New-York tribune., 1882-12-31

| the mansion. The people above, to save them
selves, cast out their brethren below. So it is
| with the Catholic Church. II had the IN
QUESTION to prevent the spreading of hrctlcIl
| disease. In America, where there is much
said OF the Court of Inquiry, the pmltans of
| iew, England burned people ut the stake and
! lidulGcd IN other horrible DutChe.ies, which
the lnquisition did not.
| The Protestant Episcopal Church of the As
! cen,lOn, IN Chicago, celebrated Christmas in an
| elaborate and gorgeous manner. An altar to
! the Nativity was erected. Large numbers
| OF hymns, abOunding in capital letters and ex-
clamaton points. were sung. a "midnight
| mass was said. A picture of the Madonna
! was "eXpOscd' 10 view; high altar groaned
| under the weight Of fortytwO candles, and
! there were flowers and eyergreens galore. The
| priest, the Rev Father Richie, had on INN
| great many vestments the names of which are
| ignored in large way by the local papers.
| lie was, however, far surpassed III magnicence
| and girded albs. The "mass" was well rem
| dered, neither priest nor acolytcs forgetting
what to do once during the whole service: AS
| there is nc such thing as UlasS In the Prot
cstant Episcopal prayer book and conse1-
qncntly, of course, no directions how to Gel
| ebrate it, the success of Father" Richie ID
| carrying the whole thing in his head is q
matter for cOrGratu'aton. Possibly he may
have had rare copy of the mass book used by
Jesus and his fisherman friends, on the Syrian
| In the course of his sermon in Chicago, last
| Sunday, Professor Swing said: ave kD "
| little OF the scenes beyond the evening OF our
| lie. While some are arguing for and against
| the doctrine of eternal torment while some are
| plcturlng Christ as having offered gospel to a
| group that died around the ark 1000 years
ago, while some students of Christianity are
| Offering to all transgressOrs eternal hope, while
| some are affirming thft only the followers OF
! Christ will ever arise from the dead, the sub
| lime pageant Of mankind moves steadily
| onward assuring uS only that il issued from q
| spiritual and intelligent Creator, and with
| Christ now in the midst of its sweeping food,
! 1t Is moving forward toward other scenes
| greater and even greater, Of which scenes one
shall be the triumph OF Him who made all
! things. Sin and death shall be tIampled under
| His feet, and that divine quality and power
! which the origin of man shall he also his
| destiny. In an earth so immense and bcwldcr-
| ing nothing Is safety except righteousness, and
nothing Is happiness except hope
| The ChrigtiaR Union says that it is very cum
| mon nowadays TO scott at modern churches as
| being mere social cluDs' but that after all
there Is good New Testament authority for so
regarding them. There are not few
families in every community who have
very little clcygtiug society except such as
the church affords. To give the young
people some .hing else to do one evening in the
week than 10 dance, and the old people some
thing else than to gossip, Is most useful ser
vice. The church tla knows how to conduct
| successfully and well what is with doubtful
grammar called Il church sOclable.' knows
how 10 practise as well as to preach bTOthery
love. How to dO this Is problem which not a
few churches have found too much for their
solution. II really is q difficult problem.
The Rev. George a. Gordon has recently
been called TO be pastor of the Old South
Church, Boston, at salary Of $4,000 year
and a parsonage. He has had an eycntfhl his
tory He Is not yet thirty years Old. Ten years
avo he went to Boston to learn the trade of
mechanic. While there he was induced to turn
lis attention to the ministry and was assisted
in the preparatory studies. While pursuing
the usual course Of studies he supported HIM
self by preaching, and after his graduation IN
1879 he preached for year IN Maine and
then went to Greenwich at = sllary OF -, 500
year. He is probably the beSt-qad minister of
lis age in the world
According to The Japan MaH Christianity is
considered As AN infectious epidemic by the
fanatical japanese BHddhists IN the province of
Noto who firmly believe that any one even
trcadng i'm the footsteps OF missionary Will
be tainted with the foreign belief. Thus
when a French missionary recently visited the
district everybody refused to give HIM food or
lodging. and he was obliged to apply TO the
police for help SO the priests called their fol-
lowers tO. O.ether and agreed that they would kill
the obnoxious foreigner if ne stayed. taking an
oath to excommunicate all who violated the
agreement. The missionary retreatcd.
The ChWchmdR announces that 4 society has
been established in Stockholm, sweden, hay
inc DIofesSedly for its Object "the extension OF
Il reasonable faith in God, and the awakening
of a religio-moIal life founded thereon"
Writings are to be circulated to this end, and
educated missionaries y are to be sent ont
who will labOr-espeClally among the working
population of both the cities ana the country,
for the promotion oi scientific, historical and
RELIGIOUS enlightenment, and oppose Il iaise
devotion, faith in dOgmdS and superstition,
thJ, paving the way for purified idea OF God,
and Tor il morality worthy OF man.
The annual week of prayer VIII begin a week
from to-day, January 4 The following
schedule has been arranged by the Evangelical
Alliance, and Will be followed 10y many Prot |
c,taut bodies: Sunday, January Ser |
mons; Monday, January o--Pillse and thanks /
living; TUESDAY. january 9-llumi.iati0n and |
confession; Wednesday, January 1O-Prayer !
fur families; Thursday, January ll--Prayer |
for the Church universal; Friday January = /
PRAYER for the Nations; Saturday, January |.
l3-Priyer Tor missions; sunday, january l K /
Sermons.
CURRENT RELIGIOUS OPINION
There was n meeting of some prelates in New /
York TO see what cOu.d Dc done, mostly out OF com
u,ssinu for the aged Archbishop luIce.L Even so, /
the meeting took to say that II was nowlso Ol
obligation to assume Mr.. Purcell debts.
For one thing New York u HOtel iaForaDIy,-lts /