The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1869-06-06
-Protestantisr, ..rallure.

= /
4 Dr,EEa of new York,! Rce6tls star
tied the Protestant world by an open state
meht add abIs advocacy az the propositio,
that g PrDtestA ntisns il = fAilure.n TIL,
reverend doctor looked at the subject ana
lyticallyg and alphabetically he, showed
what q religion oughtto do andewAat Pro
testantism had failed to do NE made 4
scathiDg expose Gifts inconsiste nciesS blum,
ders, heresies and crimes; but hesneglect
ed the finaneiai aspect of the case; Pro,
testantism u rapidly going to, the wall be.
cause u don't pay.
Catholic priesthood never did pay; il
! was never intended 10 be aspaying profess
j sion; it was sent forth into the world with
ont scrip or staff, without, saiAf and tenn
porat influence, to face poSersy humilia-
ton, persecution, ,iiseasea and death. It's
sanks are always full. It always commands
| Che Ihost eknfne1t talent aHd Stfia most re-
Sistless shefgica ofltha aga Zeal for the
service of God is stronger and more eff :
cient Id its salf than even the voice of
Mammon or the allurements of ambition.
1t is not SO with false religion. 1t must
pay its leaders. It must reward them tenn
porally, either with money or power, or
with Both. In the beginnfng 81 itsscareer
Professionalism paid well. Its leaders ruled
the people. Through the storm of fanati-
Ecism which ragged SO fercely for genera
stions, they controlled popular feeling and
action. Politics were swayed by their
breath, property depended ON their dicta.
Power and wealth then accompanied as
cendancy in the religious world. ,.,i,, zss,,a4
Until recently, in our country iaof simple,
habits, parsons were well paid. Five or
six thousand dollars year was considered
a goodly thing. Now, a man Of eminent
ability turns up his nose at it. The conse-
quence is, as we see by thespapers, Pro-
testant clergymen enter9with' great earnest
ness into the speculative operations of
Wall street. Men of great ability, like
Beecher, turn their churches into club
houses or theatres, in order to attract
crowd, and make infammatory stump
speeches or amusing declarations instead
of sermons, SO that the boxes, or pews as
they still call them, may sell well.
The pulpit, therefore, still pays pretty
well for gentlemen who can command
nothing about any particular church. Be
sides this happy device there are others, too,
by which men of talent can make the cleri-
cal character pay. They sell themselves,
pulpit and all, to Bonner, or some other en- |
terprising literary Snowman. Bonner him
seif has subsidized hfessrs Beecher, Con-
yregationaiist; Thompson, Presbyterian
Ting, Episeopalian; and some Baptist T
clergyman whose name we cannot remem-
Der. At one time, if we mistake NOT, he
'nce in the Ledger, from the pens of as
many of the most distinguished Protestant
iergymen of the land. The pulpit here
'aeks up the author and renders his wares (
AIt is therefore made to pay
n this indirect manner, and is worth hold Z
ng on to as an advertising endorsement
or more profitable occupations.
Then comes the infinite variety of agen- b
les by which business capacity in the pul-
it, and lectures by which its literary tai /,
Mt, are made available for pecuuiary BUR
oses. These are small resources however.
nd cannot afford field of profit equal to ( !
nat OF commerce, speculation or profes- :
iohai success - F.. g. ....r / i
The melancholy fact for Professionalism is l
lat its congregations are growing simmer .
nd more indifferent; SO that they cannot
nd will not afford to pay the market rates 7
y talent. This seals the death sentence - !
the great heresy in this country.=aWith-
ut paying speculation prices for talent in h
Ie pulpit it cannot get it, and without C
'e-eminent talent it must sink still lower Z
the social scale and in popular regard. i,
anse and effect win thus act and react on h
ch other, for as the congregation gets 9
eaker it must have q poorer preacher, and - -
responsibility leaves the pulpit the CON. b
egation becomes still weaker and less "
duential. W
fhus,iin the course of q few years, it viii "
seen that few persons,sOf respectability b,
II be connected with any Of these estab- hi
hMentse and all talent and sh;I;ty u;lI p