Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-06-23
church bells is an unmitigated nuisance,
wholly unnecessary from any point of view.
It should be abated without any unnecessary
delay, and both the moral and physical well
fare of the community would be promoted.
HINDRANCEs TO THE CAUSE.

CXXXnI: l.
It is safe to say that the spectacle that so
entranced the mind of the Psalmist was not
vision of one of our modern churches.
For, much as we may deplore the fact, there
is no more quarrelsome organization of men
and women on the face of the earth than
the average church congregation of to-day.
Perhaps nothing else casts SO much discredit
upon the cause of religion and interferes
with the spread of the gospel so seriously as
the constant chickering's and strifes that keep
the religious world in perpetual turmoil.
All churches profess to be laboring for the
same end, taking for their guide the same
book. And yet how little of the true spirit
of Christ we find among them. The Pres
byterians malign the Episcopalians, the Con-
gregationalists traduce the Baptists, the
Methodists indulge in ridicule of the Swed-
enborgians, and all unite in a promiscuous
abuse of each other. They differ from
each other on some point of faith of great
er or less Importance, and stubbornly re-
fuse to accord to others the same sincerity
intolerance, uncharitableness are as rampant
to-day as in the dark ages or at the time of
the reformation. The religionists of to-day
lack only the opportunity to repeat the afro
cities committed by the Romanists in the
middle ages, the Presbyterians in the days of
the Covenanters, and the Puritans in the
early part of our own history. The same
spirit of intolerance exists now as at those
times, and shows itself in prosecutions for
opinions sake, not openly menacing to life,
but employed in a variety of ways, such as
social ostracism, and covert attacks upon
business or professional regulations. A Cal
whist entertains as bitter a hatred of a lib
eral as he does of an infdel, and if he dared,
would punish his heresy with the faggot
with as little conjunction of conscience as
did his predecessors two centuries ago, and
imagine, as he stood by and viewed the tor
lures of his victim, that he was doing God
service.
The dissensions among the Christians of
to-day are the greatest stumbling block in
the way of the progress of religion. When
ga man of the world" witnesses the quarrels
of "God's people, over trivial differences of
dogma, views the old spirit of persecution
and illiberality, and contrasts such things
with the broad humanity and universal char
ity taught by the master they profess to
serve, he is apt to form very low opinion
Of the influence of religion upon
hrpo
of broad views and liberal tendencies
will shrink from embracing religion that
appears to lead in too many cases to bigotry
and all uncharitableness. It is O standing
reproach, and hindrance to the spread of
religion, and is promotive more than any
other cause of infdelity and rationalism.
But it is not alone among the various sects
that this pickering between brethren exists.
It is too often the case that members of one
church family 'sfall out and chide, and
fight" It is seldom that church organi-
cation can exist for five years without dis
sensions of the gravest nature. 1t is some
times the pastor who is distasteful to por-
ton of the congregation. An attempt is
made, perhaps, to drive him from the pulpit.
His partisans rally to his support, and the
result is an acrimonious quarrel, culminat-
ing in a schism and the organization
Of new society. Thus two weakling
churches, embittered against each other, and
indulging in the most disgraceful crimina-
tions and recriminations, occupy the field
formerly occupied by one strong, healthy,
united organization. The usefulness of the
porate are greatly impaired or wholly de-
stroyed, and there is chuckle in the internal
regions that is heard even upon earth. In
stances of this lack of unity are almost as uni
versal as churches themselves. Few have es-
capped the contagion of disagreement and dis
ruption. AS consequence, the country
abounds in churches that maintain q pre-
curious existence by reason of their utter
weakness, and one after another they pass
away into oblivion, leaving behind them
only heritage of luminosity and unchristian
hate.
This picture is not overdrawn. No one
can look over the history of the churches
with which he is acquainted and fail to find
some lamentable example of lack of unity
among the members, resulting in disintegra-
ton. The quarrels may have arisen from
differences of opinion on doctrinal points, or
on the merits of the pastor, or on the ques-
ton Of church polity; the result is the same
bitter quarreling and ultimate dissolution.
These things ought not so to be. Other or
CARNATIONS seem to exist in state of COM
parative peace. We rarely hear of dissen-
sions among tho Masons, the Odd Fellows,
or any other of the benevolent or social or
carnations. Why is it that the church
members, who make the loudest protesta-
hons of fellowship, and claim to practice the
broadcast charity, are noted for the frequency
and the bitterness of their quarrels? Some
thing must be radically wrong. We cannot
believe that it is due to the teachings of the
bible; for there is no more perfect code
of morals than it contains, nor are
there in existence more beautiful appeals
for the exercise of charity and brotherly
love than are contained in its pages. It is
Aha ne Aha x,,o~1 I'D AZ,