Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-07-08
LONG BEACH.
Sunday Exercises at the Methods,
Alliance.


Alliance.
At the close of the Sunday School, at
Long Beach, yesterday, the services were
opened by singing, "Jesus shall reign
where ere the sum-" The Scriptures,
Acts II, 22-34, were read by DR.. Cher
rington, and prayer was offered by Presi-
dent Bovard. Rev. B. F. Cherrington
D. D., late pr ofessor in the Maclay
Theological College, San Fernando, now
Dean of the College of Liberal Arts of the
University OF Southern California, gave
an address Of which the following is a
synopsis:
"The kingdom of heaven is like unto
-eaven which a woman took and hid in
Three measures of meal till the whole
was lesvened." Matt. 1888, was the
text. Christ used leaven here to Illus
trate the l-permeating, aggressively
difusive, all subjugatiDg and assimilat-
ing power of Christianity. We will no.
tice some OF the sources of the power OF
Christianity. All religious systems that
have controlled vast bodies of men have
had some truths in them, but it is the
glory of Christianity, that she has every
truth found in every other system in
greater tullness in each true relation to
other truths that all are more effective
than in any other system. Confucianism
is strong in commanding thrift, honesty,
virtue and flial obedience. Christianity
can take the book of Proverbs and meet
Confucianism on every point and then
suspass it as far as the whole Bible sur
passes that one book, Buddhism very
nearly approaches Christianity on the
side of gentleress, love and
kindness. Yet Christianity can
meet the whole range of truth
taught in Buddhism by quoting
the thirteenth chapter of First Corin-
thians on love, and the first twelve verses
of the fifth chapter of Matthew, and
sweep On beyond it as far as the whole
Bible excels these fragments of itself.
Christianity can meet Brahmanism with
the Book of Leviticus, Solomon's Songs
and Ecclesiastes, and then tower above it
as high as the remainder of the Bible
rises above these books. As one writer
has aptly put it, Christianity, considered
merely as system of ethics and philos-
ophy, is to other religions what the pure
white ray of light is to the prismatic
colors which it gathers up and blends
with harmonious perfection in itself,
making something immeasurably supe-
rior to them all. On merely rationalistic
grounds thare are still other elements of
power in Christianity. Gibbon assigned
five reasons for the success of Christian
ity: ~ Zeal of early church ~ The
doctrine of Immortality; (3) Real or sup
posed power Of working miracles
a. Virtues Of early Christians
(5) Excellence of church govern
ment and energy of administration.
Lecky, in his "History of European
Morals" gives four reasons why he, as a
rationalist, thinks Christianity had such
power. a. 1t came to the poor, tue
oppressed, the unfortunate and suffering
as a religion Of consolation. (2.) To the
philosopher as a system of the highest
ethics in the clearest and purest form.
(3) To the hungry, heartsore world,
bringing q divine sympathizer in human
form. a. 1t answered the deepest
spiritual wants of the race. We accept
all these statements of Lecky, Gibbon
and the deductions from Comparative
Theology" as true, and believe that had
Christianity no other source of power
than these it would yet become the uni
versal religion, but it has other and in
fnitely higher elements Of strength.
There are supernatural forces in it and
behind it, that send it sweeping onward
to universal conquest with a might re
sistless as that Of the planets in their