The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1892-02-19
all thar in reqNired. 10 that creed i.
invite all mankind. T. De Witt Tai
A DEPLoRABLE REASON.

the people are asked to believe too
many things There are, believe,
to-day 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-half the things 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 m0on2 or,
How far apart from each other are
the rings of Saturn or, How many
teeth there were in the jawbone with
which Samson smote the Philistinesa
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
semitones. and all the Handles and
Haydns and Mozarts and WagnerH
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 choirs standing on seas of glass.
liz there not some mode of getting
out of the way these nonessentials.
these superfuities, these divergen
cies from the main lSSue2 Is there
not some way of bringing the church
down out of the mountain of con
trovelSy and conventionalism and to
put it ON the plain where Christ
stands2 The present attitude OF
things il like this: In famine struck
district table has been provided
and it is loaded with food enough for
all. The Mlors of the meats ill! the
air Everything is ready. The plat
tiers are full. The chalices are full
The baskets of fruit are full. Why
not let the people in2 The door is
open. Yes, but there is cluster of
wise men blocking up the door, dis
GUESSING the contents of the caster
standing mldtabe. They are shak
ing their fists at each other.
One says there is too much vinegar
in that caster. and one says there is
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 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 look in, and they are hun
cry and people would pour in by the
millions to this worldwide table, but
the door is blocked up by controver
sizes, and men with whole libraries
on their backs are disputing as to
what proportion of sweet oil and
cayenne pepper should make up the
creed. | cry, Get out of the way
and let the hungry world come in"
LOOK OUT FOR THE ROCKS
The Christian church will have to
change it's tack or it will run on the
rocks of demolition. The worlds
annually increases fifteen
millions No one pretends that half
that number of people are converted
to God. There are more than twice
as many Buddhists as Professionals;
more than twice as many Buddhists
as Roman Catholics. Protestants,
1875, 900, 900; Catholics, l95. 900. 900;
Buddhists, 400,000,0 600. There are
It's, 900, 600 Mehammedans and 300.
600, 600 Brahmans
Meanwhile, many of the churches
are only religious clubhouses. where
a few people go on Sunday morning,
averaging one person to a pew or
one person to half dozen pews, and
leaving the minister at night to sweat
through a sermon with here and
there a lone traveller, unless, by a
evening sacred concert, he
can get out an audience of respectar
BILE size.
The vast majority of the church
membership around the world put
forth no direct effort for the saliva
ton of men. Did say there would
have to be changef correct that
and say. There will be a change. If
there be fifteen million persons added
every year to the worlds population,
then there will be thirty million add
I'd to the church, and forty million
and fifty million and sixty million.
How will it be donef 1t will be done
when the church will meet Christ on
he plain. Come down out of the
of exclusiveness. Come
Town out of the mountain of pride. {
Come down out of the mountain of {
oImalism. Come down out of the
mountain of freezing Indifference.
H. | A