The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-02-25

over those things; he has no time for them; on
Sunday ne reads the whole" If that Christ,
whom ne processes to preach, does not enabls
his pastor to draw him away from
such readings on Sunday, and his heart
is set upon that kind Of reading on
between business hours-say, before retiring at
nlght-to read all those articles that can be found
in the average daily paper, especially if he should
not read his Bible, and which, il would seem, he
would have no taste for, if he choose such read
ing on Sunday, instead of going TO church to
hear Its contents expounded by his pastor? In
church his seat is empty. His pastor wonders
where he Is, and why he is not in his place.
Might IL not as we'll be empty, if his heart is on
his SUNDAY papers, and prefers them to his
pastors preaching2 And if his pastor has not
pulpit influence enough to draw him away from
his Sunday paper and into his seat might not his
place. also, IN the pulpit as we'll be empty; or
else the occupant of that seats name be erased
from the records of that congregation. or the
church booki What does it avail him should his
name be on the church book and he in his seat
if Christ is not in his hearth I'm the evening
his wife and children remain at home to read
the same paper" Now, is not this straining the
facts for evidence? Does not the wife remain at
home to put the children to bed, and they to 60
to bed; and is it customary for children to go to
church IN The evening? bad habits are formed,
families cease to go to church, If they ''have
Christin them the hope of glory. are habits likely
to be formed, such as to cause them to cease to
go to church, if there they have Christ cruel
fed preached into theml' And should such
habits be formed, etc., is it not an evidence that
they are still in the gaul of bitterness and in
the bonds OF iniquity," and something else must
be done besides filling their seats at church
Not long since, In the same paper, was an article
on sabbath Dissertation" the theme suggested
by an incident. An official of church, away
from home stopping at a hotel and meeting
some hilarious acquaintance, joined them in a
scene OF boisterous dissipation, and in the midst
of which a gentleman came into the
room to caution him, saying he had
just seen the name Of his new pastor
on the register then column or two was filled
denouncing such Sabbath dissertation, but not u
word about such conduct being wrong in a
church official, or anybody else, on any other
day; as though there was not as much wrong in
such conduct on Saturday or Monday 1t cannot
be denied that there is much such religion
taught in the religious press. and from the pull
pit And then, why may not man, or woman,
about as well remain at home and read the Sun
day papers as to go to church to hear Sunday
religion alone preachedf
While those religious papers are so industri-
ously condemning the Sunday paper, they
might at the same time look into
Vheir own columns to see if there
is not something morally wrong. and need of
reformation, for instance, by allowing the ad-
vertisers of medical nostrums to put their own
language into the editors mouth, to be sent to
their readers as veritable Endorsement and
recommendation from the paper as to the great
worth of their wares, and which a large majority
of their readers believe to be the case and are
thereby induced to pay their money form nine
times out of ten-a useless article, simply be-
cause their UNCONVENTIONAL paper recommends
it. AS long as such be the fact would it not be
fair in them to let up the-godless. perhaps
Sunday paperq IF those papers would turn their
guns upon the STORES" only, that appear in the
Sunday paper one, at least, would applaud them
for it, provided their own skirts were clear. But
their columns are occupied by fiction, religious
stories, romances, ETC., all of which are only cal
culated to create in the mind false, unnatural
and only sentimental idea Of true religion, pic
tured with too much paint in the brush" so as
to be entirely unfit for every day use.
A. S. KINGSLEY