Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1892-02-25

been invited TO come, and they look in, and
they are hungry, and people would pour in
by the millions to this worldwide table, but
the door is blocked mp by controversies 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"
THE CHURCH IN DANGER
The Christian church will have to change
its tack. or it will run on the rocks Of
demolition. The worlds population an
nually increases 100000 No one pre-
tends that half that number Of people are
converted to God. There are more than
twice rs many Buddhists rs Protestants;
more than twice as many Buddhists as
Roman Catholics Protestants, 135, ,000-
900; Catholics, 195, ,0OO, 900; Buddhists, 40O,-
100000. There are l75,O000OO Moham-
medans and 220000.000 Brahmins Mean
while. many OF the churches are only re-
ligious clubhouses. where few people go
on Sunday morning. averaging one person
to pew or one person to half dozen
pews, and leaving the minister at night to
sweat through a sermon with here and
there lone traveller. unless, by Sunday
evening sacred concert, he can get out an
audience of respectable size.
The vast majority of the church men,
bership around the world puts forth no di-
rect effort for the salvation of men. Did l
say there would have to be changer /
correct that and say. There will be a
change. II there be fifteen million per-
sons added every year to the worlds popu-
lation, then there will be thirty million
added to the church and forty million and
fifty million and sixty million. How will
it be doneS 1t will be done when the
church will meet Christ on the plain. Come
down out of the mountain Of exclusive
ness. Come down out of the mountain Of
pride. Come down out OF the mountain Of
Journalism Come down out Of the noun
tain of freezing indifference.
Old DIR. Stephen H. Tying, great on earth
and in heaven, once said to me: 81 am in
favor of Il change. | do not know what is
the best way Of doing things in the
churches, butI know the way we are doing
now is not the best way, or the world would
be nearer its salvation than it seems to be- "
So feel; so we all feel, that there needs to
be change The point at which we all
come short is presenting Christ on the
the plain, Christ on the level with all the
worlds woes and wants and necessities
The full change will have to come from
the rising ministry. We now in the field
are too set in our ways We are numbered
up with technicalities. We have too many
concordances and dictionaries and encyclo-
pedias and systems of theology on our
head to get down on the plain. Our vo-
cabulary is too frosted. We are too much
under the domination of customs regnant
for many centuries. Come on, young men
of the ministry. Take this pulpit, take all
the pulpits, and in the street, and the mar
ket place, and the family circle preach
Christ on the plain.
AS soon as the church says by its atti-
tude-not necessarily by its words-"My
one mission is to help for this life and help
for the life to come all the people," and it
proves its earnestness in the matter, people
on foot and on horseback and in wagons
and in carriages will come to the churches
in such numbers that they will have to be
met at the door by ushers, saying: "You
were here last Sunday; you cannot come
in today. Gentlemen and ladies, you must
take your turn"
And it will be as in the Johnstown
freshet and disaster, when a government
station was opened for the supply of bread
and it took the officers Of the law to keep
the sufferers in line, because of the great
rush for food. When this famine struck
world realizes that the church is govern
ment station set up by the government Of
the universe to provide the bread of eter'
nal life for all the people. the rush will be
unprecedented and unimaginable.
THE WORLDS TROUBLE HAS NOT BEEN
WEIGHED.
Astronomers have been busy measuring
worlds, and they have told us how great is
the circumference of this world and how
great is its diameter Yea, they have
kept on until they have weighed our planet
and found its weight to be six sextillion
tons. But by no science has the weight Of
this worlds trouble been weighed. Now,
Christ standing on the level of our human
ity stands in sympathy with every trouble
There are so many aching heads. His
ached under the thorns. There are &C
many weary feet. His were worn with the
long journey up and down the land that
received him not There are SO many per
secuted souls Every hour of his life was
under human outrage. The world had nc
better place to receive him than a cattle
pen, and its farewell was a slap on his
cheek and spear in his side.
So intensely human was he that there
has not been in all our race a grief or in
trinity or exhaustion or pang that did not
touch him once and that does not touch
him now The lepers, the paralytics, the
imbecile, the maniac, the courtesan, the
repentant brigand-which one did he turn
off, which one did he not pity, which one
did he not helpi The universal trouble OF
the world is bereavement. One may es
cape all the other troubles, but that nc
soul escapes. Out of that bitter cup every
one must take drink. For instance, In
order that all might know how he sympa
thizes with those who have lost a daugh.
ter, Christ comes to the house Of Jairus
There Is such big crowd around the dool
he and his disciples have to push theil
way in.
From the throng of people conclude
that this girl must have been very popu
lar; she was one of those children whom
everybody likes. After Christ got in the
house there was such loud weeping that
the ordinary tones Of voice could not be
heard. do not wonder. The dead daugh
ter was twelve years Of age. 1t is about
the happiest time In most lives. Very lit
tic children suffer many injustices because
they are children, and childhood is not g
desirable part of human existence-they
get whacked or set on. But at twelve
years OF age the child has come to self as
sertion and is apt to make her rights
known. And then twelve years of age is
too early for the cares and anxieties Of life
So this gill WAS think the merriment
OF the household. She furnished for then
the mimicry and the harmless mischief
and reused the guffaw that often RAM
through that happy home. But now sh
is dead, and the grief at her departure is a
violent as her presence had been vivaciou
and inspiriting. Oh, the bereavement wa
so sharp, so overwhelming How coul'
they give her upi suspect that the
blamed themselves for this or for that
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