Fergus County argus. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1886-1946, 1889-03-21
THE COMING RELIGION.
1t Must Be Practical and Void Of Oriental
Dogmas and Creeds.
Chicago News ]

thlcago News
"liave We AN American or oriental
religion ," asked Mr.. VI. Manga sarian
in the Grand opera house yesterday
morning. In an eloquent lecture on
thi. subject Mr.. Mangasarian sought
to persuade his audience that the
Christianity OF to-day is not a prac-
tical, common-sense religion, but is
stin the poetIcai, impractical religion
OF the orient, where it originated.
Religion" said the lecturer, has
withst ood Thousand shocks III the
past and will outlive all attacks, for
It il n part oi human nature and we
cannot shake it Off The attacks are
made rat her on the things which hinder
and smother religion. In time man
cea ses to believe in dogmas and in un-
reasoning creeds. but his religion L.
helped thereby. From our very relig-
ion We may refuse to subscribe to any
existing creed. Have we an American
religion, as We have an American gov
ernment and institutions? Ii we 60
into the churches OF this country we
still hear related as n solemn fact the
! legend of Bethlehem. Even In this
intensely practical day men seem to
be twisted out OF their usual paths OF
wisdom and common sense and suffer
themselves to he carried back to those
primitive times which, though too
ignorant To invent a printlng press.
created gods by the dozens. All the
legends OF oriental religions have "a
place in American literature as beau
tiful poety. But the oriental mind
lacks the clearness OF the daylight
| the practical element. Their arts ana
all else OF theirs must be adapted tO
our modes before they are accepted,
but we have not done this with their
religion. This we have adopted bodily;
imported without change from Il decay
ing past.
| at is strange that educated and
OF herwise sensible men can stand III
the pulpit and seek to persuade usthat
the legend OF Christ's birth and mira
cles is II solemn and literal truth. lido
not say that they arehypocrites; they
are phenomena. There L. an asst onlsh-
ing difference in the manner in which
Americans erected II government and
procured "a religion. For the former
they selected the best intellects and
most practical minds in the country
and obtained "a constitution and gov
ernment purely American. But did
they exercise the same wisdom and
caution in giving our people a religion
"When man, in all else n true
American, puts on his sunday clothes
and enters the pulpit he ceases to b,
an American and lives in the time o.
King Herod and i'm the seventh and
eleventh centuries. Our missionaries
abroad are striving to overthrow
beliefs exactly similar to those which
they uphold at home, such as tn,
bodily ascension OF Mohammed. tn,
miraculous birth OF Buddha, and tn,
efficacy OF relics and symbols. Oui
religion has lost every resemblance to
the religion OF Jesus. There is a greai
ohdsm, an absolute divorce betweei
the religion Of Jesus as He lived it an,
the religion OF the church as it il. prac
ticed. The teachings OF the sermon OF
the mount are rarely practiced be
cause they seem visionary. Suppos.
he command of giving to a man you
coat when he took your cloak wer,
obeyed 10y modern nations. Russii
would say to England, Give me Nj
chanistan, and England would reply
Certainly, and take India also.
"How do We follow the prccepts no
to lay uD treasures on earth, to len'
without expecting to receive. to swea
nor at all, not to re-marry after -rpa
ration? Why i this di~crepanc,
not perceived? Because the religion
brought from the orient was neVe
wrought out and thought ont b,
americans. They Use their reason il
all else, hut in this they submit To tn
doemas of the church. They will no
let the tempest OF doubt disturb TIA
reverential calm. Only in "a few littl
spots Is the coming religion seen. ]
must he a practical. modern, con
nonsense religion, based on right
justice, and reason. Then it will he
religion for every day and for ever
vocation-t he religion of deed not {
icfeel.'