Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1892-02-15
all that is required To that creed i
invite all mankind T. De Witt Tai
A DEPLORABLE REASON.

The reason Christianity has not
made more rapid advance is because
the people are asked to believe toe
many things. There are, believe,
today millions of good Christians
who have never joined the church
and are not counted among the Lord S
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 moon? or,
How far apart from each other are
the rings of Saturn? or, How many
teeth there were in the jawbone with
which Samson snote the Philistines?
| 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 Wagners
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 is 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.
Is there not some mode of getting
out of the way these nonessentials,
these superfuities, these divergen-
cies from the main issue? Is there
not some way of bringing the church
down out of the mountain of con-
troveIsy and conventionalism and to
put it on the plain where Christ
stands? The present attitude Of
things is like this: In a famine struck
district a table has been provided
and it is loaded with food enough for
all The odors of the meats fill 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 in? The door is
open Yes, but there is a cluster of
wise men blocking up the door, dis
cussing the contents of the caster
standing midtable. 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
population annually increases fifteen
millions No one pretends that half
that num- Der of people are converted
to God. There are more than twice
as many Buddhists as Protestants;
as Roman Catholics: Protestants,
135, 900. 0G0; Catholics, 1875, 600. 900;
Buddhists, 400. 100000 There are
l75, 600. OG0 Mehammetlans and 22O.
600, 600 Brahmans
Meanwhile. many of the churches
are only religious 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 sermon with here and
there a lone traveller. unless. by a
Sunday evening sacred concert, he
can get out an audience of respecta-
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 a change? 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
ed to the church. and forty million
and fifty million and sixty million.
How will it be done? 1t will be done