The record-union., 1893-09-30
THE CONGRESS OF RELIGIONS


The Congress of Religions at the CO.
lumbian Exposition will probably go
down in history as the most notable of all
conferences in modern times. We may
not see just all the points of contact of
the twenty or thirty great creeds repre-
sented, but the conference has developed
a great many more than any one had
supposed to exist, except, perhaps, the
most studious and philosophical of the
ologians.
The chief good of the conference, how
ever, will be found in the fact of the
meeting of such a body, thing that a
century ago would have been absolutely
impossible. 1t viii make another still
more tolerant congress possible. One
cannot read the reports of the Chicago
gathering and consider the many papers
presented by so many priests and teach
ers of all the world, without being deeply
impressed with the thought that men are
a great deal nearer to each other than
they have themselves supposed; that they
are really more tolerant than they have
been given credit for; that the wonderful
advances made in the means of rapid
transportation and frequent communica-
tion have been potent factors in bringing
religions into better knowledge and un-
derstanding of each other, by making
men better known to each other, and that
these commercial agencies have all the
while been the greater missionaries to
harmonic the creeds, so far as possible,
and TO augment the points of contact be-
tween the beliefs of the world.
It is not likely that there will be any
perfect unity among the religions of
the world-indeed that is impossible.
1t is much as DR.. Schaf put it, a
necessity that there should be division,
for that is not an unmixed evil. There
are churches adapted to peoples in one
section of the world, that would be un-
suited to those of another. That is to
say, as the divine quoted stated it, secta-
rianism is very different from denomina-
tionalism; the latter is consistent with
church unity. II, then, special adaptation
is law among churches, division is not
all i'll, for there may be division and yet,
on great substructural points, unity.
We may not accept wholly. for in
4. +I,o ,,rrrapt r1Iaa Of fba ral,iooo N
drite of the Apostolic and Patriarchac
Throne of the Orthodox Church in Syria,
who with emotion urged that there is
possible reconciliation between the Bible
and the Koran, which he esteems to be re-
ally one; that one aids to the understand
inc of the other. And with such recon-
ciliation he claimed would come practical
unity between Christian and Moham-
medans, worshiping one true God. But
that such priest should stand up before
such a congress, and tearfully make such
an appeal, and be heard with respect and
reverence means a great deal in the
march of liberation and free thought.
Surely the splendid courage that con-
ceived the idea of such a congress and
carried it out to a peaceful end cannot be
wholly lost to the world. The confer
ence realized the idea OF its originator in
making it apparent to all men that
relioion is broadening its borders and
strengthening its arms; that, as one
sneaker put it, it is finging nations into
each others arms: it is tederating men
in the prosecution of loving sympathy;
that it is cultivating love for all men, a
tolerant wide and tender love for men
oach within their bounds and adaptation.
ENGLAND is becoming more and more
damocratic, and the House of Lords more
and more unpopular. But when it is
oliblv talked that the House of Lords is
N danger of speedy abolition, it is well
r. consider that such procedure will be q
I;aSo7It task 1t may, probably