The Portland daily press., 1886-01-28
THE DIVINE ORIGIN OF CHRIS
TIANlTY.
Rev. MIR. BIanchard's.Eighth Lecture

The Rev. Henry Blanchard delivered the
eighth lecture of his course on 'The Divine
Origin of Christianity indicated by its His
torical Effects, in the vestry of the Congress
Square Church on Tuesday evening. The
subject was "The Influence of Christianity
on the Moral Progress of the World"
Mr.. Blanchard said that we must first measure
the greatness Of the ey IN tne w0rd d nag against ,
the victories 1t had been able TO achleVe Inc cnlef
witness wonld be the Apostle Paul. HIS testi-
mOny is clear and awful We find 1t i'll MS eplS-
ties TO the Corinthians and the Romans. These
documents are acknowledged TO be authentlc MS
tOrical writings even by the most skepIcal critcs
They are addressed to "Chrlstlans VINO are
wicked. If these could have had so much evil,
what must have been the condition OF the masses
Of pagans out of whom they came. we see that a..
Corinth defended profiigaey on the plea OF 'hDer-
ty,' that christians" attended the degrading
rites of the temples, that the Lords supper be-
came drunken carousal that man who had
married his stepmother was not condemned Let
any one read the first chapter of Romans, II ne
would understand something of the awfulness OF
the Gentle world.
How did this wickedness arise? The early
Of the Romans led to their vices Brave, temper
ate, hardy, they became powerful. Their power
enabled them to conquer Conquest gave them
to vice. We must notice especially one great
evil, the great land estates Pliny said, Great
estates ruined Italy" Tiberus Gracious could
We see, therefore, incredible gluttony, dishonor
of marriage, the gadiatorial butcheries OF the
arena. One man wasted in banquets, in seven
months, between thirty and forty millions of our
money. Another, finding he would only own 1our
hundred thousand dollars, put an end to lie, tor
fear he should die Of hunger. "NOble'' women en-
rolled themselves among the bands of prostitutes.
Wives were exchanged. Men died in the arena
| by the hundred Conceive OF the awfulness OF the
What changed all this? The power Of Chris
| tianity in Paul and his little churches. We see
these points of influence for good III the wide
wckednesS of the Roman empire. Paul Insisted
| on morality LET every one that nameth the
name of Christ depart from iniquity" his cry.
Wicked as were many of the adherents OF the
church, a great change soon was wrought
The idea of a pure life was before them in the
Master whom Paul preached and the early tradi-
tiOns showed. They believed that that Master in
Heaven sent spiritual help to his disciples on earth.
They believed ioyOusly in a blessed lmmortaiity.
They believed in awful punishment TO sin IN the
future world. They believed that the end OF the
world was at hand,
At the end of the first century, tremendous
manhood. The impure became pure; he who mad
stolen stole no mOre he who had lied, lied no
| more he who had been fierce became gentle; the
| strong stopped to help the weak. There was a
new ideal Of wOmanho0d. Women became lndus-
trious, frugal reverent; noble companion,as wne
noble teacher, as mother.
Benevolence abounded. In Athens there was
| an altar to Pity, but it had no worShppers, nOi
priests, nor offerings. Stoieism. with all rs noble
L
| lighted in helping the poor and sick. LaurentlnS
| the arch deacon, showed the poor and the GRIP
| pies as the treasures of the church. Martyrdon
| was joyously accepted. Women gave up nus
| bands and children to die in the arena as con
fessors of Christ. Men were torn asunder by
| beasts; were burned alive. They could have
| saved life by denying Christ. .The more we are
| mOwn down." said great leader "the more We
| spring up The blood of the martyrs is the seed
| OF the church." These facts made great impress
| sion on the heathen world. They converted
| thousands. Justin Martyr, a Greek philosopher
| became Christian. Christianity made astound
| ing progress. =,
Mr.. Blanchard in closing, dwelt at some lengtl
| on the submeTson of Christianity from Constan
| tine to Luther In all this time, the Cathon'
| church rendered service as well as did harm
| Luther revived Christianity He demanded ;
/ moral life. Calvin, Knox, Wesley, Charming
| Ballou, insisted on righteousness. Christianlt,
l alone can save America from threatened EVIL
| Wealth Increases; luxury abounds; Vice will FOL
| low. Great estates, great monopones. are
| great menace to the republic. Christianity WI
| save, if ruin is averted. Through Christ God
! power came into the world with new influx
| Every Christian receives this power Christ ant
his disciples will redeem the world from evil.
The next lecture will be given Tuesday
February 9th.