Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1869-07-27
Alienation from the Churches-The
Causes-Remedies.

A marked feature of the times is
Church Alienation, or apostacy.-
Such is the state of many churches
as result of the men dropping aside,
that the members are chiefly women.
La cities the leading churches aim to
keep furnishing by pandering to
fashion, thereby dropping Christ
altogether, and the same in many
country towns. Everywhere the
poor are ignored by leading churches,
and the ignorant are neglected.
Lately Rev. G. A. Staples preach
ed in Chicago upon this subject, al
leging the following causes for the
stampede:
"ln the first place, these churches
do not stand for what is broad, high,
useful and good in the estimation of
these people. They seem to bring
Christianity down to very narrow
tract; they tie it up to few unim-
portant and often trivial things.
The idea of binding the religion of
Jesus Christ up to mode, or the
acts and words of all ordained priest
wearing garments of particular
cut and color, burning incense before
lighted candles in the broad sun
shine; or, making mans salvation
depend on his not doing this or that
on given day in a given place, on
his going to meeting so many times
week, reading the Bible so often, and
repeating the words of a prayer, is a
wretched mistake. Salvation is hon.
esty, truthfulness and love. Saliva
ton is goodness enthroned in the
heart and ruling over the life. Sal
walton Is doing unto others as you
would have them do unto you. And
if you are doing this, God will never
ask vhether you did this or that in
any pa, @ular manner.
We mus present an ideal of life
and character in the church worthy
the respect and love of the people,
We must show them that the church
stands for things broad, high and
beautiful; not SO much water used
in baptism, not trivial things OF
dress and form in the priest, nor abb
stract speculations concerning the
nature of deity and the life to come
in the creed, but warm, pure and
generous sympathy for humanity
large, open-hearted benevolence
hard and practical work in doing
good personal honesty and excel
lence; the love of truth and right fol
their OWL sake; the doing of Gods
will in every day life; that to be q
Christian means TO be good husband
or wife, true neighbor and friend
helper to those about you, of what
ever name and race; q man whose
goodness everybody feels and loves
When such a Christianity is preach
ed and lived by pastor and people
no one will doubt the value of the
churches. And, more than this, we
must prove that our churches are not
founded on wealth, fashion and arts
tOcracy. Ifyou and / show, by the
attention which we pay to man OF
woman in the church, that we value
their money or their position more
highly than their manhood, if we
court them and flatter them, ano
= yield to their wishes and their whims
because they are rich or influential
then we build the church, not or
character and life I; not on truth anc
goodness but social distinctions
money, fashion, aristocracy. Now
| - hx
churches.
Do they care for man simply be-
cause he is man, Gods child, an
immortal spirit; a being fall OF weak.
ness, exposed to temptation, needing
human sympathy, and needing light
and strength from On High? Alas
it is not so. Here, before God, where
we are all really equals, there is the
same Difference paid to wealth, and
success, and power, as there is in the
world. A man is estimated by the
property he possesses a woman by
the house she lives in and the car
riage she drives, and the circle to
which be belongs. These things
mark she place in the considera tion
of the people of the church. In all
our prominent churches the atten-
ton which you will receive depends
upon the amount of your income, the
style in which you live, the influence
which you are supposed to have as q
politician or a man Of business. II
you live in small house and in an
humble way, and if you are working
with your hands to earn your daily
bread it matters very little how good
Christian you may be, how kind
and unselfsh your feelings; how
earnestly you may love to do good
to your fellow-men. This passes for
nothing in comparison with the fact
that man has money and position
and power.
Does not everybody see this Do
you not feel it in the atmosphere OF
our churches; do you not see in the
faces of those who direct and control
them What must be the influence
of this fact upon the popular mind
What do the mechanics, and clerks.
and laborers say of the churches +?
They say, we have no place in them.
We are not welcome there. They
are for rich men; for gentlemen and
ladies of cultivated minds and refined
tastes; not for us who are poor and
compelled to toll for our daily bread.
This system of dividing the church
building into pews and selling them
to the highest bidder, has much to
do in creating and fostering this feel.
ing. Here the people are separated
according to their social position
Each family shut up in box whose
location and adornment indicate
pretty clearly what social Importance
they have in the community. The
same distinctions which prevail OUT
side of the church are thus perpetua-
ted inside of it. Now, the great ides
of Christianity is that of brother
hood-that we are all children of one
family-high and low, rich and moor