St. Paul daily globe., 1890-04-06
AN EASTER LESSON.
Christ is risen, angels tell;

Christ is risen, angels tell:
Good Christians, see ye rise as well.
The Christian world is to-day full of
the melody of this good Old hymn.
Chlldren'S voices pour it out like so
many jets Of sparkling water; the great
organ with its rumbling bass trembles
into harmony with the chorus of re-
demptlOn'S song, while from the sacred
desk comes the earnest eXhortation 'If,
then, ye be risen with Christ. seek those
things which are above"
All the world, the believing and the
unbelieving alike, stop to listen to the
Easter refrain which is filling earth
with its sweet melody to-day. There
is something comforting in the thought
of Immortality. 1t gives Importance to
human existence and lends dignity to
human action, to say nothing of the
consolation derived from the belief that
beyond the dark valley and shadows
which mark the boundary line of human
life there is better and brighter exist
ence.
And yet it seems to us that the Easter
season dawns uDon earth with unus-
ual significance this season. 1t seems
to mark an epoch in the religious world.
There is to-day sort Of epidemic of
creed revision with surprising develop
ments. Nor is the agitation confined to
one church. In some form or other it
is maklngan appearance in all the vari-
Gus Sects and denominations, in some
stronger than In others. But every
where there IS discernible an effort to
readjust Christian doctrine and Chris
tian teaching to modern thought, and to
make Christianity conform to the ideas
of our nineteenth century civilization.
1t is an important fact in connection
with this spirit of change and unrest
that is abroad in the land to know
whether the tendency is toward CHRIST
OF away from Him. Will the prevail
ing tendency to get something suited to
luG IIluGc, LllC " lOHC oON IL
offensive clauses and harsh statements,
the inclination to go in for the refining
and broadening processes which will
yield an easy sort of belief-will all
these bring the Christian world into
sweeter harmony with the life and
teachings of CHRIST Himself? These
are questions worth ponderlng this
Easter day.
There is one strange fact meriting the
attention of professed Chris tians above
all other facts. 1t is that while Ill this
age, when CHRIST is personally hon
ored and revered, and His teachings
reyerenced as they never were before,
there are thousands who are keeping
themselves apart from CHRIsT's church
because their conceptions of Christian
ity will not permit them to embrace the
creeds and dogmaS Of mans making,
which are set up as church standards.
There is something pitifui in the often
inarticulate but virtually universal cry
of men for "the Christianity of CHRIST"
Among the workingmen and the poorer
classes generally, there is prevailing
impression that those who profess to
follow CHRILT do not follow Him. In
other words, the methods of Christian
ity to-day are so different from CHRIsT's
methods when He was on earth, th e
common people cannot reconcile them
selves to the belief that they are doing
CHRIsT's service in attempting to keep
up the form of this .new-fangled Chris
tianity. There is something terribly.
suggestive IN this fact for sincere, de-
vout Christian people, who wish to
establish the Christianity of CHRIST
upon earth.
The trouble, we apprehend, is that
many who profess to be Christians have
not risen with CHRIST. They are the
tomb-dWellers, who prefer to finger in
the musty vault Of dogma ralfef than
to ascend into the purer atmosphere of
liberal thought and charitable construe-
ton. Nor will an angel hand be ex-
tended to roll away the stone from the
mouth of the sepulcher and liberate
these tomb-dwellers until the church
itself proclaims that the entire domain
of truth is open to Its members for ex-
ploration, and that the only, binding
obligation upon church member is to
seek the truth that he may do it.
FELIX ADLER declares that when
Christians live up to their religion
there will be no need of lectures on ethi-
cal culture. and HERBERT SPENCER has
affirmed that the ultimate ethics of hui
manity will be those of JESUS, nationally
understood. Prince BISMARCK not long
ago said that there could be no more sat
isfactory solution OF the social problem
than the adoption Of Christianity with
out phrases. Ali of which goes to show
that the mind of the present generation
is turned to CHRIST; and yet in much the
same half-wondering, half-believing,
half-adoring attitude as that of CIIRIsT'S
first hearers.