, 1875-02-14
Effect Of Dr.. De Koven's Theological
Views on the Church.
Opinions Of the Religious
Press.
lotes and Personals at Roma and
Abroad.
Services in the Churches.
THE LAY PREACHER.
COON WILL 10 MEN

Of these MY brethren, 70 kaye dcpe 1t unto me-
The very CORNERSTONE and keynote OF Chris.
tiEnitY as taught By its Founder la goodwill TO
men. ALI His sermons and teachings are per
tneated with the sublime idea OF the brotherhood
of man, and we are distinctly taught that We best
manifest our lore to God By acts OF benehcence
to His children who from any cause may
neea our sympathy or material aid. Leigh Hun,
in his beautiful little poem Of Aben Ben Adhen,
gave uttcrence to the true Christian idea. All
cur creed. dosmas and formulas Of worship
sink into ins1enidcance when compared with
practical Christian charity. They are simply the
ti:he of mint, cumin, and anise, Which, while
they ara al we'll enough in their place,
can never be accepted As substitute
fo- the weighter matters OF the law.
There is natural tendency in all ecclesiastical
bodies to lay peculiar etress upon prescribed
forms and ceremonials. This is especially true
il ponulous end wealthy communities, and is in
tho opinion Of the preacher, one Of The greatest
dangers which threaten this usefdlneas OF our
churches OF MI denominaions-
The gorgeous ritual prescribed for the obRary.
auce Of the Jews was doubtless intended to i'm
press with awo spd terror the minds Of the
s.mi-barbarous people for whom it Was arranged.
Theirs Was religion Of sacrifice, partakiDg to a
certain extent Of the nature ct the bloody sacri-
Gces OF the Pagan Norld; and the elaborate cere-
rnonial. which are observed in some OF our mod
ero Christian churches can be traced directly to
the same source. The public miuistrations of
Christ were diyested OF everything Of the
kind He formulated no creeds, and His
preaching Was unattended BY any prescribed
lorna or ceremonies. BE preached mostly in
tho open air, and at no fxed periods. Wherever
ttA%fr }HA
By the sesside, at the we'll or on the street, He
delivered his message. His deyotions, too, were
free from al foruaity.
Cold mountains and the midnight air
Witnessed the fe1,or Of Els rrayer.
And while lie taught both by precept and exam
npon His followers that it should be chiefly mau-
itested By works OF rractical benevolenoe towards
the poor and suffering; and most OF His miracles
were performed to that end Some good Chris
ti4n men seem to have constant fear lest the
Church should lapse into mere humanitarian
ism but think the real danger lies in the
other direction. And when I sea = man
who is earnestly and lovingly deroting
= portion OF his time and substance
10 the relief Of the unfortunate recognize in
he has never subscribed to the ''seven points"
or the 'tLittJ-nine articles" and his name be
not 1ecorded On the rolls OF membership Of any
church. Indeed, do not think that the voucher
Dt ClurCd membership WILL Qe C8udl 1UI ~ kA6
golden gates, and that many whose names have
st,od high Oh the rolls viii be told: II never
knew you" while many q one OF the other class
will bs greeted with:
asnauch 80 hare dnne 1t INTO the least of these
my brethren, ye hnTe done it unto me.
In expressing these opinions, it is not my pur-
pose to lnrelsh against all church organizations
Ct creeds. They ire yaluabls in the same sense
that al other organizations are which are formed
for the purpose Of accomplishing certain results.
They are instruments to be used to secure
au eud, aud all such organizations are valuable,
md chledy valuable, On the ground that united
rcuon is 1no1e effective than individual and inde-
pendent labor. The great fault ia thas there ia \
natural and growing tendency to ALLOW the
rleaus used to orertop and obscure the great
rreat political parties. The theory, aud doubt
less the intention, OF the founders OF all the
prom :pcnt parties. is to advance the interests OF
The Commonwealth; but the history OF all OF
them has ehowa that they soon degenerate, and
I,artieanship instead Of patriotism becomes the
controlling power, and mere politicians instead
of statesmen are found filing nearly all the
places OF honor and responsibility. To save
tie party, and perpetuate their OWL power as
connected with it. becomes the paramount OBJ
jecs; the good OF the country at large, and the
prosperity OF the people as whole, il secondary
consideration There are, to ba sure, in all par
ties and At all times. honorable exceptions to
this rule, but, as general propagation, its truth
nu6E De 1tpATeuL 10 every opsfIfEE.
It is N humiliating truth that, with vast ma
jonty of protesting Christians,-if we are to
Judge them by their acts,-denominatoDal zeal
By lar outweehs the higher consideration Of
doing the will >of Him whose name they bear.
End to whose service they hare professedly con-
secreted their lives and thus it is that We find SO
frequent exhibitions Of STRIFE chickering's and
petty jealouaieB. So-called Christian couroca-
tons become areuaa OF unchr1stiAn strife. After
an hour spent in devotional exercises. they spend
lnxv Nk,
carried to an extent in Eome instances
that would cause political wre-puller
aud caucus-rnanipulator to blush for
ye.y shame. Ths sscnlar papers are
flooded with ordinations and rec1iminations.
Charges Of dupiicitC, and, in some csses, Of IT,
ing, a7e exchanged between men who cain to
be eet apart for ,he high aud holy work Of e1-
tending the Ki1gdom Of Christ on earth. And
th!uk II the iowly Nazarene should come into
some or our modern Christisn ~ conventions,
He ronld rebuke the mranslers As severely as
lie did while On earth those who def1led the
temple At Jerusalem. And imagine He would
say: s. Is thus the work whereunto you we're ap-
pointed? 4io feed my lauabs."
Il all the h1ne all the labor, and Ill the treas-
ute which have been expended in building and
boIs.ering raan-made creeds and in purely de-
pominational aSgrandlzement, had been ap-
piled to. the simple work which WAS in
little need today OF missionary societies,
This deuominat:oual machinery for doing s1nple
work reminds ma OF an incident which came IN
de- my observation few years ago. 4 man
owned . Touring null. and during portion Of
the gear there was 4 lack OF water. So the wise
man At grent expense, put in . powerful steam
engine and an ingenious apparatus for using the
wafer over again. By this means The water, after
having pa6sed over the wheel, was lifted back to
repeat liz work OF turning the ponderous wheel
Il was success, but it Was ascertained by COM
potent engineer that with 1wo-thirds the expense
The steam povcr could have been applied direct
" 10 the machinery, dispensing entirely NTH the
Tatsr-wheel. There mas bitter, but withal
list, sarcasm ia the action Of the man who, when
sppl:ed to for contribution to some missionary
en.erpnsc, gave the solicitor Is cents Tor the
heataen and 81 to defray the expenses Of getting
it there.
Keai Christian work as e1emplfed by tho
teachings aud example OF Christ is very SIMPLE,
aad does no. require great talents or intricate
machinery. and the sooner this truth is under
slood and scted upon the more effective will be
the labors Of those who devoIe themselves to il.
TO feed the hungry, to c|othe the naked, to visit
the vidow aud fa:heiless in their afiction. to
minister to tho pecesaties OF the sick and suffer-
ing, we1a mada prominent features in tue brlef