Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-04-27
In RELIGIONS REALM.
MATTERS OF INTEREST TO MINIS
TIERS AND LAYMEN.
Expressions of Opinion by Newspaper rs
Representing the Various Denom-
nations, on Many Subjects.

pledged Itself not To oppreSS any persons
because of their religious beliefs. So long
then, as it discriminates against Catholic
and conscientious Protestants bv forcip.
them to pay taxes for thesupport of schools
they cannot use, the State obviously fail
In its profession. Nor is the remedy t
be found in making the schools worse thar
they are. 1t lies before us plain and sim
pie. 1t is the perfection of the publ,
system by the admission of voluntary
schools, which would assume their place
therein with the greatest ease and facility
and thus complete noble institution in
ITSELF"
"The following letter. saws the Christ
ian Secretary Baptist, "came to we'll
known minister lately. The reply sent
was that an angel from heaven was needed
to fill the bill of requirements. We omit
names and places:
"My Dear Sir: The first church of-wfll soon
be without a pastor, the Rev - having re.
signed to go to Boston. He has had good sue.
cess during his year and half here, following
ing the Rey -: Our congregations are very
the church. We think that we require TO sue
ceed him. man having similar gifts as a
preacher great tiuency, free delivery without
indnusCilpt, anu ndIkeu dDlllty as q natural
orator. We should like to know If the Rev -
is such man, and have been informed that
you can tell us all about him. We not only
want all this, but more-that he be an excellent
pastor, sound upon the temperance question in.
terested in the Sabbath-school and the Young
people, ready to lead in all benevolent activi.
ties. and generally to be in all things an ideal
minister. II you will kindly tell US wherein he
falls snort OF satisfying all these requirements
we shall then perhaps be able to decide if he is
likely to please our people. Mr.. - has been So
heartily commended to US that we are already
preJudiced in his favor, and he will have pre-
cedenee as candidate, and Endorsement of the
committee II we get satisfactory report upon
all these points.
CHAIRMAN OF OUTLOOK COMMITTEE"
The John Bull (London) saws: "An
American Roman Catholic has remark
able article in an American magazine, in
which he tells the story of gray. headed
priest who was present at dinner OF
Roman Catholic clergymen, presided over
by Cardinal Gibbons. Ten of those pres
ent were foreigners by birth or of imme-
diate foreign extraction. Two only were
genuine Americans. OF these two the
priest in question was one, and he, being
rallied by his fellow American on the fact
that younger men were promoted over his
head, remarked i am not Irish enough.
The narrator of this story goes on to say
that in the United States of America there
are thirteen Archbishops and sixty
Bishops, only three Of the former and ten
of the latter being genuine Americans
And yet he remarks that this is the United
States of America, not Ireland, not Italy,
not France, not Spain, not Holland; and
he rightly concludes that this is the reason
why Roman Catholics are taunted with
being foreign, un-American and unpatri-
otic. In Ireland all the Bishops and Arch
bishops are Irish. In France all the
Bishops and Archbishops are French and
so it goes everywhere, in every country
under the sun, except in the United States
of America-the Bishops and Archbishops
are the sons of the country in which they
live. This American Catholic further
calls attention 10 the fact that the Jesuits
who dill all the hard missionary work for
the first half century for the establishment
of the American hierarchy were French,
not Irish. There is q moral in what this
American Catholic says, and it is not far
beneath the surface"
The Rev. DR.. Rainsford of St. Georges,
says in the Churchmdn: "The advantages
of pew churches are obvious. Among
them may be enumerated a regular in
come; renting the pews is certainly the
easiest way to raise it; experience has
proved this. The officers of the church
know what the income will be, and can
shape their expenditure accordingly; and
regular income means load of care
lifted from the minds of pastor and vestry
The rented pew also provides full recogni-
tion for the family; and if in these too
busy times some members Of it are late in
arriving at the place of worship, they still
can be assured of comfortable seats. in
the same place and beside those they know
and desire to worship with. Another and
very important advantage is the facility il
affords to the pastor to keep correct list
of the names and addresses of his people.
Changes are quickly known, if coming to
the church or leaving the church means
the renting or the giving up of piece Of
property; and in a city like New York.
where the changes among the population
are bewilderingly frequent, this is great
help to parish work. On the whole, |
think 1t may be said that the most natural
church for business community to form
is the pew church as we find it to-day
But to my mind, there is very seriou.
question whether such an organization has
the right to call itself Christian church
1t certainly has resulted in putting the
rich people together in one church. and
the poor, when they are collected together
at all, in another; and after all that can
be said in its favor Is said, the chief argu.
ment for it is, that it is the only practical
way to carry on an unendowed church
and this | distinctly believe to be a mis-.
take"
The Um'chman says: Eve read in one
OF the secular papers the account of the
reception of an honored Methodist doctor
of divinity into the Baptist fold. The
learned doctor conducted the services
preached, generally manifested himself a.
Christian minister, and then came dowr
from the pulpit and committed himself tc
the care of the pastor of the Baptist con
gregation where he was officiating, anC
then was duly and reverently immersed
According to the tenor of his sermon, ht
was represented as declaring immersion tc
be the only valid mode of baptism. Thi
means to the ordinary understanding O
the church that he was then and there ad
mitted to the Christian community. Pre-
vious to that he was heather, at best
catechumen or a postulant. We see NJ
possible exit from the dilemma here sug
gested. Either immersion is not admis
sion by baptism, or a man can be fully
qualified minister without being duly
dipped. 1t can hardly be supposed tha
immersion made valid, not only his mem
bership, but his order also, the doctorat,
in divinity included, and that these were
existing qualities, real but technically de
fective, which the water in the tank curet
and brought into wholesome activity. Ii
that case the immersion should have pre-
ceded the long and short prayer, tn.
Scripture reading, the giving out of tn,
hymn and the discourse. These gifts, i
seemed, needed no immersion-not ever
the d. D. which adorned them. The onl,
thing that needed to be buried in bap
tism' was the individual person to whom
they were attached. 1t seems to us, will
all Difference to the excellent body o
which the doctor is now shining light
that immersion appears somewhat in th,
light of a ceremony, and ceremony il
which the apparent needlessnessis is in exac
proportion to the zeal with which it is re
quired.'
The Uurchman (P. e., says: as ther
not something pitiful in the often inar
ticulate but virtually universal cry of mel
for the Christianity of Christi Is ther
not something terribly suggestive in tb