Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-21

them and still be guilty of vices which
should still exclude him from decent so.
c. ETY., but code immeasurably superior
to any other OF that epoch of the world 8
hisl Dry. Inat is an extraordinary state
mem OF the case. We invite the writer of
this @ omment to somewhat careful re-
reading OF the book of Leviticus, not
emitting the books of Numbers and Deu-
teronomy, embracing the full record of the
teaching OF the Ritusls and the Ceremonial
Law of the Itebrews-a book written in the
same 'epoeh'i. which Jehovah gave to them
and to the hun IAN race the table of the ten
commandments If this book of Leyiticus
does not give in 7inute detail the inhibi-
/ t1on Of sins and Vi, IS which disfigure and
debase even in ii le Christendom of the
nineteeath century, then, for one, we must
allow We have n8fs led the most obvious
Smeaning OF that book. Itisnot marvellous
Ia the light Of what we are hereby so
plainly aad SO fully 1 sught, that Bishop
Narburfon was led 20 exclaim: Where
dsd Moses get that Law q Then as to this
assault on the ten cotal 1andments, we
beg to submEs that ohe;fiel ce to the first
ano' the greatest of these wa uld strike at
lne sap root OF all disobedien ce and of all
resu;hng ransgression. This command
! nr mentr interpreted by our L ord, reads:
/ q
thy soul, and vita all thy mind. and with
all thy strength'-'and thou shalt love thy
| neighooF as thyse3f.' Well has it been
added: 'On these two conanau dments
hang all The law and the prophsts.V
The Rev. DR.. Shaokelford yrits the
Ch'Tchma, (P. E J: 1T has alwavs bs en- a
pious opinion in the church that the s, ,uls
OF the faithful in paradise advance cpn.
stantiy towards that perfect holiness with
|
a reasonable opinion, which nothing in
| holy Scripture contradiets Indeed. St.
raul SPEAKS OF spirits of inst men made
! perfect. was surprised 10 find how com.
! pietelv this idea had taken possession of
the mind of the late Henry Ward Beeeher-
and the following extract from sermon
| Will, think, interest your readers as much
I as II has me; IL does not seem to me, as l
look at men in the whole round of their
| condition and stage of development, that
| on dying they can be expected to enter
upon perfected state. There is in them
so much that is not developed at all. 40
much that is deaf and dumb, so much that
is comparatively paralyzsd, SO much that
is shrunk; there is in them SO low an aver
age OF development on every side that it
| seems to me impossible that ANYTHING
short of miraculous touch of reerea.
ton can bring them in a moment though
they are set Tree from the body, TO the atti-
tude OF perfect beings. We enter the king
dom OF heaven, in more senses than one. as
little children. / take it that we leave this
world to go on with our stages of dis
cipline-not the same We have here. but
what will, in our changed conditions and
circumstances, be equivalent to what dis
cipline is in our earthly relations. But it
does not seem to me rational that we shall
be trudglDg, trudS1ng, clear up to the mo-
ment OF death, and that then we shall start
up absolutely different. There will be an.
other climate, another soil and a nobler
growth; but there. will be growth. That
which you have not learned here you must
learn there. That which you have left un-
done in this world, ycu must do in the
world to come. This opinion is the basis
upon which was founded the widespread
practice in the early church of PRAYING for
the faithful departed, really only an ex-
panslon of the petition in the Lords PRAY
er, Thy Kingdom come Mr.. Beecher
| needed to take only one step farther to be
| in accord with the teaching and practice of
the early church."
The Christian Leader (Univ says: 1.-THE
Roman Catholic Church has distinct log
ical and administrative advantage over
| the Protestant churches, in its triple base
of tradition, antiquity and Scripture Pro-
testants have thrown suspicion on the
| first and rejected the second. The effect
| is to make them hold the third wayer-
ingiy. For to invaiidate tradition is to
! dlscredlt in some measure the Scriptures,
| since the Scriptures of both Testsments
have been handed down. And to re-
| nounce authority is to break he historic
continuity of the Church of Christ. In
these respects Romanism is more consist
ent than Protestantism. But Romanism
iabors under the growing disadvantage
that what is regularly termed enlighien-
ment is undermining its foundations. 1t
is confused mass of things, probable,
improbable and incredible. In every
country in Western Europe, aud more
noticeably in America, the Catholic Church
is losing its hold on great number of
its people nominally in its fold. In the
| meantime, Rationalism, taking advantage
OF the Protestant principle, has invaded
the Protestant churches and shaken their
| one great prop-'the Bible the Religion
OF Protesiants. 1t is question
to which religious statesmen should ad-
dress themselves. What should be done
to meet this new state of affairs?
Will revised Calvinism melt the last?
Shall we see it absorbed by the great
Methodist Church? Has the Salvation
Army any attractions tor It? Will it go
either to Episcopacy or Independency
And if the multitEdes already accumu-
lated were satisfactorily disposed of, by
multitudes be prevented? What has re-
igious liberalism to offer in the way of
solution of such problem? 1t has had
long and intimate experience with ration
alism. Perhaps it has found it harmless,
or at least has learned how to foil its
power. Alas we can draw small conso-
lation from such sources. The most pen-
etrating, spiritual and philosophical mind
in the Liberal fold, James Martineau, has
devoted the last years cf his life to the So
luton Of this great problem. Ee proposes
that the English Church open its fellow
I; ship wide enough to take in all the sects,'
snd that all the sects go in. Then he sets
himself to discover the seat of authority
in religion. He pursues this retreating
image through all its disguises in church
and theology, diyests it of every title to
confidence, and leaves the individual in
the midst of the trackless sea, not only
| without chart or compass, but without a
| solitary plank under him. Here are two
admirably mated impracticables; trying to
do what cannot be done; trying to do it
with that which can do nothinou