The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-04-11
Christianity Applied to Some Of our
Social and Economic Problems.
ASSERTION BY REV. c. C. BROWN, DID,.

Social ana EcQ0o011c Sroplems'
AsERMoN BY REV. c. C. BROWN, ID.
Drifting Away From the Church.
ssUpon this many of the disciples went
back, and wslked no more with him."-JoH
vi: sc.
Here We have q case of Jesus and the
people parting company. His doc
trine, they said. was too hard for them.
and they left him. For some reason. q
good many are continually doing the
same thing. In . of . recent
periodicals, there was q story Of lad
who attempted to skate home over q
frozen river in the night. After going
some miles, he lost his bearings, and
fell at last through a hole in the ice.
From this he climbed out. to find that
he had crawled upon a large piece of
floating ice that Was rapidly drifting
away with the outgoing tide to the
bay that lay at the mouth of the river.
His plunge into the freezing water and
his heroic struggle to reach the shore
made quite an exciting story. There
is many . man whose whole religious
history could be written in these two
words. Drifting away. Mr.. Moody
said lately that the chasm between the
church aud the world is growing wider
aud wider. and men are fast getting
beyond the reach of those who would be
useful to them in religious things.
But the church people. as a rule, do
not perceive the fact, and seem satisfied
to let things 60 on just as they are
going, without making any special
effort to administer a remedy and abate
the evil. Let me ask some questions
Who are the persons that come into the
church as converts in these days? The
answer is they are the children of
Christian people, who have been reared
under religious teaching, while the
great masses of men move along beyond
our reach, and are never Influenced by
the church at all. We gather u
recruits continually from the same
classes; the mul.itudes unreached
ought to alarm us. Who are the non
attendants upon church service ? The
young men, the society people so-called,
and the laboring classes. W. are
occupying an anomalous position, and
are engaged in the work OF %instructing
those who least need instruction.
Doctors never spead their time treating
those who are in the best health, aud
yet that is what the church is doing
The men and women who are sick add
dying in sin, whose diseases are most
acute are never reached nor treated by
MS at all, nor can We ever help them
under our present plans. Outside of
the Romish Church, 81 per cent. Of
Our people are church members, and
40 per cent Of the people attend
church. How to reach the masses is
continually being discussed in confer
ences aud religious gatherings, without
much practical good resulting. l want
to contrib1te my mite to the discussion,
and it occurs to me that We should first
locate the disease before ne attempt
treatment. Much good physic is wasted
BY foolish church doctors.
THE CAUSES OF THE DIETING AWAY.
OF these there are several
l. In the church itself.
At a meeting in New York, not long
ago, when the speaker called the name
of Jesus. the people ~applauded when
he referred to the church. they Kissed.
They had no charge against the holy
Teacher. but they did have against his
representatives.
l. The church people are not true
to the cburch.-The average atten-
dance is far below the average member
ship showing that the professors Of
religion are not taking a hearty hold
of the doctrines which they say they
would like ali men to embrace. If
any of you are in wonder why
others spurn the gospel, you can get
an answer, in part at least. by
finding out why the same gospel is
80 poorly influencing your own life.
If in the green tree no fruit is found.
VIVA. folly to seek fruit in the
dry and withered! There are members
of this church who drag themselves
to service nee on Sunday, aud then
wonder Why the great world of men do
not rush in aud greedily partake of the
gospel. We may as we'll write i.
down where we a see it-tbe out
siders are not going to generate ao en-
thusiasm separate from that which
the professors of religion should i'm
part to them. The dead are not
brought to life by contract With the dead,
and if there is apathy in the world, it
is often but the contagion in