National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1881-02-05
RELIGIOUS REFRAINS.


RELIGIOUS REFRAINS.
Moscow, Idaho, has Presbyterian Church Or
ganization of eleven members
St Louis has 81 churches, of which "a are
Methodist, 10 Presbyterian, and II Baptist.
Rev Dr. Plat, of San Francisco. has an
nounced that hereafter his sermons will be deliv-
cred inside of twenty-three minutes.
Rev. DR.. Barton, a Unitarian clergyman Of Bos-
ton, encourages his congregation TO attend the
theatre, but advises them not to go to the Passion
Play.
in Texas the e0lOred Baptists have raised 81 600
TO purchase a school property at Marshall, and
have guaranteed to raise 81 800 more in the next
three months.
Rev. Professor Theodore Christliet, d. D., of
Germany, will give the next course Of lectures on
preaching before the theological department. of
Yale College.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New York
reports Catholic population of 6O00G0. There are
26 secular and 30 regular priests 100 churches SO
chapels, and % stations.
The Moravians report 80 .SS3 communicates in
America, Germany, and Great Britain-an increase
of 26i during the past year. This does not include
the mission COMMITMENTS.
Over $3.50 have been already subscribed for
the reception to be given at the Academy of Mu-
sic, Philadelphia, February 2s, in aid of the Con-
vent Ofthe Good Shepherd. Beside this amount, it
is confidently expected that at least 5000 will be
returned by the parish committees.
Rev. W. r. Huntington, D. D., of Worcester,
Mass has declined the call to become associate
rector of st. James P. E. Church, Twenty-seeond
and Walnut streets, Philadelphia. Rev. Dr. II. ].
Norton the rector recently celebrated the fftieth
anniversary of his entering the pastOrate.
The National Baptist recently said: ave be-
ieve that religion has more power in America
than ever before and that America comes nearer
to the idea of a Christian nation than any nation
that has lived" This statement is also Endorsed
by the Christian HeeEly and the New York o.
sercer.
The Church of England has archbishops, 90
bishops 8 suffragan bishops, 80 DEANS 76 arehdea-
cons 61O rural deans, 600 clergy of all classes,
(of which number about one-fifth have no paro-
chial charge). The , archbishops and "a of the
bishops entitled TO sit in the House of Lords.
The total number of bcnefcies now exceeds 1900;
the total number of churches is about 5000.
in the revised New Testament, which isshortly
to appear the Lords Prayer in Matthew will read
as follows: Our Father which artin Heaven, hal
lowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy
viii be done, as in Heaven, so on earth. Give US
this day daily bread. And forgive Us our debts
as we have also forgiven our debtors. And lead us
not into temptation, but deliver US from the evil
one" The dOxology is omitted.
in 1890 there were in Old Boston II churches:
in 1880, in the same district, there were 120
churches, of which are Jewish and u Roman
Catholic In the city of Boston, as now consti-
tuted, the membership of Protestant churches is
said to be IS 5S Congregationalists 1895 Baptists
105S9 Methodists, S,577 Episeopalians, 1,491 Pres
byterians, 4O3 Freewill Baptsts 61S Colored Meth
odsts, and !, 1s5 Lutherans and German Reformed.
The following is an extract from the records OF
the CheStertown Baptist Church, Pennsylvania,
under date of March %, 1900: d" IN church meeting
voted that vain frOlicking balls and dances are by
no means to be countenanced by Christians. 2.
That it is the indispensable duty of and that the
members of this church will use their utmost ell
deavors to restrain their children and those under
their care from all wicked practices, especially
from frolicking"
The Interior says: sin six cities we could
name there are at this writing twenty-fOur vacant
Presbyterian pulpits. Some of these have been
vacant year or more, and most of them are the
pulpits of strong and influential churches. Per
contra, We know of churches that have twenty,
thirty and as high fifty applications for their
vacant pulpits, and in some cases applications in
advance of the vacancy" Commenting on these
facts it gives probable reasons for them: a. An
inadequate ministerial support. ?. neglected. hard
study. s. Lack of consecrstion in the ministry.
4. A worldly spirit in the church"
The action of the church presided over by
Rev. Dr. John E. Todd in New Haven, in discard
ing the formula as To the condemnation of the
wicked to everlasting punishment" has caused
no little stir in the orthodox Christian world. Dr.
Todd comes from thorough Puritanicsl stock, and
his father, the Rev. John Todd, of PittsGeld, was
one of the most eminent of New England theo-
logians. Many time has the writer, when boy,
sat under his preaching and iinched in terror as
he Illuminated the particular dogma Of everlasting
punishment. The present DR.. Todd was brought
up in the true faith, and when first met by the
writer was the pastor of the Central Congrega-
tional Church, in Boston. His keen intellect,
vivid Imagination, happy SMILES, and fine com
mand oflanguage made him a pOpularpreacher,and
the church over which he presided rapidly gained
in membership and wealth until the old building
ON Winter street became too small for the eongre-
CATION, and large and magnificent church edifice
was erected on the Back Bay lands. When the
change was first made, there was no COngrega-
tional church in Boston that was in better cOndi-
ton, and for a time DIR. Todd was one of
the clerical idols of the Hub. From some
cause or other DIR. Todd resigned his pasto-
rate in Boston and accepted call to the
church in New Haven over which he now pre-
sides The action of this church is the necessary
sequence of the development which it was be-
lieved would result from the line of think
ing adopted by DR.. Todd twenty years
ago. OF his earnestness and sincerity in the
exercise of his holy calling there can be doubt,
and that he has advanced beyond the average of
his faith is not TO be wondered at, nor is il mat
ter Of surprise to those who have ever listened to
,tI,,k
own standpoint the congregation to whom he
ministers. 1t is safe prediction that the action
of this New Haven church will be followed by
other New England societies now severely ortho-
dOx.
AS to the language spoken by Jesus, an eminent
oriental scholar recently said: GAS to the language
spoken by Jesus we must remember that in his
time not one but three languages were in use in
Judea. The pure Hebrew had long before died
out and been succeeded By the Aramaic, which
was a kindred language received from the Babylo-
MAN conquerors. This was spoken by the peas
antry and lower classes. Latin was used by the
Roman officials in all formal proceedings. Greek
was employed by the upper classes-by merchants,
and by most of the inhabitants of cities. Hence
the superscriptiOn on the cross was written as we
are told by Luke in Greek and Latin and Hebrew.
That Greek was extensively employed is proved
by the fact that all the apostolic epstles were written
in Greek, and that Paurs discourses were deliv-
cred in Greek except upon one occasion, when it
is expressly mentioned that he arrested the atteR-
ton of d Jewish mob by speaking to them in the
common tongue. Greek was in those days what
the Iagad fraRcl is now in oriental countries Dor
dering on the Mediterranean-the medium of in
tercourses between people Of different natiouali-
ties It was more than this. 1t was like French
among the Europeans of the last century. All the
noble Roman youth learned to read write and
speak Greek, and OH one OCCASION even thedebates
of the Roman Senate were carried on in Greek
At all events, Greek must have been spoken by
the Saviour at least part of the time for the oc
easions on which ne used Aramaic words are spe-
cially mentioned as, for instance, in raising the