Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1872-12-29
TnE FREE-eHUaoH PaoBLEn.

j AlicIlcdu Cllit1f IN tle ace, W. Llal
lChristianity Is not preached TO the poor.
] II We step into almost any church on
Fifth and Madison avenues, on any
z Sunday, we shall find there a we'll
z dressed crowd. or q tninly scattered con-
pany Of fashionable people, and almost
no poor people at all. These churches
may carry on, and, as 3 rule. do carry
on, 3 Mission Sunday school in some
I part Of the city, where a great deal OF
useful work Is done. Under the circum-
stances, they do as well as they eau; but
the fact remains, that the people whose
children are taught do not enter a church
at all. It Is in vain that they are invited
TO attend preaching; and the fact is
\ demonstrated beyond all question, as it
appears to Us, that there must be a
change effected in the basis and policy
Of church support before they can be in
duced to do 50. We may attribute their
nOn-attendanee to indifference to reli-
gious subjects. This is an easy method of
/ relieving ourselves Of responsibility, but
in view Of the alarming fact that this
indifference is steadily increasing, it
| becomes us to inquire whether the
church itself does not come in for 8
share of the blame, and to find,
| if possible, where that blame lies.
We have before Us a book entitled
Copy, by Hugh Miller Thompson, rector
Of Christ Church, in this city, consisting
Of between sixty and seventy brief edi- |
tOrial articles, which has, we may say
| in passing, more straightforward COM
mon sense in it than any book we have
met with in year, and which presents
to us two articles respectively revealing |
the basis Of our difficulty and the way
Of release frem it. The first is entitled, |
Il Proprietary Christianity, and the |
second, 4 lost act Of Worship. We
do not propose to quote from them, for /
we have not the space, but if the reason |
for change in the basis OF church sup /
port, and the solution of the problem Of /
free church are not to be found in /
them, then they are hardly to be found /
in current literature. Our churches are
houses of men, and not houses of God. |
They are largely owned by individuals, |
and not by the church, or by any body
Of men representing the church. Either /
this is the case, or they are sold every
year to the highest bidder. Tremendous i
expenditures are made in building 1
churches; great outlays Of GlOney are /
needed for carrying them on; in NEST Of
the churches there is absolute ownership /
Of pews on the part of individuals; and 1
by private sale or public auction the /
sittings are appOrtiOned to those who 1
have the money to pay for them. There
are free sittings, of course, but the men /
for whom they are left will not take /
and occupy them, and thus publicly ad- 1
yertlse themselves as paupers. 1t seems
plain to US that some change must be /
made exactly here, before the first step |
can be taken toward reform. Indeed /
this change must be the first step. Our
houses Of worship must be recognized |
as houses Of GOd-houses in which there i
are no exclusive rights purchasabIe in !
any way by mOney-hOUses where the /
rich man and the beggar meet on COM
mon ground to worship a common /
LIGHTHOUSES to any seat in which any
man, high or low, rich or poor, has equal /
right with any other man. We have /
tried the other plan long enough, and /
ought to be satisfied by this time that It /
Is failure, as it most lamentably is. /
Now comes up the question of church 1
support. A church cannot be "run y
without money. 1t cannot be built or
bought without money. Well, in the
first place, churches need not cost half
the money they do, either to build or to
carry on. We pay immense sums to
make churches attractive, and there are
those IN New York that are erammed
every Sunday simply for the purpose Of
hearing expensive music. There is q
very large attendance upon certain
churches in this city that has not the
first motive of worship in it-churches
IN which artistic music is made so
prominent, indeed, as quite to put all /
ideas OF worship out Of the mind OF
those who are musieaIly inclined. There
is not only money enough for all neces-
sary purposes, but money is ABSOLUTELY
wasted. Our churches are now built /
and run on the theory that men win |
pay for exclusive privileges for them
selves, and viii not pay for free privi-
leges for all. And here is where
DR.. ThompsOn's article on 4 lost
Act Of Worship comes to its prac-
teal bearing. He claims that the
worship of God in gifts has been
lost, and ought to be recovered. The
first worship offered to Christ on earth /
was worship of gifts. Gifts were re-
cognized acts af worship in the Jewish
church from time immemOrial. All /
that is necessary is to reinstate this act
Of worship so that every Christian who
goes to church shall bring with his tri-
butte CT prayer and praise his offering Of
money, as an act of worship, in order to
solve the free church problem at once.
Churches are to be built by gifts offered
in wOTship-by dedication Of substance
as well as Of self; and they are to be
carried on in the same way. We believe
that if the solution Of the free church
problem is anywhere, il is here. We
are to lay aside all ideas of the owner
ship OF pews, in every sense, and to
bring every Sunday our offering of gifts,
a. frrrr -
of prosperity, an act Of worship, Just as
cOnscientiOusly as we bring our petition
and our praise. We believe in the
theory aud in the plan wholly, and thus
believing we believe it to be wholly
practicable. We have not question
that living Christian church, thorough
~ enlightened ON this subject by a
clergyman sympathetic with these
views, would fined the obstacles to the
plan al removed, as well as the obstacles
to lis usefulness. OF course the church
must go through process of education
to bring it to this high plane, but we ,
are satisfied that It must be brought
here before its triumphs viii be great :
before it VIII check in any considerable !
degree the tide Of wOrldliness that
threatens to engulf it, or bring its in
fuence to bear upon those who per-
refuse to hear its voice.
In q recent article we talked about !
to the outsiders in theaters,
but that would be only q temporary ex-
pedient, in the place Of nothing at all !
Here is something infinitely better. :
We have sean no response TO that article
lis there to be any to this? If not, +
then we are to conclude that the church /.
is satisfied with the present state of :
affairs, and we must wait for a betterage, IL
and prepare to wade through the dis
cOuragements of worse The expert
ment viii not be q new one of sustain !
ing church on the current gifts Of the
but this ground idea Of al-
cooperating acts benefcence into theI
regular Sunday worship of the Christian q
church viii be new to the great multi /
tude, and, Is adopted, viii forever s
relieve the preacher from appearing be- /
fore his people as a begger. It viii 7
make the churches Gods houses and not Z
mans, and the ministry of the churches Q
a universal ministry. It viii at least y
secure the worlds confidence in our f
sincerity, and, if it persists in its indif- L
ference, leave it without excuse @. 9
Holland; ScTibReT's for January.
THE WORLDS GREATEST WAR
RKOR.