The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-05-14
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions From the Various Re
ligious Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed In the Sectarian Press
Some Matters of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

The LiUi1g Church 2. E.) OF Chicago in /
commenting upon the restlessnesS now I
prevailing in the Christian world, re- |
marks: ''All that is to be left Of our holy |
religion, which practical men can grasp, |
is its moral teaching, and some are be- /
ginning to doubt whether even that Is /
superior TO the teaching of Seneca and /
EpictetuS. The distinction between the |
church and the world, the state of nature !
and the state OF grace. is done away. The |
real church is the world, since it is by
natural birth and not by regeneration
that men become sons of God in the |
eyangellc sense. The only purpose of a
distinct organization is TO make this al
ready existing character of sons of God
more clear through works of charity and
mutual help and support. These and
otherlike teachings are being dissent
mated from influential pulpits, and even,
1t IS alledged, taught in some of our insti-
tuuOns of learning. We believe that ii is
the bounden duty of Christian people to
see that the interests of truth are not al
lowed to go by default. How many
among our clergy and laity definitely
hold any or all Of such destructive prin-
clpies is no doubt serious question. We
are willing to believe, however, that the
number is not great But, whether this
list be great or small, it is matter of the
first importance that such views shall not
come TO be recognized as matter Of in
difference, and that it should never be
conceded that the men who advocate
them have legitimate place as school
or party In the church"
Under the head of "The Next Re-
ligion," the New York ChatTchmdqe (P.
b. says: "a recent writer has told us
that as all other civilizations have passed
away so the present civilization Of Eu
rope and OF America, including its code
OF morals, its laws and arts, must pass
| lC
| fond OF this sort of speculation. .
| There is one fact that such dreamers
seem to lose sight of. Civilization is gen.
/ orally no more than the cOncomitant Of
some religion or other. Persian civiliza-
! ton gave way to the Greek idea because
the Greeks Were superior in religion and
| morals To Persia. Greece in her deca-
| dence gave way to Rome for the same
| reason. Modern cosmopolitan civiliZa-
ton succeeded through the domination of
| cosmopolitan church, whose teachings
are the teachings of Jesus Christ and
whose theology is the purest and most
| exalted the world has ever seen. Before
| the scenes are again shifted and the stage
is cleared a new religion must be ready
for its entrance A religion superior to
Christianity no one has yet formulated.
| There have been many experiments.
positivism and agnosticism, deism and
! theoSophy Sucn cults are incompatible
with civilization popular, widespread
and practical. They are destructive of
the idealism of art and of the hope with
out which life and effort are impossible.
| Modern civilization may ripen, widen
and be purified. AS long as it is the eS-
preston of the highest religious idea of
| the world 1t will continue to exist and to
develop, and this must be for ever"
The New York Observer (Pres.) J, speak
! ing Of that higher criticism of the Bible
which ignores the supernatural element,
says: biblical study Of this kind
| naturally and necessarily becomes study
of pettinesS and nothings. Finding
nothing worth while left to take hold of,
it sets to manufacturing facts and as
SYMPTOMS and speculatlons, to cutting
| and carving and reconstructing, and in
the end the critic replaces Omniscience
by his own petty, egotlStic and impudent
self. That has been its course in France,
Germany. England, and that will be it's
course in the United States. Like effects
from like causes. And for what good
After all its buster, it has not one tact or
truth of any moment to show, not one
good and worthy work that 1t has con-
sciOusly and deliberately helped on; not
even one demonstrated error found in
that Word of God which it has so persist
emily disparaged. Putting self-reverence
i'll the place of reverence for God, and its
own cOnceitS in the place Of the truth of
God, it sits in a theological chair and
wastes precious time, provokes irrever-
ence by deciaiming against 'Bibliolatry,'
depreciateS fundamental truth by scott
ing at dogma and 'traditionaliSm,' I'M
settles faith in the very truths that make
for salvation, and takes the brain, heart
and nerve out Of the very man it pro-
fesses to train to preach the gospel to a
lost world. 1t errs not by defect, but by
It's positively vicious character and pro-
cedure. Claiming to be scientific criti-
CiSm, there is no genuine science and no
true criticism in it. Claiming to be in
ductive III its methods, it violates every
principle and canon of inductiVe
thought"
mo one should suffer himself to be put
out of countenance," says the Boston
W'dtchm07t (Bapt.), Shy the often repeated
assertion that certain authorities, in a
given departments, have reached such
and such conclusions. He has the same
right to pass upon the authorities that
they had to draw conclusions from their
Investigations, and he is bound to en-
ploy his right of choosing between au-
! thorities with the same candor and free
dom from popular prejudice that he
would be called upon to exercise in de-
irving conclusions from original investi-
CATION. In deciding between different
| authorities, 1t Is a timely caution that the
great advance OF modern research in
; many departments OF knowledge, which
! has controverted many venerable beliefs
l may tend to give an altogether Fictitious
importance TO novel opinions. So many
. of our conclusions have been disturbed
that almost in spite of themselves the
l readiness has been fOstered in the minds
OF men to regard the most recent con-
clusions as presumably true. AS Mr.
Gladstone once said; Those who think
lightly of the testimony of the ages are
often found the slaves of Mr.. A. or Mr.
B., of their newspaper or of their cotere
In time of much mental movement
men are apt to think that it must be right
) with them, provided only that they
move; and they are slow to distinguish
e between progress, and what is running
/ to and fro"
/ So long as this hard doctrince Preteri.
G tom is in the confession, it will be a sub.
$ ject of endless controversy" observes
g the New York Evangelist (Pres.). ''IFhy
e then, should 1t be kept there? WHY
a should we cling to what had no place in ;
L single one OF the ancient creeds, The
: Apostles Greed, the Nicene Creed or the
: AJhanasian Greed; nor in any of tn,
creeds of the Reformation? Even DIR
Green would not claim that it is one O
:, the essentials of the faith. Have we no
5 a right, then, to ask, in the interest O
Y peace that this element of dlsturbanc,
: should be eliminated? Conceding to GU
brethren in non-essentialS liberty,
ought they not concede the same to us
> Has any school of theology a right t,
y force upon us what we do not believe
But we are not in a mood to find fault
: for we have long since ceased to look 70
protection. Whatever be the failures o
the committee-though in some thing.
they may 'havedone that which they ough
not to have done, and left undone tina
, which they ought 10 have done'-yet they
have wrought these two years with al