The Portland daily press., 1894-11-30
MODERN CHRISTIANITY.
Striking Thanksgiving Sermon by
Rev. Mr.. Ayres,
CHRISTIAN SOCIALISM AS A RE-
FORMING POWER.

Justice Should Take the Place of Charity
Sympathy and Direction Needed by the
Poor. Rather Than Money-Other Re-
lieious Exercises Yesterday.
The Union Thanksgiving service at State
street Congregational church yesterday
forenoon was union service indeed. The
platform was not large enough to give seats
to the representatives of the various
churches who gathered to obliterate the
lines of denomination in a general obser-
vance of New England's historic day. The
funeral of an old parishioner in Massac hui
setts had called away DR.. Jenkins. pastor
of tie church. Rev. Dwight NJ. Pratt of the
WiIliston church, represented the Congre-
gationalist. Rev. Henry Blanc hard, repre-
senting the Universalists, made the open
ing invocation, among other petitions ask
ing that we may preserve as did our fathers
Liberty regulated by law; education
crowned by religion"
Rev. John Carroll Perkins of the First
Parish Unitarian, read the Governors pro-
clamation. Among his auditors was Cover
nor Cleaves himself.
The Scripture reading was by Rev. G. E.
Gate of the First Free Baptist church
Hymns were given out by Rev.T.S. Samson
of the Free street Baptist churcn and Rev.
] .Sriers of The New Jerusalem, Sweden
borgian. church Rev Matt s.. Hughes of the
Chestnut Methodist church. offered prayer.
amongEother things, returning thanks for
the fact that movements led by accredited
representatives of Christian pulpirs had
led to reforms in 1ields where such victories
60 ha cd pravinp that
we may never believe that the principle of
the separation of church and state means
a loss of interest in the affairs related to
the public good.
The sermon was preached by Rev. ".
S. Ayres of the First Baptist church, and
the bene diction vas pronounced by the dean
of the delegation, Rev. DR.. Asa Dalton,
of ST.. Stephens Episcopal church.
The ATTENDANCE was fair, but not large
The singing was by the congregation. Mr..
Harvey Murray rendering delightful accom-
paniments OH the great organ.
The collection of the day was taken up
for the Portland ProvidenG Association, of
whose work DR.. Dalton spoke good words.
Rev. W. S. Ayres had selected for he
text of the sermon, of the day the twelfth
verse of the fourth chapter of Micah But
they know not the thoughts of the Lord,
neither understand they His counsels."
The preacher began by saying that Chris
tianity is the alphabet, furnishing the let
ters with which we may spell out the solu-
ton of all our troubles. The shrewdest
observers as we'll as the calmestand most
conservative thinkers believe, as said the
Bishop of Winchester, that the present time
may generate a hurricane, from which much
wreckage. but ultimate good will result.
Great changes have taken place in this
world. The population of the globe has in
creased more in the last ninety years than
in the six hundred years before. The
Anglo Saxon Grace has doubled in seventy
years. And hand in hand with.these great
changes.has come. thesfact that the morally
lame, blind and incapable are increasing
ten per cent.faster than. the rest of human
ity.
These people have been called the Sub
merged tenth" Public attention .has for
the first time been called to them; and they
are themselves beginning to realize their
powers and possibilities. The greed Of
money, which is so predominant a passion
with the more fortunate portions of human
ity has infiltrated into the submerged tenth.
who are beginning to be wonderfully dis
contented They have even looked into
the books of philanthropists and from them
learned how miserable :hey themselves are.
The consciousness of the sad condition of
this portion of our brethren of the human
race will not LET us sleep any more than
our fathers could sleep under the revela-
lions of ''Uncle Toms Cabin" New and
startling ideas we're the outcome of the
modern agitation; but the black delus1on
of socialism was not TO be feared since,
tinctured with Christianity. i1 was to be-
come Christian socialism, which is received
with favor in our'colleges and by The pap
ers. The report of the commission appoint
ed to investigate the Pullman strike had
been a surprise to the country. showing as
tt-didssthe justice of many of the claims of
the employees.
No nations save the Christian nations are
agitated by the condition of the submerged
tenth; because the Christian religion is the
only one in which are the principle capable
of generating society. Yet real Christian
ity has never been practiced except in OBJ
scure and scattered instances.
The solution of our modern social troubles
is the application of the principles of love
tossooiety. The Duke of Argyle has said
that Christian principles if sapplied to the
doings of mankind would do away with half
the evils of society. This estimate is en-
tirely too modest. We're those principles
anplied the shops, stores and houses would