The record-union., 1894-06-21

zone Of the most serious sources of
danger to the efficiency and usefulness OF
the pulpit of our day." says the New York
Observer (Pres.), ''is, beyond any doubt,
the tendency to seculariZe it by giving
undue prominence to the discussion of
social problems. The closing years OF
the nineteenth century have been charac-
terized by an extraordinary development
of interest in the social welfare of the
poor and oppressed. which is creating in
the heart of the Christian Church large
compassion and earnestdesire to deliver
men, not only from that eternal sorrow
which awaits the impenitent after death,
but to save them now and here from
those evils and miserieS which shame
both our civilization and our Christian
ity.' Various schemes are advocated
with this noble end in view. and some of
them are so identified with the Gospel
that preachers carry them to the pulpit,
devoting to their consideration the preci-
Gus half hour which ought to be wholly
given to the proclamation of the message
of the cross. The pulpit which talks of
theories when it should talk of the facts
of revelation is to that extent weakened
in its influence, as well as secularized by
so dwelling upon remedies which, after
all, are OF this world, as to shut out of
thought and vision the remedy offered
from the world above. The panaceas of
social reform aim so vigorously at exter-
nal amelioration as often to lose sight al
together Of the great truth that the i'm
provement of the soul is the soul of all
Improvement
''The need seems to be that the church
should make more determined effort to
impress upon the pupils in all her
schools and colleges that particular
type of character which is the highest re-
suit of the Christian faith and sacraments
in men and women of the English
speaking race" says the New York
Ch14'cAD1an Up. E.). "This cannot be ac-
complshed by merely giving the name of
saint to school, or by teaching the
catechism in perfunctory way, or by
marching the scholars to church parade
two or three times week. To teach re-
ligion merely as one of the departments
of the curriculum is not Christian educa-
ton. Rather the aim must be to deal
with every study, not excluding mathe-
mates and gymnastics, from the point of
view of living faith in the incarnation.
This is of course impossible where those
who teach are not themselves possessed
by such faith, where they are not them
selves seeking to have their characters
conformed TO the type that they are set to
reproduce in the boys and girls under
their charge. On the walls of the oratory
at Pusey House in Oxford runs the
legend, repeated again and again as the
most fitting of decorations, Deus Domi-
nus Sclentiarum.' Only those who feel
the inspiration of that motto can be
trusted to make all their teaching Chris
tian and Christ-like."
''In the nature of the case a minister
cannot well be Critic" observes the A d.
cdace (Cong.) of Chicago. He must be a
preacher of convictions rather than of
doubts. AS teacher, leader, guide,
comforter. he is expected to have some-
thing to say which he profoundly be-
lieves. Doubts lead nobody, put no
moral strength into the weak, wipe away
no tears. The man whose Bible has be-
come 10 him book of doubts cannot
build up a church. He can only demor-