The Progress., 1892-12-24
-, and an
- ,ne truth of God.

ruin must lay dSlUe LIS HSHIlHS
armor and go down on his knees and
read those languages until he know:
them as child its alphabet, know what
the prophet said when he wrote it in
Hebrew or Greek, ard then study all
history that bears upon it and seek with
devout heart to know what the Spirit
thus teaches. That is the mali who is
trying to hold up the Bible. The man
who is trying to hold mp his own opin.
ions is altogether different.
Fourth-This spirit it is that has driven
out the manhood of the church in this
day until it has developed scores of Sc
cret societies. / have talked to great
many who have not been to church for
years, and it is the same old story. A
man says: "I did not believe fully what
was presented when | first went to
church. l could not see my way to ac-
cept Christianity" | am talking about
! good men, whose lives are moral and up
right, and yet who are outside of the
| church of Christ. THAT is not Chris
tianity," say. "Yes, but that was all
that was presented to me-"
| talked to q young man the other
night who had never become a Christian
because of an exposition of Christianity
| he heard from certain man which TO
my mind was a travesty on the name of
Christianity. 1t is this spirit that has
driven the manhood of the church out.
If you go into the average orthodox
church today you will find five women to
one man. What is the difficulty? The
women are naturally nearer God. 1t il
harder to drive them out; they won't go,
We see the brain and the reason of the
race thus arraigned against the church.
and manhood thus driven out.
MEANWHILE THY PEOPLE PERISH.
Think of the masses of the people alien
ated from the Christ by these men who
have insisted that the one thing to do i:
not to save the world, but to be extreme
ly orthodox on questions of belief
asked a man one day: What is the mat
ter with the city? Why do we not saw
itg' He said, Il will tell you, younl
man; we are not orthodox"
In one sense this is fact, of course
Orthodoxy is loyalty to the heart o
Christ If the church were loyal to tE
heart of Christ, then we would triumph
But to sit down and split hairs whethe
this creed should read, "He 'descendet
, into hell, or went down into hell" o
, to reason about a question of scholasti
cism, is as far from Christianity as hel
from heaven. 1t is not your creed tin
kering but the life that tells. Profes
, sion, you say, is important; but the lif
! tells whether the profession is reality
. What do you want to do with Profess
: or Briggs? l never saw a man with
-, truer spirit personally in my life. Wha
: good will come of it if you kick hiI
out? Think of it! A man whose life
in harmony-to the limb of conscience
4 to the Christ and his truth. Put hiI
!. out for question of opinion! Is not Ii!
9 the real creed of man after all? lively
q young women met last January, an
: each of them discussed the question {
= matrimony. They decided unanimousl
? to enter upon the profession of maidel
hood, professed an emancipation frol
man. What is the result? Eleve
months have passed. Nine of them a.
g married, and two of them have breaC
of promise suits, and the other one
, dead.
= 1t is one thing for us to make profe
sion and another thing to live life tn
y is in harmony with that profession. Aft
70 all, you search for the supreme test
:, creed not in the outer expression of i
= tellectual conviction or opinion or bia
a but deeper down in the heart and motiy
- In the life where you strike the founta
of mans essential being, there you con
,s for your test.
!, STRIFE OF TECHNICAIITIES.
- Judged by such a test, what is {
meaning of such prosecutions toda
!. Oh. the crime of it! What is the poi
=. of battle-about what? Not about Chr
: tianity, for that is something else. n
= about that which saves man from 81
- for that is something else. Not abo
!. -ss.ectantism, for this process Is t