Evening capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1888-1893, 1892-02-15

mage
DFpIoRABIE REASON.
The reason Christianity has pot
made more Japd,l advance il becasife
the people are asked TO believe too
many things There are, believe,
today millions Of good Christians
who have never joined the church
and are not counted among the Lords
friends because they cannot believe
all the things that they are required
TO believe. One-lEllf the things a man
is expected to believe in order to en-.
ter the church and reach heaven
have no more to do with his saliva
ton than the question, How many
volcanoes are there in the moon9 or,
How far apart from each other are
the rings of Saturn7 or, How many
teeth there were in the jawbone with
which Samson slnote the PhilistinesH
believe ten thousand things, but
none Of them have anything to do
with my salvation except these two
am a sinner and Christ came to
save me.
Musicians tell us that the octave
consists only of five tones and two
senitones, and all the Handels and
Haydns and Mozarts and Wagner
and Schumanns Of all ages must do
their work within the range OF those
five tones and two semitones. So !
have to tell you that all the theology
that will be of practical use in our
world IL made out of the two facts
of human sinfulness and divine
atonement. Within that octave
swing The Song of Moses and the
Lamb" the Christmas chant above
Bethlehem and the Hallelujah OF all
the chour standing on gear OF glass.
IL there not some mode OF getting
out of the way these noDessentials,
these supertiuities, these divergen'
cies from the main issue7 Is there
not some way of bringing the church
down ont of the mountain OF con
tIovelsy and conventionalism and to
put it on the plain where Christ
sfandsg The present attitude OF
things is like this In a famine struck
district table has been provided
and it Is loaded with food enough for
all. The odors of the meats fill the
aSr. Everything is ready. The plat
tprs are full. The chalices are full
The baskets of fruit are full. Why
not let the people inf The door il
open Yes, but there is cluster OF
wise men blocking up the door, dis
ctissing the contents of the caster
standing midtable. They are shak
ing their fists at each other.
One says there is too much vinegar
in that caster. and one says there IL
too much sweet oil, and another says
there is not the proper proportion OF
red pepper. say. Get out OF the
way and let the hungry people come
in. Now our blessed Lord has pro
vided a great supper, and the oxen
| and the fatlings have been killed, and
fruits from all the vineyards and
orchards of heaven crown the table
The world has been invited to come
and they lotas in and they are hun
CRY, and people would pour III by the
millions 10 this worldwide table, bu
the door IL blocked up by controver
sies,, and men with whole Libraries
on their backs are disputing as t.
what proportion Of sweet oil anC
cayenne pepper should make up the
4 creed. cry Get out of the way
/ and let the hungry world come in
/ LOOK OUT FOR TIE ROCKS.
! The Christian church will have h
change its tack or it will run on tn,
! rocks of demolition. The world
e population annually increases tifteel
. millions, No one pretends that hal
3 that number of people are converte'
! 10 God. There arc more than twic
aa many Buddhists as Protestants
r more than twice al many Buddhist
as Iioman Catholics Protestantf
9 1875, 900, 900; Catholics, l95, 900, 600
q Buddhists, 100000, 600, There ar
l75, 600, 900 Mehammedans and 220
: 900, 600 Brahnans
Is Meanwhile. many of the churche
n are only religious clubhouses, wher
q a few people go on Sunday morning
n averaging one person to n pew o
? one person 10 half dozen pews an
il leaving the minister al night to swea
a through sermon with here an
II there a lone traveller, unless by
y Sunday evening sacred concert h
II eau get out nn audience OF respects
IL ble size.
q The vast majority OF the churc
i membership around the world pu
forth no direct effort for the salvS
IA tion of men. Did | say there woul
X have TO be n changel | correct tina
NJ aud say. There viii be change,
n there be fifteen million persons adde
n every year 10 the worlds population
IA then there win be thirty million ado
" ed 10 the church. and forty millio
Is and fifty million and sixty million
n How viii Il he donel II viii be don
10 when the church viii meet Christ o
IN the plain. Come down out Of tn
"A mountain of excluSiveneSs Com
As down ont of the mountain OF pride
n Come down ont Of the mountain q
a fogmalism Come down out OF IN
le mountain Of freezing Indifference.
M old DR. stephen II. Tying. great o
earth and IN heaven, once said {
m me n am IN favor Of change
"A do not know what Is the best way 4
~ doing things ln the churches. but
a. -. a -. .I..taas nous