The record-union., 1891-05-10
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions from the Various
Religious Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed in the Sectarian Press
Some Matters of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

The COngregutionaESt says: ga con-
temporary is about to interview its min
lSterial SubScrib bers on the question how
TO secure a successful prayer meeting.
We ventilated the subject at some length
in Pastors Exchange not long ago.
Yet it is a subject which will bear re-
peated discussion, and we are glad to
contribute to it a suggestion dropped in
our hearing by Boston pastor the other
day. DO you have good prayer-meet-
ings at your church p we asked. 1t de-
pends on who gets to the throne of grace
nrSt.' "
The Independent prints replies from
nearly a hundred Bishops on the question
whether, in their opinion, the exhibition
at Chicago should be opened on Sundays:
'Of the six Roman Catholic Archbishops
three decidedly urge that the Exposition
be closed wholly on Sunday, while three
others would open it in the afternoon,
while out of sixteen Bishops four would
close, eleven would open, and one de-
clines to express an opinion. OF the
Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal
Church twenty-five would close it alto
gether, two would open it on Sunday
afternoon and one leaves his views doubt
ful. The eleven Bishops of the Methodist
Episcopal church are unite in favor of
closing, and so are the four Bishops of the
United Brethren of Christ, the three Bish
tive Bishops of the African Methodist
Episcopal Zion Church, the ten Bishops
OF the Methodist Episcopal Church South,
the three MoraVian Bishops, and the two
Bishops of the COlored Methodist Episco-
pal Church. OF the six bishops of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church, five
have no question that the Exposition
should be closed all day, while one would
have it open part of the day.
1T will be seen that with the exception
of the Roman Catholic Church, whose
members are largely of foreign origin,
and more than any other portion of our
country influenced by European customs,
the overwhelming and almost unanimous
decision is in favor of closing, which we
may regard as the national verdict. 1t is,
however, remarkable that while the Ro-
man Catholic Bishops stand eleven to
four in favor of opening the Exposition
on Sunday afternoon, the Archbishops,
who really better represent the American
sentiment in their Church, are equally
divided
Commenting on the forthcoming Ser
vice Book and Psalter, edited by the Rev.
Robert S. Macarthur, ID. D., and the Rev.
Francis Bellamy. the Watchman (Bapt.)
says: The question has come to be,
what in fact it always has been, shall we
have decOrOuS, natural, effective order
of worship, or shall we have one thrown
together at haphaZard, the product of
variety OF forces, among which the wishes
of the choir-leader Will not be the least
important? Some order we must have
Shall we have a good order or bad one?
Certainly 1t is clear that there is a general
demand for an order of service which
shall be natural and familiar vehicle in
which the whole congregation can ex-
press their worship, and which shall not
depend for its effectiveness upon the min
ISter's mood or personal power or upon
the cholr'S performances. We believe it
TO be true that many ministers and con-
gregationS realize that spiritual opportu-
nifty is being lost on the Lords Day from
the 1nadequacy of the ordinary service
and wish for an order, which, avoiding
the extremes of ritualistic Journalism and
of excessive barrenness, might afford the
people simple and natural expression
of their worship. The publication of such
an order, framed on well-understood
principles, by men who have devoted
much attention to it, will do much to
bring this matter before our churches,
and TO hasten the day in which the
worship of the people viii receive the
consideration in all our churches that it
deserves"
The same journal says: Professor
Briggs scouts the idea of inerrancy or in
falibility as applied to the Bible But of
the lnerrancy and infallibility of the
higher criticism he has no doubts. Moses
and the prophets, our Lord and His
apostles, made mistakes, but the higher
criticism makes no mistakes. 1t de-
stroys every form of error and leaves
only the pure gold. And these iuerrant
and inialible critics are going to burn
up every form of dogmatism, etc, all
our methods of church work and Chris
tian morals What wonderful men these
are! Men superior to holy men of old'
u n alsn how ,-,l1
Holy Ghost for they were liable TO err,
but these men make no mistakes"
The Rev. George P. Hays, ''a very high
critic" offers IN the Interior pres a
critical essay designed TO show that the
inaugural address of Professor Briggs is a
document made up of four, or perhaps
six, different ancient documents bung-
lingly thrown together by some redactor,
and imposed upon us now as fresh" 1t
Is argued that the document cannot by
any possibility have been written by the
DIR. Briggs referred to in the title. This
DR.. Briggs is well known as an eminent
scholar, peculiarly illustrating the mod
esty of true scholarship and the defer
ence for the opinion of others now so uni
versal among real scientists. That a per-
son so lacking in self-confdence should
cite himself by thirty-one bracketed
Roman letters, and the Scriptures by ONLY
possible" 1t is is regarded as ''the GER
tain result of the higher criticism, as
applied to this document, that at least
four ancient writings were drawn upon
by the redactor in its composition"
writings composed severally by an ego
ust, a sophist, an eX-Romanist, and an
artist.
The AdUance says: ''Dr. Briggs does
not think all around a subject. He looks
at some things so intently that he does
not see other things at all. He might be
claSSed with the men who see hair in
the lions mane, but not the lion.' His
heart is with the critics. There is hardly
word of sympathy, from beginning to
end OF the address, for that great army of
earnest men and women who have taken
the Word OF God as a guide in the daily
routine, as help TO great consecrations
and noble sacrifices, and through simple
and earnest faith have been patiently and
prayerfully building up the Kingdom of
God. But in criticism he has unbounded
faith, Criticism he says, lis at work
with knife and fire. Let us cut down
everything that is dead and harmful,
every kind of dead orthodoxy. every
species of etfete ecclesiasticism.' And
again: we have undermined the breast
works of traditionalism, let us blow them
to atoms. We have forced our way
through the Instructions, let us remove
them from the face of the earth These
expressions show how largely DR.. Briggs
is possessed with the idea of blowing
things up. The new profesSorship is
charged with dynamite, and whether it
Will cause an explosion in the grand de-
nomination to which the seminary be-
longs, or will blow the professor himself
out OF the chair, remains to seen.'
The Living Church (P. e. says: ''Dr.
Briggs says that there are three ways in
which men may and have found God,