The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-05
The demonstrating God Responsible for
Horrors.

The Srrmons-Holding God Responsible for
Horrors.
Yesterday was so warm that the churches
were anything but full Nature, which Mr..
Beecher is so fond Of praising, and which Mr..
Frothingham's mind is 50 full of that it can
not spare little room for thought of Chris
tianity-nature, as seen at the several sum-
mer resorts within easy distance of the city,
found numerous worshippers, who tbronged
the excursion boats. The time, however, has
not yet arrived when we shall announce, in
mournful language, that ''nobody is in town."
meaning thereby that George Washington
Jones and Napoleon Lafayette Smith and their
families had gone to Saratoga or Long Branch,
followed by their devoted pastor. As con-
sequence the churches were not altogether
empty yesterday. Fashion was we'll repre-
scented at all of them; sinners, well dressed
and addressed, prayed and perspired; rev.
erends and priests preached and perspirsd.
If, in fact, the fervor Of the congregations
was as intense as the heat we should entertain
no fears lest DR.. Ewer's predictions be real
lied. That clergyman in his lecture yester-
day took most gloomy view of the civil and
religious aspect of affairs. He pointed to
Paris as an evidence of Divine retribution.
Unfortunate Paris is now pointing moral in
every sermon in Christendom. Not long ago
we took occasion to condemn this absurd prac-
tice of imputing to God every calamity which
befals humanity. Is there railroad slaughter,
Providence is held responsible; is there
coal mine horror, God is charged with it; is a
city burned down and half its inhabitants de-
stroyed, the entire Trinity, the twelve Apos-
ties and all the saints are charged with the
diabolical deed. We protest against this, be-
cause it is not Christian doctrine. Protestant
and Catholic preachers are alike attributing the
misfortunes of Paris to Divine wrath. If this
be so, it must be admitted that He selected as
instruments frightful set of wretches. But
Divine interpostion in all the calamties Of
life explain how Paris was punished for her
sins by the murder of the pious and venera-
BILE Archbishop Darboy and numerous priests
and nuns? Is it possible that in city of two
millions of Inhabitants there were not ten
righteous men, the number which, according
to the Scriptures, were enough to save it
Our preachers appear to forget that if we
must recognize the hand of God in great
misfortunes we must recognize it in
small ones also. This Is logical conclu-
sion. If the Communists were agents
of the Almighty in half destroying Paris then
Foster was divine agent in killing Putnam,
and so On down to the most trivial of crimes.
And the moment we believe any such doctrine
that moment we destroy all belief in individual
responsibility and make man the slave of
supernatural power for good or for evil. This
is not the doctrine Of Christ; it is sheer phan-
tasy. The most we can say, with any degree
of reason, is that God abandoned Paris to her
fate because Of her wickedness, and we must
find an explanation of Ms abandonment of the
Archbishop and other good men to their fates
in the declaration that He works in mysterious
ways.
DR.. Ever was of opinion that we have
fallen into the power Of rings, and he feared
that the country was going to the bow-wows
with great rapidity. Really, the picture drawn
by the Doctor of our religious, social and
political condition is too gloomy for contem-
platon in this hot weather; so we turn from
it to the discourse Of Archbishop McCloskey
on the trials and Affections of the Holy
Father-a vigorous, interesting sermon-to
which we refer the reader. 1t was the inten-
ton of the Archbishop to speak on the
sublime mystery of the Trinity (yester-
day being Trinity Sunday, but the
excessive heat induced him to postpone the
delivery of his sermon on that subject. We
commend this consideration for his congrega-
ton to all preachers. Mr.. Frothingham's dis
course was noteworthy for its apology for the
Paris Communists and its plea for greater
enency toward atheists. DR.. Armitage ex-
planned that love alone induced Christ to dwell
with men. DR.. Dix spoke on the necessity of
men laying down their crowns, whether of sor-
row or joy before the throne of the Almighty.
Rev. Mr.. Smyth preached on the subject of ''The
Tabernacle of God with Men,; Mr.. Beecher,
in his usual iguratve language, showed that
the present is not all of life-that the best of
, life is that of the hereafter.
There were other sermons to which we have
not specially referred, but which will be
found reported elsewhere, of interest to all Z.
In Brooklyn, Washington and elsewhere the
religious harvest was promising, if not alto
gether satisfactory. 1t certainly was about
as satisfactory as it generally is with the
thermometer at ninety -four.