The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1879-11-04
The Age Of Advanced Thought. /"


The following which we publish by
request, will be found of interest to
many who are not In the habit of reading
sermons:
Be not conformed TO this world" Rom. 1872
Nothing affords the average American
more delight than the conception that
he lives In an age and country whose
motto is progress" In the indulgence
of this thought his eye sparkles with
enthusiasm, and his breast heaves with
emotions of selfgratulation and con-
scious pride. Our politicians, aware of
this national weakness, are not slow to
avail themselves of so powerful an ally
in furthering their schemes of personal
aggrandizement, and in pushing their
claims for power and place. When we
hear these orators indulge In "spread
eagle" style we are apt to fall into the
fond delusion that we are the greatest
nation and the wisest people that ever
existed upon the face of the earth.
Over eighteen hundred years ago
Jesus of Nazareth revolutionized the
mythology of the world He proclaim
ed system of morals which shook the
very pillars of the proud Temple of
Jupiter under whose shadow He expired
upon the cross erected by the disciples
of this mighty God, and whose mailed
soldiers, clad in triple steel were his
executioners and the pitiless spectators
of his death. "The Sun of righteous
ness arose with healing in His WINGS"
and the darkness of Pagan mythology
faded out before the rising splendors of
that Light.
Eighteen centuries have elapsed since
the advent of the Messiah, and since that
time His religion has spread over almost
the entire civilized world. But great
Improvements" have been made in
religion since then, it has been greatly
beautified and adorned in this age of
advanced thought" In the beginning
it was very simple affair Since then
great complexity has been incorporated
into its details.
One of its early principles was ex-
pressed in the quotation from Paul's
epistle to the Heathen and Jewish con-
verts at Rome, which heads this sketch.
Now all that is done away with; it is
essential to modern Christianity.
In Paul's time the followers of Jesus
were peculiar" people. They did not
look or act like the polite, intellectual,
and polished Pagans around them. The
world, in Paul's time, as we have seen
was about as wise, cultivated, refined,
intellectual, fashionable, and magnifi-
cent as it is now, if not little more so,
and yet Paul tells the disciples they
must not be conformed to the world.
But we have improved on this primitive
piety in our day. We have got so near
like the world that nobody can tell us
apart. This is one of the happy results
of the march of modern intellect The
car of progress is ION time" she can't
wait for such slow coaches as Paul and
and his "old fogy" sett This is an age
of steam, electricity, galvanism, tele-
graphy, mesmerism, and phrenology,
and the man that wants to be religious
now-a-d days has to hurry up or he will
miss the train. In Paul's time it didn'
cost much to hear the gospel, but, bless
you, Christianity is an expensive luxury
in this age Gf advanced thought" Paul
travelled about considerably at his own
expense, and preached a considerable
spell for nothing, besides finding some
time to work at his trade between APP
pointments, but that is not the way
things are done in this age of the world.
Preachers have to get big pay for ped
ding out the gospel in this age of
steam.
A little before Paul's time the founder
of Christianity tells us that 1.-THE poor
had the gospel preached unto them,"
and, even in that refined age of the
world, the thing was so marvellous that
it was classed with other miracles, such
as raising the dead, +" restoring the
blind" cleansing the lepers," &C., and
was offered as one of the proofs of
Chrlst's identity with the expected Mes
siah.
1t is about asmiraculous in this day of
advancement in religion. But some
allowance must be made for Paul and
his contemporaries; they had not the
advantages which we enjoy in this
favored age of the world. Paul had no
"Pullman palace coachesn to travel
about in during his time, subsequently
was compelled to go slow. Paul had no
such chances to become famous az nnr