New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-06-10
IN THE CHURCH PORCH.
SOME QUESTIONS IN MINOR MORALS.

morals hinges on tho proper observance Oh ouiua''
Can anything In regard to 1t from those VINO
are coming out of church this morningf Ii IS not
nv Intention to describe the great Sunday after
church promenade in Fifth-ave., but simply 10 can
attention to one two points In regard to IT, fTse
Of all, 1t Is, nomnally at least ustincty ro
lgous procession, the only nineteenth century equV&
lent of those sad and lugubrous PROFESSIONS OF SIN
ners atoning for their sins In the Mddle Ages iho
difference IN the two kinds of religious professions
marks the difference in the ages. 1t IS evident tha'
the nineteenth century processonlsts are not thlnk
ing of any concrete sins that they may have commit
ted nor even OF the sins Of those stiff necked Hebrews
of the time Of that the preacher so eoquen de
nounced in his sermon. No, they are thinking OF,
other more pleasant things that have place In inc
great many-sded world in which we live. HOW then
can this great parade of weldressed men and women
be called religious' Simply in this way-its ony
for being at all IS the supposed fact that us
constituents are returning from churchs OF course
you and know that in many cases inns ~ ohly d
polIte fiction but we dscreetly keep our knowledge
to ourselves. There IS the elegant Mrs. Van Ram,
for instance, who IS walking along with deVotlohai
book in her hand As a matter Of fact, she dld hot
complete her elaborate toilet until few minutes be-
fore one at which time she Joined the procession OF
pentents carrying in her hand voucher of sacred
duty done in the shape of dainty. velvet-covered
prayer book Her intimate friends may know tho
truth but then she Is not enacting the role Oh pci'
tent for them. She is playing for the great pubic
who don't know her. And she plays her part TO per-
lection In one of those dazzling many -hued costumes
in which the current arrays herself, even when
she is about to enter the sanctuary and confess that
she is a miserable sinner and worm OF the earth'
No we mustn't take these penitents 100
seriously. Doubtless many of them are trying 10
throw dust In our eyes, but no one Is very mucn uo
celved, and the of religion is not the least
harmed by the Fashionable ce'elence winch IS mus
paid to IT, Nowhere In the world probably could you
find more magnificent procession of fine-looRing
men and beautiful women than this aler-cnurch
procession on Fifth-ave, and in large sense they
are the flower of American Christianity.
Dr. Buckley was reported to have said the other
day in the Methodist Conference that you can always
tell Methodist Church by the gayly dressed women
in It. doubt II the doctor said 1t In Just that way
but Il nevertheless fact that even the Methodist
women pay much more attention to dress than they
formerly did 1 am unable to say from personal
knowledge whether in this they violate the rules OF
the Discipline: but If they do, who is going to call
them to an account The spirit Of indiydualsm is IN
the very air breathe and 1t is simply Impossible
for any Of the Christian denominations TO enforce
their discipline in its entirety Go to any church and
notice how much richly and gayly the women
even the female pillars Of the church-dress than
they did few years ago. do not say 1t Is right
teresting current fact. The age loves decoration,
adornment and startling contrasts of color, In Its
churches, In its public buildings, in It's houses, and in
its dress We arc all carried along the stream of
this tendency, although most of are utterly UNI
able TO explain IT, Perhaps some day another Carlyle
will arise and unfold for us the true philosophy OF
this love of the things which seen, and show us
how II may be made to minister TO the love Of the
things which not After all, it may be that
our materiasm is only the bridge over which
we are travelling to the spiritual realities beyond
Who knowsl
Last Sunday morning attended a church which
probably had more worsbippers than all the other
churches of the city combined. l refer to Central
Park will enter hero into no question of right or
wrong, nor will contradict any Jealous churchman
who may assert that people who go to Central Park
on Sunday are committing a grevous sin. / simply
record the fact that on last Sunday morning saw
thousands OF quiet wellbehaved people In the higher
walks of life wandering through the beautiful laby
rnths Of our noble Park. evidently without any idea
that they SHINING 1t won't do to say that they
were not Christians, for they were nearly all nom-
nay at least Christians, and doubtless a large pro-
portion Of them active members OF The churches
Nor will it do to say that they belonged to the lower
orders of society," who sin through ignorance for they
did not. They were just such men and women as you
would have In the churches last Sunday, and
doubt not their presence in the Park left many a
prominent pew vacant. Here, then, is fact which
the churches must account for. When summer comes
vast numbers Of the members II good standing OF
the churches decide for themselves that drive or
a walk in the Park, sail on the river or the bay,
or little trip to quiet countr.a nook will do
them physical II not spiritual good than going
to church. How have they come by that decision
in spite of the warnings OF their pastors? Here arc
thousands Of intelligent, upright, conscientious God
fearing men and women bound by tho vows OF tho
Christian Church, who, nevertheless, run counter to
tho teachings Of tho clergy in regard to the necessity
of church attendance In summer. Is 1t case of
nineteenth century total depravityl Or is 1t simply
the fact that the churches In demanding too much
of their membersl No good man should he found
minimizing the virtue OF church going, but large num-
bers OF Christian and women who so think never
theless believe that church going for them may not
always come as the most urgent duty leave to
the clergy the decision Of the question whether or
not they right.
To come back to the question OF minor morals, L
Is a great thing to have the churches acknowledge
that there are any morals which are minor In rudcI
and less critical ages the churches, So to speak
Jumped all morals together Fine-spune distinctions