The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-10-16
Special Contributors.
LITERARY CLUBS In CONNECTION
WITH THE CHURCH.
BY MRS. H. P. JENKINS.
Detroit, Mich.l

Literary clubs, or rather clubs for
study, are marked feature Of the pres
ent era. The Club is no new thing. 1t
dates back to the time of Queen Eliza
beth, when Shakespeare, Raleigh, Ben
Jonson and the other choice spirits of
the time, used to gather at the Mer-
maid in Fleet street, and brighten the
hours with their sallies of wit and wis
dom. The purely literary club, or the
club for study, is a modern institution,
and l believe its birthplace is Amer
ica.
Clubs for study have blossomed sud
denly all over our land, like dandelions
in the fields of spring. We take this
fact to indicate growing intellectual
taste among our people; but whether
literary clubs can in any way advan-
tageously relate themselves to the
church, is subject being considered
in many quarters, and has already been
tried in some localities. There was a
time, and not so very remote, when the
sole object of the church was to save
souls from future torment. The church
was sort of insurance agency for
protection against fires in the future
life. Securing the salvation or the pol
icy was sudden process. The idea of
a gradual development of religious char
acter was heresy. You professed to
love Jesus, and threw yourself into the
arms of the church and you were saved.
1t was like recipe for making an
artist in an hour, or Transforming a
boor into poet in moment. The en-
lightened thought of to-day denies any
such magical power to the church, but
considers it an institution designed to
assist souls to grow, whose special work
is to make this life excellent, beautiful
and blessed. And the church considers
itself justified in using every agency
and influence which can promote this
noble purpose.
If pictures and music make people
happier and holier, the church avails
itself of them. If recreation and social
life are found to not only brighten life,
but to make the character healthy and
harmonious, the church encourages
them, even to the organizing of young
peoples societies, and holding socials
and picnics and pleasure excursions.
This social character of the church is
no insignificant force. 1 use "social''
in the best sense of that word, the power
of bringing people into acquaintance
with each other, binding them together
in sympathy, and interest, and good
fellowship. To be sure, there is some
danger in common minds of misun
derstanding Of this sentiment, as in the
case of gentleman, who, on locating
in large city, decided he would unite
with the Episcopal church, not because
it was in harmony with his religious con-
victions-he seemed not to be troubled
with these-but because, as he said
to friend, sit would give him better
patronage in business, and his family
better social position than any of the
other churches in that town" Not
withstanding such vulgar misappre-
tensions, the idea is gaining ground
that the church has something more to
do for people than to preach to them
and pray for them, that it should give
them benefcent social surrounding,
that it is in measure responsible for
their culture, not only spiritual but in-
tellectual.
There was time when among some
sects, education was not supposed to
have any connection whatever with re-
ligion was, indeed, supposed to be an
tagonistic toit. Many of us can remem-
ber when preachers were thought to be
more effective if they were ignorant
and spoke only by the grace of God.
l have myself been told that reason
is a dangerous faculty, not at all to be
trusted on religious questions, and that
learning is snare of the devil-but in
the main, such bigotry has disappeared,
or rather it has gone out of use, and
ranks now as a curious specimen of
antique religious bric-a-brac.
There are quite number of these
Out-Of-date ideas, which are remembered
now only as euriosities-an which are
READ at the Michigan Convention, Bay City
Thurgday Oct z 1886