The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1881-06-29

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worship the splendor of the temple, and
to justify it by the example of the tenn
pie, savors of prelacy and popery, and
tends to seduce the people towards those
heresies. 1t would have been good
thing for the life and purity of Protest
antism in Europe, if earthquakes had
shaken down all the stately cathedrals
inherited from the papists. The posses
sion of these ritualistic temples of sacri-
flee has tempted the Protestants to tam
per with the prelatical superstitions for
which the houses were built.
When we come to the New Testament,
there is not one word encouraging Chris
tians to initiate Moses and Solomon in
the lavish use of wealth upon houses.
Free-wil offerings are commanded: the
most liberal ones are encouraged; but it
is for "the poor saints at Jerusalem" to
relieve suffering in famine, to sustain
friendless widows and orphans, to enter
tain strangers, to furnish modest stipends
to ministers and missionaries. Not one
word do we hear of money asked for by
apostles to build pompous churches. 1
do not believe that there was one single
fine church in the Christian world,
until the Emperor Constantine began to
make the Christian Church an engine of
his state craft, and thus to corrupt it.
He then began to bride the clergy by Civ
ing them the use of government build
ings of a more splendid style, hence called
bosilica
But there is a plain principle of the
New Testament, which settles this debate.
Christians are commanded to love the
Lord their God with all their mind, and
serve him with all their strength. 1t is
not enough that they shall do something
to honor God: their duty is to do all
they can to honor Him. If Christian,
who is possessed of certain means of
clarifying God, sees two ways, both law
full, of which one would honor Him a
little, and the other would honor Him
more, if he selects the inferior one when
he might as well have selected the supe-
rior one, that man is as truly an unfaith-
full servant of God as though he had re-
fused to do anything, and had wasted his
Lord money. Plainly, if there were a
sincere, atfectionate. motive, it would I'M
failingly prompt the true servant of God
to embrace the more fruitful work for his
Master, in preference to the less fruitful.
Would the good servant, who made two
talents increase of his Lord money, have
preferred that measure of gain, if the five
talents had been equally in his reach ?
Now no man can claim that superfuous
adornments upon a church will do as
much good to souls, as missionary labors
wisely sustained. Here is a church,
which might be made large enough, dur
able enough, healthy enough, decent
enough, for every possible honest purpose
of the congregation which is to occupy it,
for such sum. But the people spend
upon it twenty-five thousand, perhaps
seventy-fve thousand dollars, more in
useless architectural adornments. The
last named sum would have well sus-
tanned seventy-fve missionaries to the
destitute whole year The conversion
of one soul out-weighs the pomps of a
whole world. Will those ambitious (and
probably tawdry and ungracefuD towers
ever do as much good to souls, as the
great company of converts won by all
these missionaries, with all the streams
of widening salvation in after generations,
flowing from the examples and labors of
these converts? The man would be in
sane, who should say so. But if that
money was not given with profane mo-
tive, 1t qOas Gods money. What right
has any man to bury it away from the
more blessed use, in this dead, unfruitful
stone2
But NTH ,Ohat naotive are these osten-
tatious fanes built? Is all this money
really, simply, afectionately consecrated,
in order to reflect the glory of the God
they love in architectural splendors
Does not every one know that the real
motives are usually pride, ostentation,
sinful envy Of others, appetite for APP