The record-union., 1894-04-28
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.

at ought not to be necessary" says the
LiUing Church (P. e. of Chicago, ''to re-
mind those who insist that the church
ought to take sides in political and social
movements and to identity herself with
special schemes of reform, that the church
exists for no such purpose. The direct
practical ends Of such movements, how
ever beneficent, are earthly and tenn
poral. The ends for which the Christian
religion has been given to the world are
heavenly and eternal. She must needs
miss her true vocation when she once
gives way. to the principle, now so often
urged, that it is useless to talk TO men of
happiness in heaven unless you first
make them happy on earth. The exam
pie of our Lord when He was asked to
decide between the two brothers in their
quarrel about the Inheritance is perpet-
ual lesson for the church. There was no
doubt a right and wrong in that matter,
but He refuses To consider it, and instead
gives an emphatic lesson against covet-
BUSINESS, and declares that "a mans lie
consistent not in the abundance OF the
the things which he possesseth.' How
natural Tor the petitioner for redress to
turn away in anger and say: What use
10 preach to me when you will not help
me to my rights"
Speaking Of Professor Shields plan for
the unification of Christendom the New
1ork Independent says: I'VE mourn
fully confess that we have discovered no
evidence in the Presbyterian Church that
DR.. Shields has been able to, convince his
brethren of the importance of securing
this historic episcopate. They do not
seem to expect union to come from that
direction. But he has light which they
1ail to attain, and it appears to US that
having the light he should walk in the
light. He has done well to tell his breth-
rem what he has discovered. They do
not respond. The only response is from
the Episcopalians, who praise his wise
words. What his words fail to accom-
plish perhaps his concrete act might ac-
couplish. He has already received
Pres byterian ordination; why should be
not secure also Episcopalian ordination,
and remain in the Presbyterian Church?
There have been PreSbyterians who have
been ordained by bishops, but they nave
left the body. Now let him be ordained
10y bishop, and have in his person the
concurrent ordination, and be living
example, while remaining In the PresDy-
terian Church: of the advantage OF the
two. And let him then continue to urge
upon the other Presbyterian ministers
TO do the same until he shall succeed
in the persuading the Presbyterian
Church TO add the historic episcopate or
der to the two orders which it now rec
ogniZes. We can imagine there would be
force in such an argument backed by ex-
ample, and it would be in the line of the
description of a good priest given by our
wisest early English poet:
"But Cristes lore and his apostles twelve,
f1p an INT rirG ha fliN NVp q
l"Three theories OF the church confront
u.s." observes the New York Outlook,
''the papal, the Anglican, the Protestant.
The papaI theory holds that Christ or
ganiZed an ecclesiastical society, found
ing it on the prinacy of Peter, who had
authority TO appoint his successor; the
Anglican theory holds tnat he organized
All ecclesiastical society. rounding IL on
the twelve apostles, who had authority to
appoint their successors; the Protestant
theory holds that Christ did not organize
any ecclesiastical society, that he taught
certain great truths that inspired and still
inspires a divine life, and left those who
hold that truth and possess that life to
organize their own Institutions. The
1irst two hold that Christ formed a So
ciety which He intended should be the
depository of His special grace and the
revelation of His truth and life; and that,
,
spirit and SO far be Christians, and still
live without this church, by so doing
they separate themselves from His di
vinely appointed historic society. The
other holus that wherever two or three
are gathered together in Christs name
He is in the midst OF them. and that any
such fellowship clustered about him and
working in His name is a part of His
church. The one conception of the
church is ecclesiastical and organic; the
other is spiritual and mystical. We call
the first theory Anglican and the second
Protestant for convenience, though many
eminent Anglican scholars hold the Sec
Ond theory and some eminent non-Angli-
can SCHOLARSHIP. Shields for example
hold the first. We do not wonder that
such scholars are ready to adopt as a
basis OF church union the historic episco-
pate, locally adapted in the methods of
its administration TO the varying needs
of the nations and peoples called OF God
into the unity OF His Church. We rather
wonder that they do not make haste to
enter the church which has this historic
episcopate. They are really Angllcans,
not Protestants."
The assertion that The Sermon on the
Mount is not sermon at all but the most
radical political platform ever laid down.
simply mistakes declaration of princi-
pies Tor a form OF administration" says
the Independent lPreS.) of Chicago. ut
repeats the old mistake of the middle
ages which exalted the beggar to the chief
place in the Kingdom of heaven, discour-
aged industries, peopled the desert and
depopulated the town. To literally give
10 every one that asketh fyou and never
TO turn from the man that would borrow
your wealth to carry on his own schemes
of profit, would not only revolutionize
society but destroy 1t. That Lord would
not suffer even the temple to usurp the
interests that a mans dependent family
had in his estate Mark vii, lib, is
hardly TO be quoted as constituting a
universal and indiscrlminate benevo-
lence for a thoughtful and conscientious
distribution OF his charities so as TO effect
the most good and the least harm. When
men foolishly tell US that to deny that
these words OF Christ are TO be taken lit
orally is to deny Christianity, we need
only reply that our Lord did not take
them literally, himself. We find him
more than once refusing requests that
were unworthy and charities that were
harmful John vi, 20, 30. That the
Christian life of to-day needs deeper
conservation and more OF the spirit OF the
Master goes without saying. But the
great work to be done is hardly helped,
it is more likely 10 be retarded, by the
revival OF crude theories which were
worn to rags ages since.'
'This is day of popular unrest" says
the New York Cf11StiaR IqatetLiqeAceT
tRef.). 1.-THE chief producing cause is the
prevalence of the Word of God. Patient
continuance in declaring the truths OF
the Word by word and example will
right what Is wrong and bring in day
oil peace. The agrarianism of the pres
ent is not the agranianism of the past.
Great truths of Holy Scripture are in the
air. Men know not where they have