The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-01-02
Figures That Tell the Truth.

The EUcning Tot of this city has now
on its staff some of the writers who have
made the Nation so offensive to ortho-
dox Christian readers. In late issue
the attempt was made by one of these
writers TO break the force of the statis-
tics that have been presented to show
that Christianity is not losing its hold
on the people. The chief arguments
presented were two: /. Church statis-
tics are notoriously misleading, as
Christian churches admit, by including
many who are dead, or beyond the care
of the churches; so that the figures
should be diminished by one-third.
2. A very considerable percentage of
the membership of the Evangelical
churches is made up of children under
sixteen years of age.
The first argument is not regarded as
worth much by the writer himself, so
we shall waste no time on it. The sec
ond is worth consideration. II is urged
that the basis of comparison has been
changed by the growth of the custom of
receiving children into the church, so
that the.statistics of the present can not
bo compared with those Of the past with
out taking this fact into the account and
making due allowance for it. In 1880
there was said to be one communicate
for five inhabitants, against one COM
municant to fourteen in 1890. But in
1890 the churches consisted wholly of
adults, while now they consist largely
of children. This makes the compari-
son misleading. 1t can not be said now
that each communicant represents three
children and adherents, so many Of them
being children.
The Post writer is wholly astray in his
assumption of the large percentage of
children in the Evangelical churches OF
to-day. II is true that there has been
considerable change of conviction with
regard to the possibility of the early
conversion of children since 1900. 1t Is
true that while then children of sixteen
years OF age were very rarely or never
received into the churches, cases of their
reception now are by no means rare.
The old prejudice does still survive,
however, and the churches as whole
have not yet come to believe in the early
conversion of children. When young
children of Christian parents give what
would be accepted in older persons as
credible evidence of regeneration by
the Spirit of God, their parents
are accustomed to discourage their
wish to join the church. We
have known many cases where such
children were kept back from member
ship in the church for years, all the
time giving evidence in their daily
lives that they were as truly Christians
as any OF their elders. We have often
protested against this feeling on the
part OF older Christians, but the feeling
remains. The truth is that there are
not half so many young children in our
churches as ought TO be there. As to
the proportion, no accurate figures are
at hand to answer the question; but
from our knowledge of Baptist
churches, at least, we are prepared TO
say that less than five per cent. Of their
membership is composed of those who
are under sixteen years OF age. We
have no reason TO believe that the pro-
portion is any greater in other Evan
gelical denominations.
The writer in the Post betrays his ig-
norance of the Evangelical churches In
this assumption of his. II is funda-
mentally wrong, as any pastor will tell
him. Tha basis of comparison has
been very little changed since 1900.
Some allowance ought doubtless TO be
made for the children who are now
members in our churches in instituting
such a comparison, but the error. will
not in any case be serious one. Some
other way than this must be found of
discrediting the statistics Of our relig-
ious bodies, and the Post comedies that
unless this can be done il must be al
lowed that an excellent case has been
made out by the defenders Of the Chris
tian faith. II is a good case. The
truth is always a good case.-M Y. ES-
dDiiner.