The record-union., 1894-07-07
IN RELIGIONS REALM
Expressions From the Various Re-
Iigious Newspapers
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed in the sectarIan Press
Some Matters of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

Discussing the question of church
unity. the LiUing Church (P. E. of Chi
cago says: New difficulties await US
when we ask. what is truth? How shall
we attain it? One answer is this: Let
representative men come together and
begin the prayerful study of the Bible.
putting aside all prejudice and opening
the mind to what is there revealed.
Strange as it may seem, this is the very
method out of which all sectism has
come, and it is not likely that it can be
cured by the same means, taken by itself.
The quarrel is over the Interpretation of
the Bible, not the Bible itself Men have
not divided Christendom by deliberately
departing from the Bible, but because
they thought they had discovered truer
Interpretation. 1t is evident that here is
the point which must be settled first, the
criterion of Interpretation. Until this is
settled, no progress whatever can be
made. No one ia an assembly of repre-
sentative men, such as We have 1mag-
inged, could possibly be accepted as
referee, whose decisions on disputed
points should be final; that would be
TO establish papacy with all the attrl-
butes of infallibility. It remains, how
somewhere sufficient to indicate TO US
what the teachings of Holy Scriptures
are in the things which concern the sal
Vation of the soul. The modern denoml-
nation is obliged to confess that it has
taken its Interpretation OF the truth OF
God from some Individual man, like CAL
vim, and it must admit that, however
able and deyout he was, the founders of
other sects which deny his doctrines were
equally learned and equally devout The
result is that in the long run there must
needs grow up lurking doubt whether
their own founder was more right than
others. In some such way as this, much
infdelity has arisen.p
1.-THE Bible and the church." says the
New York Ch1trchDlG7s, teach that hu-
man life, individual and social, is to be
led under the guidance of faith and con-
trolled by religious sanctions; the zelt-
geist of the nineteenth century wishes to
regard human life as directed by the
light of the reason, and as owning no
sanctions save those furnished by scien-
tific investigation. Each of these posi-
tiOns is Ineligible. but they are sep
arated by ohasIn that has never yet
been bridged, and will not be tomorrow,
or the day after. In an age like the pres
ent, when there is passion to find a ra-
tional explanation for everything and TO
blur deep distinctions by some cheap
and hasty synthesis,' it seems important
to put this matter plainly. Men and
women who wish to commit the keeping
of their souls to God under the teaching
of the church's faith must be prepared to
allege as grounds of conduct religious
sanctions which are foolishness' to So
ciety about them. To fall back upon
lower and insufficient motives as justify
ing their actions is weak and cowRrdly."
'If we would know whether men can
come 10 God except through Christ" says
the New York Outlook, eve must ask the
history of the world, the nations unto
whom there has been no Christ revela-
ton. Now, no nation has ever believed
in the Fatherhood of God except Chris
tian nation no religion has ever
woven on its banner the motto Father
hood of Cod except the Christian relig-