The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-01-23
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 New York Churchmdn (P. Ed, in
/ referring to the declaration of the Bishops
on unity, declares that 1.-The Bishops did
well TO proclaim as the basis of unity
/ not an apostolic succession, about which
there may be as many minds as men,
but the historic Episcopate. which is
matter OF fact. This is a true Anglican
position III all things. OF her policy the
church only says: 1T is evident unto all
men diligently reading Holy Scripture
and anclenta authors that from the apostles
time there have been these orders of
/ ministers of Christs church-Bishops,
priests and deacons.' Her standard of
orthodoxy is Quad semper, Unique, ct alb
omnibus as expressed in the creeds and
| liturgy. Upon her preachers she imposes
only the written Word of God; upon her
! ministers only her formularieS. All man
ner of diversity of opinion and differ
/ ences OF administration that do not con-
travene her embalmed tradition nor step
aside from the footprints Of the flock
she allows and tolerates. Her service is
perfect freedom. And these are the rea-
sons why she is the meetingground of
! divided Professionalism, and why her
Bishops may offer a basis of unity upon
her own firm standing-place, without
| committing themselves TO any one of the
various theories of her sons"
"The Rev. DIR. Spalding of Cambridge
has come to the conclusion," says the
Chicago LlUing Church (P. E. that the
reason why the Episcopal Church has not
before this, by summary and decisive
act of authority, put down the license of
free thought which is threatening the
foundations of Christian truth, is because
no such authority exists = . That
the church is slow to put forth any eXhi-
bition Of authority, and that the system
~ Il
cumbersome and embarrassing, are no
proofs that she either does not possess or
cannot exert authority, or that universal
liberation is one of her essential charac-
teristics. She has laid down as clearly as
| language can express 1t the dogmatic
faith, essential and exclusive, and she has
explicitly declared that the church hath
authority in controversies of faith The
mere fact, therefore, that owing to the
circumstances connected with the or
ganiZation of the American Church and
the small necessity that has existed dur
ing the last century for intervening in
such controversies, we have no very
satisfactory machinery for the speedy
separation of the tares from the wheat is
no proof whatever that the requisite au-
thority does not exist and is not claimed.
The contrary ought to be evident to
every person of intelligence and dis
| elimination"
The New York Examiner (Bapt.), in an
article upon the Transformation" which
it believes the Protestant Episcopal
Church to be undergoing, says: 'But
two sharply defined parties are left in the
| Episcopal Church-the high and the
broad Many who would a generation
ago have been classed as low are now
broad The broad churchman is under
stood to have easily fitting views both of
Guardianship and OF doctrine. He
usually tends to what, in other Protestant
| bodies, is considered unSoundneSs, if not
to positive heterodoxy. Sometimes he
avoids theology as much as possible,
making his preaching as practical and
pungent as possible, and devoting him
self TO work OF a broadly philanthropic
kind. 1t may be doubted
whether this broad party is not doomed
to ultimate extinction, like the low
Certainly the high party is gaining rap
idly in numerical and moral strength in
the church. 1t is, to begin with, con-
sistent, even if it is sometimes absurd. 1t
accepts the prayer-book in its natural
meaning, which no other party does. 1t
holds the only theory of the church recon-
cilable with acceptance Of the Scriptures
as the sole rule of faith and practice, by
maintaining the divine origin and per-
petual obligation of the Episcopate. This
is wrong Interpretation of the Scrip
lures, as other Christians believe but it
Scriptures in favor of human institutions.
Holding such beliefs, high churchman
necessarily concludes that other so-called
churches are not really churches, but vol
untary religious societies, composed,
doubtless, of sincere Christians, but not
organized according to the divine plan.
He has more tolerance for one of these
erring Christians than for broad church
man. His broad brother he looks upon
as type to be eXterminated rather than
tolerated"
The New York Catholic Champion (P.
E., discussing certain slothful habits
into which clergymen sometimes fall,
speaks out thus plainly about the bad
and slovenly reading so common in the
churches: The Anglican Church means
the people to hear what the clergy are
saying, and the clergy ought to do all
that lies in their power to make them
hear. a man may have feeble voice or
poor eyesight, he may suffer from cold,
or the acoustics of the building may be
extraordinarily bad; but when the Off
Giant is not heard or understood just be-
cause he is not making any effort to be,
we think it is a very serious offenSe. 1t
is sometimes charged against Catholics
that they, more than low and broad
churchmen, willfully SLOUGH over the
service, and are Indifferent to the man
ner of their reading. We are afraid there
confess ourselves to feeling much like
Indignation at hearing priests whose
voices are good enough humble over the
prayers and read the lessons mechanic
ally, needless of proper enunciation and
punctuation, so that even those whose
hearing is perfectly good cannot distin-
guish more than half of what is read.
There are some clergymen, too, who af-
feet certain styles of delivery, odd pro-
nunciations and the like, just from a
love of oddity, and rather pride them
selves on their mannerisms, as If it were
quite unimportant whether Gods Holy
Word and the solemn prayers of the
church edited the congregation or not"
The Nashville Christian Aduocdte
(Meth.), commenting on the Rev. Hugh
Price Hughes article on Reverence in
Worship" says: Immature and flip
pant leaders, novices in piety and age,
have been thrust forward to lead and
train in spiritual matters. The gospel OF
fun has filled the pulpit with witty, smart
sayings, and filled the pew with frivolity
and prayerlessness. The church organ
iZation and the church house have been
used to get up all kinds of entertain
ments, just the very things which de-
stroy reverence, especially when they
come in the guise of churchly affairs,
under the direction of the church, and in
the place set apart for holy uses. The
pulpit giving out politics and social ques-
: tons, the church audience responding by
rounds of applause, the church organiza-
ton devoting itself to church theatricals
and things for the flesh. the church house
profaned by these entertainments. the