The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1878-04-03
CHURCHES AND CHURCH DEBTS.

The extravaganza that doomed and bios
sOmed during the war period extended its
perniciOus influence TO church corporations,
and in the wild infatuatiOn OF the hour, when
IL was belle we'd that money would always be as
plentiful rs il was then, contracts were made
for the erection oil churches th8t have since put
pastors and people % the seVerest straits To pay
for 1he most pitifui means have been resort
ed 10 for the purpose OF meeting the debts thus
contracted. The local market has been ran
sacked for sensational preachers, Just aS a
Ivceurn committee works hard to secure the
moss profitable lecturers, and even England
and Ireland have had drafts made upon them
to supply the demand. Il has been, as IL were,
religion at high pressure with deacon on the
safeTv valve taking i'm the dollars. Fairs, tab
leauX. concerts, dramatic exhibitions and what
not are resorted to, and IN fact no stone left
unturned or effort untrled 10 relieve the shoul-
ders of the congregation OF the saddle of debt
that j 50 CALLING TO them. In the meantime
fact MOI tifying as the confession must be, too
mucn of the religion OF to-day does not de-
pend so much upon the Gospel itself as the
popularity of the man who breaches 1T. The
church mortgage has swept away the simple
faith of the fathers, and puG something in its
place that savOrS more OF ftStlan than OF Ialth.
New York Express.
We reproduce the above not for the pur-
pose Of antagonizIng the Gospel, but rather
to place before our readers current comment
upon the way churches are drifting The
fact must be regarded by thinking Christians
as serious when such notices, resting upon
indubitable testimony, find their way into
the secular press. The case to which the
Express particularly refers is that OF st.
AIMS church, on the heights. Brooklyn.
which has incurred q debt Of S1SS, 900, and
which it has not been able after the most
strenuous efforts to raise hut $4,000
with which to pay it, The demand at st.
AIMS was fine architecture, fine music, fine
carpets, fine pews, elegant frescOes, beautiful
windows. splendid surroundings everything
aristocratic, aud with all, gilt edged sermons
"a costly Gospel. These things the good
people of st. AIMS obtained, and with them
mortgages that extended from the founda-
tons to the gilt cross on the steeple, and COW
ering all of the grand display inside and out
And now the worshipers are burdened
with debt and interest, and it is quite pos
sible that the costly structure will oe sold
for the balance due. Now, then,
what is the lesson these grand
and magnificent piles teache with
an emphasis and grim elOquence that COM
mand attention. Are the churches for
the poor. those who need along lIfe's weary
nilcrinaee the consultations CT Christs
teachings? Are they the pious palaces, the
Christian monuments of love, where the
people of plain costumes resort to feed upon
the bread OF hfe2 Are they places to which
the lame. the halt and the blind plod their
weary way to hear again and again OF that
xonderful man who when on earth sought
them out to heal them and TO teach them
Oh yes; some one may say in all of those
grand architectural displays there are pauper
benches within range OF the voice OF
the silver tongued orators who occupy
pulpits at princely salaries, who dress in
linen and broadcloth, and who know vastly
less of poverty and the poor than did He
whodeclared that He had not where to lay
His head, and was more destitute than the
foxes and the birds. 1t is possible that the
lowly Nazarine somewhere directed Hi
disciples and apostles to build costly churches
and resort to all manner Of kick shows tt
paw for them and keep the Gospel machine
Nv in motion. If 50, let the declaration b
made. We have failed to find 1t. We d.