalist, famous for his horticultural experiments, and in Clinton, N.Y., w he resided, his gardens were famous. Towards the end of his life, almost all of his writing was devoted to agricultural and horticultural topics. He was a great believer in things natural and advocated that people attempt a full integration of their lives with the natural world. In 1909, an editor of Outing Magazine had this to say about the energetic Rev. Powell: " Mr. Powell is, in a way, a latter-day Thoreau. He is in the class of writers who are using the old time culture to illustrate the new time industrialism. He is one of those who went back to Nature and to the simple life, before it became a fashion and a fad. His family was educated in the field, and with a home laboratory and shop, instead of school houses. Mr. Powell was, and is, a Congregational minister, whose proclivities were strongly liberal before toleration made free thinking popular." The Reverend - Professor has become, in a region strong in agricultural and horticultural pursuits, a folklorish figure of almost mythological stature. In the eighteen-eighties he delivered a series of lectures, or discourses, as he called them, at the Utica City Opera House. The public was invited to attend; and attendance was probably good, for Powell was an interesting and commanding speaker ... and attendance was high also, if for no other reason than curiosity, since Powell was known to hold what many would have considered as unorthodox opinions. Rev. Powell had copies of the talks printed up, which people could purchase. This copy of Is T a Personal God? is an uncirculated copy and was once housed in his personal library - long since broken up and distributed locally. The Discourse, which precedes the predominantly horticultural period of Powell's life, consists of an exposition on the possibility of believing in and establishing a personal relationship with God in the face of a personal disbelief in the supernatural. The following are a few brief excepts from the Sermon: "Do you believe in a personal God?" This question is often asked of us, as if it followed that one who denies supernaturalism tby involves himself in atheism. Other questioners seem themselves to be in a quandary as to the real outlook of modern investigation, and ask more for information than for condemnation. No answer can be ... read more

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