The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1886-10-23

and thrown off the trammels of absurd
systems of theology, and restored
preaching, all avowedly under the in
fluence of the recovered memories of
the great Founder of our religion, his
re-discovered doctrines and methods !;
! what we complain of is, that the pulpit
should so long retain the hampering
methods and Gripping rotation of the
effete sacredotal age. The traditional
incubus of the past is so difficult to
throw off. The preacher unconsciously
remains too much the priest. Some
how or other he falls into habits of
stoical isolation, and monastic seclu-
sion, as though he had some mystic
Office Of sacramento intercession, in
stead of the large practical business of
spiritual pedagogy, and active all-sided
help, and the sympathy for his fellow
men. l fear 1 shall be open to the
charge of impertinence, and perhaps
the more serious charge of non-perti-
hence, in putting forth such criticism
in body of ministers who represent
the progressive and liberal churches of
our day. For orthodox ministers all
this might be said. They retain enough
of the scholastic thinking of the past to
perpetuate the priestly habits that were
then in vogue, and their training, and
| the very atmosphere of the churches
among which they move, tend to cher
ish and retain the feeling of functional
separateness from the community in
which they live. Their theological SEM
inaries instill this doctrine into them.
1t is at the root of their pastoral the
ology. Their personal bearing, their
conversation, their sermons, their pray
ers, every movement they make is as
much characterized by the animus of
spiritual caste as if they had the Brah-
minical robe and rope on their person,
or their gown and surplice of the medi-
eval priest. But for the ministers in
the liberal churches whose ideas and
training are so different-how can such
criticism avail ? Well, having APP
pealed to the judgment of layman,
will the appellant give patient and
generous hearing to his representation
of the case?
1t is marvellous how tenacious and
persistent traditional habits and senti-
ments and methods are-how difficult
it is for progressive agencies to resist
thu m, when they live in the air, and
have entered the life blood of the insti-
buttons under which our whole social
structure has grown up. When by
some signal advance we are free so far,
we are often unaware that the dead
form Of them is still lingering, and We
accept unquestioningly the strange
slavery this imposes. For example {:
l shall fix my mind on the sermon.
since in this everything that is dis
tinctive in the minister's views and
methods presents itself to be judged.
The value of the man in all other lines
of ministerial work is imaged here.
His sermon, of course, taken in the
long run, and in the minds of the aver
age intelligence of the community in
which he lives will infallibly gauge him,
and be tell-tale on him, as to how far
I1n hoinn a
layman, | am unit of that somewhat
promiscuous material, the stated audi
ence, on which the preachers sermon
is to work. /, with the rest of my fell
low laymen, have pretty fair estimate
of what the sermon ought to do, not
always capable, let me grant, of putting
that estimate into definite form of
words There is, doubtless, much un-
charitableness, much hypocrisy, much
impertinence, much mean, ungenerous
carping coming from the pew. We
know it. But we can always tell when
the sermon hits. We know when it
carries human interest with it, and
comes home to mems business and
bosoms. We know when it enlists our
attention and inspires US with the pur-
pose of living a higher, purer, nobler
life. On the contrary, we are just as
instinctively impressed with the utter
feebleness and worthlessness of a ser
mon when it touches no human inter
est, and comes to the ear as cold per-
functory performance in the soulless
humdrum of routine.
may be allowed to say that am Of
that class of laymen who believe that
by far the strongest moral agency we
have in our modern civilization is the
Christian pulpit; that is, that there re-
sides in it this transcendent power.
We, however, get this impression
from our devout perception of the re-
served or latent force there is in it,
rather than from that which we Ordi-
narily see brought into play. If we
may judge by the manner in which the
sermon takes hold of the human inter
est in us, or fails to take hold, if that is
a Just criticism, then, perhaps, it will
be within bounds to say land we say it
with reluctance) that three-fourths of
the sermons we hear from all classes of
pulpits, liberal and straight, hide-bound
and free are fruitlesa and pmDtV az