New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-08-07
THE CrrRcH And MODERN TENDENCFES'

Y
The revolution that has been taking place
during the last few years III the methods OF
nto.,rutiny religious work has often been noted
in these columns. And yet few who do not
81, sci, observe il realize the FAR reaching char
actcr Of this revolution. II amounts, IN trnth.
TIA new conception of Christianity itself. The
old feudal idea of the Church IL great spiritual
empire 10 which oil men owed allegiance, ana
for whose material ACKNOWLEDGMENT all IFS mem
her, must work has ceased 10 be 4 ruling idea
in the world Of to-day. And the medieval
conception of theology as the Queen OF Sci
cnco,. which should dominate every depart
ment of human knowledge and endeayor' Is re-
parded as so absurd IL TO be not worth serious
notice. Those who are best entitled to speak
for the Church to-day frankly acknowledge
that many of lis old ideals, It's old methods
and its old claims must be largely abandoned.
And that if it is 70 grow. or even live II must
adjust itself to the new thought of the age.
There is not space here to explain in detail
how completely the modern democratic Splrlt
i. modifying the Church, just as it is modify
ing every other institution of the past, so as to
nut - in closer touch with the life OF the pres
cnt. some of its operations are too rccondite
10 be fully understood by ordinary observers;
but all can two great tendencies that are
to-day modifying the working methods of the
churches. One Of these tendencies has for It's
object the immediate relief Of present suffer
ing and finds an admirable illustration in the
work done by The TRIBUNE FrcSh-Air Fund.
II is true. the Church has always thus attempt
ed TO relieve suffering. But the popularity of
the tendency to-day il that it has become secn-
larized. Modern civilization has assumed as its
own duty once deemed peculiar to the Church,
and as a result, men who acknowledge no for
NAL allegiance to the Church arc found enthus-
asticaly doing what the Founder of Christianity
declared to be the very sum and substance Of
His religion. Without stopping to dwell on tho
immense gain to the world from this widespread
diffusion of applied Christianity in quarters
where it would least be expected, we would
simply emphasize the fact that such state Of
affairs must profoundly react on the Church, by
stimulating it to increased and more general
effort And the results Of such reaction arc
seen to-day in the nnumerable practical
agencies which 50 many parishes are adopting
for the relief of suffering and misfortune.
Another tendency ut work in the Church, as
well as society. at the present time, looks not
50 much to the relief Of present suffering,
though it does that, too Us to the removal of
the conditions that produce the suffering. And
in the Church this tendency gets itself more or
less perfectly expressed in such agencies rs the
College Settlement, the Neighborhood Guild,
Toynbee Hall, the Andover House. and the
numerous parochial institutions in all the large
cities that have for their object the rehabita-
ton and regeneration Of lost men and women.
Already this movement has done much to dis
credit and set aside the old parochial methods
of Church work. We all know what those
methods were A more or less costly church
was erected in an eligible neighborhood by
number of wellto-do church members who
proceeded to hire as desirable clergy man as
they could to minister exclusively to them,
without any reference to Others whose need OF
religious teaching might be much greater Such
a method might work fairly well in small
town ; but in the large cities where great num-
bers of non church gather it has long
ago broken down. The parochial system fails