The record-union., 1893-04-29
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.

Some repudiate the resurrection of
the body" says the LtUing Church (P. e.
OF Chicago, because they do not believe
that there can be any material element in
that which is to he mortal and glorified.
I This is a widespread error, connected
with popular teaching on the subject of
spiritual religion. The only true realm
of religion is conceived to be the realm of
spirit. Matter, the human body as being
material, Is to be as far as possible disre-
garded in connection with religion, and
in the world to come is to be gotten rid of
altogether. Thus outward gestures and
attitudes in which the body is made to
take its fitting part in acts of worship
have been condemned. This teaching
strikes a blow at the Incarnation, for it
lmplleS that matter is essentially evil, in
which case it is impossible that God
| could have become man, assuming q hui
| man body as well rs human soul. The
doctrine of the Resurrection of the Body
is perpetual witness against this funda-
| mental Manichean falsehood, that matter
| is essentially evil in its nature, and that
| the spirit of man can only become free
by escaping from all ENHANCEMENT and
contact with 1t. Again, among those who
| do not consciously intend to part from
! the Catholic doctrine on this subject,
there has been much misunderstanding
OF the meaning of st. Paul in Cor. XIV. A
| 1t Is sown a natural body; it is raised a
! spiritual body. There is natural body,
and there IS a spiritual body This is
often interpreted as if natural meant
| material The passage would then mean
that the material body is laid aside at
death, and body which is pure spirit
| VIII be raised in It's place. But glance
at the original Greek will show at once
that nothing Of the kind is asserted. Per-
| haps the most literal translation would be:
! 1T is sown a soul-body, IL is raised
splrit-body.' In both cases there is a ma
terlal element and in both an inmate
rial. The material element is the same
in both, namely, body. But the imma-
terial Is different; IN the first instance it
Is soul (pSyche); in the second, spirit"
Unity, division or disintegration?
These are the possibilities in the present
crisis OF the Presbyterian Church, says
| the New York EUaltqeLiSG pres. "Uni-
ty is desired by all the liberal men and
by the majority of the conservatives.
| There are Il few obstinate ones, over 90
years of age, who never heartily acceded
10 the Reunion in 1869, and would be glad
TO see the act rescinded and its results
undone. But they are doubtless in a
|
throughout the church is that unity be
maintained. Everybody with good eye
! sight, however, sees that unity Is threat
ened. Responsibility for This condition
OF things is variously placed. but ii seems
obvious that the immediate responsibility
! must lie at the door of the exclusive
party, the party that wants to drive out
some opinions, or some men, or both.
This union may be destroyed by divis-
ion, or by disintegration. 1t will be
division If those who find themselves
driven out are numerous enough to form
a separate organization and think il wise
to do SO. We venture to say that liberal
men would undertake this with profound
regret, even with acute pain. Not only
does the liberal party believe in COM
| prehenSlVe Presbyterian Church, but it
ardently desires closer relations with
| other churches. With different views of
what is feasible, and of the mode of bring
ing 1t about, it is yet emphaticallY the
part of Church Unity. Church Unity
means the diminishing of the number Of
ecclesiastical organizations, not the in
! creasing of them. But union NAV be de-
stroyed by disintegration also. That is
TO say, Christian ministers and elders,
Christian men and women who find
! their convictions trampled upon and
their constitutional rights abridged, may
| withdraw, one by one, or in little groups,
and seek i'll other churches more genial
atmosphere. Their right to do this will
not be denied. The propriety of their
doing it, under given conditions, will not
be seriously questioned"
"Just as far as there is anywhere an
| appreciation of the real significance of
our Lords Prayer for His people, and of
| its relation to the future of His Church.
the question of Christian unity must have
a very controlling place in Christian
thought" says the New York Chitrcbnlog,
! (P. e.. lit cannot be put aside by open
| condemnation or quiet contempt. 1t is
enough that the subject bad, and has, a
very large place in the heart of Christ,
He binds up the worlds faith, and conse-
quently the worlds hope, with it: That
the world may believe that Thou sent
me- y fact with such an issue can be
neither reasoned down nor scoffed down.
Looking at the subject from the scene of
that upper chamber, is it not amazing that
it can even be held in abeyance for day
! by any Christian body? Is it not worth
while at least to consider whether the
practical overlooking or rejecting OF our
Lords principles as touching the worlds
acceptance of His divine mission NAV not
| account for much of the well-intentioned
labor that seems l'laboring for the wind'),
much of the gathering that gathers to
! put into a bag with holes?' 1t is a very
| impressive fact that, with all the tendency
| to dismiss the question or to relegate it to
| the future, there has never been time
| when so many silent forces were COM
pelling attention to it. Like every other
| great question Christian unity is to make
its way to a successful issue only through
! the calm and persistent pressure of those
who believe in it and in the possibility of
! its realization"
1--WE believe that too much stress has
| been laid in the discussion of recent
! years on the importance of organized
unity" says the CORgregationaIiSt of Bos-
| ton. 'No denomination looks with IA
vor toward losing itself in another Its
| idea of unity is the absorption of other
| denominations into ITSELF Much of the
preaching on Christian unity simply in
| 1ensities denominationalism. But COOP
| Grafton is possible. To some extent it is
already realized. The experiments in
| Maine and Washington will not he in
! vain. The recent conferences in New
| York between representatives Of the Con-
gregational, Presbyterian and Dutch
! Reformed Home Missionary Societies
| have given new impetus to the move
! ment. The discussion in the Boston min
| isters' meeting last week between Free
| Baptists and Congregationalists was an
| important step in the same direction.
| Piety, patience, persistence and practical
experiments will show the unreasonable
| ness, the waste and the disloyalty to
Christ of His disciples of different names
| contending with one another to divide
and subdivide fields which constantly
diminish by such process, when they
| might be enlarged and made nobly fruit
| ful by cooperation. Such efforts often
| bring so rich results in reyivals that the
! sight of Christian denominations rejoic-
! ing in one another's prosperity is the
most effective persuation to the uncon-
verted to accept Christ as their Re-