The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1880-04-20
RELlGIOUs DRIFT.

lhb AGNkhASt SttAS9 AASS9SeANA W. eASef
agreeing with the spiritualists. "But what
are the consequences" he concludes, "of
Mr.. Cooks theory that matter is subiectto
the will OF men, or Of men and spirits. II
they can set my desk flying out OF the
window, they Can pitch me out; il table,
WHY not the safe that holds the mail
books; II the safe, why not move the
house itself, the city hall, the postoffice,
the city, the mountains, the fixed staTsl It
is Just as easy to move thousand pounds
by will power as one pound. There is no
relative proportion between the amount oil
mind aud Of matter in such an operation.
The inference is inevitable, and defy the
logic Of Germany plus Joseph Cook 10 dis
turb the conclusion; II human will power
cause table to fly through the air, or a
conch shell to 60 through solid table,
then all matter is subject to change oil
place at the will Of man without interven-
ing agency. The infinite absurdity OF this
statement should reach the brain Of any
man whose head is neither cracked nor
soft"
The Con9regationdlia is disposed to be
philosophical over the Herbert Spencer
controversy at Yale College. Alter all,
"the spirit OF the teacher rather than the
tone Of the book" it concludes, "is what
influences students chiefly. Prof. Sum.
ner is minister Of Christ, and, apart from
this, he is an honorable gentleman. 1t is
to be assumed that he will not use his
present position to make impressions hos.
tile 10 Christianity, and, also, that any
difference OF Judgment between him and
President Porter is friendly, and will ad'
just itself naturally and properly, and SC
that the truest welfare OF the students will
be secured"
AT the recent celebration Of the 50th
birthday of Mrs. Maggie Van Colt, the
revivalist, 1t was stated that in the l!
years Of her ministry she has travelled
l4S, 4l7 miles. held 9,S5S religious meet
ings, preached 4,294 sermons, written
Q, $50 letters, and seen S2,143 souls con,
verted.
Protestant churches are multiplying
very rapidly in Italy. OF churches which
have services in foreign tongue for for.
eign people there are 50, Of churches com.
posed OF Italian converts from Catholicism
there are 1888, OF which the Methodists
have A, the yaudOis 80, the free church
81, the Baptists 10, the Plymouth brethren
10.
Mr.. GLADSTONE, in his speeches in Scot.
land, told the people that the disestab!ish.
ment of the kirk was matter which con-
cerned the Scottish people. II they un.
mistakably expressed wish to have the
kirk disestablished, it would be done.
THE Prab,terian Reriep, the organ Of the
Presbyterian church in Victoria, Aus.
tralia, has got itself into hot water by
speaking too freely about the Westmins.
ter standards. The Raiew defends itself
bysaying:
eve have often TO feel that the theologi.
cal dialect Of the seventeenth century, as
1t Is embodied in the Westminster Stand
ards, does need, now and then, to be
translated into the language OF the nine.
teenth. We cannot conduct all our fight
ing in that old armor. Nobody among US
breaches In the same way as the Presby-
terians OF the time OF the First Charles and
the Commonwealth, north or south OF the
Tweed, preached. We have to face prob
lens that those good forelathers OF ours
knew nothing OF. Much has had to be al
tered or modified. In none OF our churches
Is our worship conducted quite according
to the Westminster Directory In more
than one or two things relating to
church government we have departed
from the Westminster order And even
in reference to the doctrine 1t is vain for
those who are daily fraternizng, and very
iraternizing, with brethren OF the
most pronounced Arminian sentiments to
pretend that they attribute as much i'm.
pOrtance to the strictly Calvlnistic creed
that has come to US from our fathers as
those fathers themselves did. Our church,
like all tho churches, is advancing; but
the mischief is in 1t il those who are COM
ing on more slowly, in close order, begin
to fire on those who have 10 60 out skiTIn.
ishiDg in front"
MILITARY chaplains are to be dispensed
with at the end Of this year in France.
The Roman Catholics have not yet deci.
led what TO do, but in all the garrison
owns the Protestant ministers will go per-
,onally to the barracks to invite the SOL
liers to attend service on Sunday. There
ire sixty.four garrison towns which have
10 Protestant place Of worship. In these
owns ministers will ask permission Of the
Mayors to receive soldiers in the town
lall.
Tux Mormons have Just been holding
heir annual church conference at Salt
lake City. Erastus Snow, one Of the chief
lpostles, made IN address defending
,olygamy in which he said that II the
United States had Its way, Abraham,
Joseph, and all other patrisrchs would be
.rested, were they living with us to-day.
from the report OF one Of the church Of.
lcers Il appears that the total Mormon
population OF Utah is III, $50, In Colorado
100, Arizona 1895, the British mission con-
aims 5,257, children included, the scandi.
lAvian and the German mission 7s9.
some 1900 baptisms are reported during
he last year, and upward Of 600 excom.
nunications and removals. The number
y Mormon births last year Is given at l.
~ males, and 1881 iemales-not
many surplus wives in this distribution
u tho sexes. The total church receipts
or the year Of all kinds amounted 81, 007,-
81. Among the expenditures, Sl44, OBJ
! NJ laid mt nm tho nau, tatnnia - ~. |