Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1880-03-07
1yoesuyp OF STRANGE GODS.

doubt.
WORSHIP OF STRANGE GODS.
Like as We have forsaken me, and served
strange gods in your land. so shall ye serve
strangers in q land that is not yours.-JERE-
MIAH v:19.
1t is not necessary for people to set up the
idols of their worship in their holy places
to erect craven images or devices OF brass
and gold to represent the strange gods that
are the subjects of their alteration. In these
DAYS men can hold in their memories the
recollection of their deities without any
such external aids, and they do it with rare
fidelity.
The worship of strange gods in the
churches of modern times is far more gen.
eral than would appear at the first glance.
Some of the attendants upon the services Of
religion are most devout in their obeisance
at the shrine of fashion; others pay diligent
court at the altar of wealth, while
still others pay their devoirs to So
ciety. They are all more or less in
terlinked. The fashionable part of the con-
gregations are the most conspicuous. They
attend church because it is the fashion, and
they associate only with people who pay
heed to the demands of Dame Fashion in
their strictest degree. They regard obe-
dience to her dictates as the passport to
heaven as well as the passport to their own
refined society. The sanctuary is to them
merely school of fashion in which they are
permitted to take object lessons illustrating
the varied phases of the milliner's and the
dressmaker's art. They see, compare and
criticise. Hundreds are regular in their at
tendance upon the Sabbath services who,
while they could not remember the preach
er's text or give an Ineligible conception of
the line of argument he pursued or the
theories he sought to inculcate, can describe
to o dot the costumes worn by half
the women in the congregation to their
minutest detail. This is one of the
strange gods to whom worship is vouchsafed
in these latter days by those who call them
selves followers of the meek and lowly sa-
vior.
Those who pay their reverence to the al
mighty dollar are also numerous in almost
every congregation in the country. They
look upon q man who has accumulated
| wealth, no matter by what means, as vastly
superior to the common herd of mortals.
In one sense he is divinity. The preacher
courts his favor, and the less wealthy MEM
bers of the congregation bow down to him
and serve him. They respect his every
wish. They recognize the fact that the
maintenance of the elegance Of their place
of worship depends largely upon his bene-
factions, and, lest he should withhold them,
they are obsequious to bis every desire.
Wealth is q great magnet. 1t covers more
sins than was ever claimed for
charity. A rich man can violate
all the proprietles of life and
yet be secure in his church membership.
None will be found 30 bold as to call him to
account for his derelictions of Christian duty,
and as consequence reproach is cast upon
the church from which it suffers in the esti-
nation of all the world. The usurer finds
his safest refuge in the church, for If he but
contributes q 1.-THE of his ill-gotten gains to
the support of the forms OF religion, his OPP
pressions are passed lightly by, snd he is
recognized as pillar of godliness and viz
tue.
The social element of the church is an I'M
portant one. It is composed largely Of the
younger members, who regard admission to
what is popularity known as society as the
chief aim and end of life. Society is the god
which they worship, and they seek to make
the whole church subservient to its infu-
ence. They receive ample support
from others, and as a consequence
have transformed the church
from congregation of devout worshipers of
deity into simple vehicle through which the
social element can have expression. Festi-
walls, and sociables, and literary entertain
ments are gotten up with this object in
view, and men and women unite to build up
social set, the limits of which is prescribed
by the church membership. At these social
gatherings tuo pOoI dIc 1iSiuiy SACAu0Cu'
None but the elite can obtain an entrance
into the society of the select. Religion is
the last thing thought of at these gatherings,
which do not vary greatly in character from
the assemblages of the ungodly. The amuse-
ments most in vogue are of class that are
generally tabooed elsewhere as tending to
loosen the bonds of social propriety, but As
they are carried on under the sanction Of
the church they have passed unchallenged.
Yet the frequent ibidinous outgrowthsof the
system have thoroughly demonstrated the
dangerous character of the games that serve
to while away the tedium of church sociables,
and should have long ago led to their aban-
donment.
There ara other strange gods that are
worshiped by the church congregations. but
they are too numerous to mention. They
serve to distract attention from the real OBJ
iect of these organ izations-the worship of
deity. A few are comparatively harmless,
yet the majority detract from the influence
of the church and greatly impair its useful
ness. Would it not be q good idea for
those who have the interests of true religion