Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1893-05-05
RELlGlOl : PROGRESS.

WHAT ONE OF our UiWnt s
IHihkS Of II
= bis' ""rs" int"b DrItsrr'd b,
u"'. .. y. u'tsiium ucIor. Ihs
ui"isters' ,ssocia,iou
Progress J. the WAtohWorl ui IN,
century Writers aud orators never
tire "i contrasting the present with
the past. and prophets rrcm never
more inspired than when showing
how lar the near future vail sufpl--
the present. E,rrythlns responds {,
scientific discovery. invention. com
mefcc. literature. manufacture. agti
culture. education. Thus IL the age of
clcctucity. everything mUst flash like
the are light. and speed to IT, con.
summation like a telegram Now. Il
- demanded that religion shall mani
Test similar progress or acknowledge
itself tu have become Antilustcd and
u-clc-s shall We, continue tu wnr
ship God ui the Ancient Hebrew. and
to repeat the praNrrs composed ht
l-racl'- purt-king three thou.,nd years
ago. Shall W. of the closing decade
of the nineteenth century. believe iu
the same Jesus. preach the same old
rlte-. and fight the same old battle
against sin aud SATAN viii the
preachers never have don" with the
old texts. the old commands. aud the
old faith in heaven snd hellY Will
the people persist ~ going to church
and returning like the HHInging oi n
door on it, hingc-' Must we con
tlnue ,o be born Ia die. o. Ice buried
after the -amo old fashion, Or shall
W. have something new and startling
aud progressive, Something ~ har
mony with the advancement going On
all around us'
With regard 10 progrrs- ~ religion
various opinions are held. Some SAY
that II is impossible. that religion ~
its very nature. can only grow old and
die: that II can only become Obsolete
aud stand ~ a storm battered munu
a.. las. 4 4
human mind the Bible tn be- mum
bcrcd with the Ncdas aud the Koran
Others claim that progress Ia religion
IL as remarkable ns ~ any other de-
partment of thought. Are We not cast-
Ing away the old dogmas aud rccas,.
ing the cfecds' Have ~ not laughed
the devil out oi esistsnco sounded
hell, finding II very shsllow. aud cir
cumna, iga,ed heaven, learning that IL
enoifclcs all good aud had7 Does not
bniversalism claim tn hear advanced
iofm ui religion. l'nilariani.m more
advanced. the new theology s,ill more,
aud the higher criticism" most oI
slli
Formerly sinner needed to he
born again" Ia order to church
membership. bat nov we are becoming X
80 liberal" that he only needa to
leave hi. name and iiity cents a, the
drug store where the s'lvanced preach
ef can get them.
slll others regard pfogtr-. IN re.
ligion ss the objectionable an. They
make u their main business 10 aound
the alarm al every departure from
sound doctrine and scripture Justice,
they themselves l-'inH the selI'ap
lTnintcd Judges ui soundness They
would have rs wear sandals. wash the
saints feet. administer The holy llss
pay our way as pfeac cheTs by log
tents, eat losusls end sid honey. an X
the hymns Written by Peter to The
music arranged by Paul. aud suffer
msrtytlom like all g,~ri Christians
surely there are Feasun- enough
SHY we should sludy hi. suhie,t oi
progress Ia religion especially that
49, may see lu What respects pfogfe-.
!. Legitimate aud IN shat 10 ,s not. aud
may guard agains, the dangers at
consct, .usm ss we'll .. against shi.
~ili clsmot lof nee tangled dnctfnos
aud methui.
There are two factors 10 tvhg
the divine and the human i'pon
what u~,i has done We esnnut ,m.
prove but In human seienee snd AT
there ls siwsys r-pm ior progress
At the 1es,. ouF tn"-leire /. imI~r
iect aud we blundsI ~ i,s application
to practical affairs Here, then. is
solid r,ct iuf the cuasrf,s stivs, snd .
y side aud snp,th iouiessEd iuf the
progressive Much depends 90 buf
drawing ~. line correctly hetSeen
these too provinces ~ religious aosls
~. aud . failure to do 81 lss,ls to tie
nulti plicati,p ot sects snd kindivs the
Zee. II debate aud persecution
The proposition 'ha, Shs, u"d has
hone. c,ll,,t directly. 80 through men
mira uluusl, cndu~s'l lu' lhs pufIa,se
can not le improved uInn. aud In
'ltls drpatlmen,.ol religion pfust.s. i
iuts,ssihle. - evident ifom tl,o iul
losing consideration.
I Il - the pI,slucl oi divine els
dom. g'aaluess snd I-swer Divine
- .lpm doss not reach tie enda ~
experiments inhniio so,rinsss could
uui te 'unt,ut 9Th anything Ices
thsn the l'sst and the Itfieet, shils
Omnil.t,nce could realise in the -.
.ul, sha, sis'iom plsnnod and F''o'l
u,ss prompted II ts 80 iu Mature
hrf iutms. iufrss sni lsws afs isiirs,
l',uni ell progress Here man mal -
tfugfca. T., conformity. aud not an
iaguuisu. here obedience 10 hie hul
,hsol,s,isnos is death
True thrf. are gfadss q tsinss. bot
sa, ls iafieo, io lts uSn sphere. ~
there have lsen different and stsers
i,r disl@nsstians oi religion. ltit rssh
~.s l.tise, 80 -. adaptation a. human