The record-union., 1895-05-25

depend upon some perlshabl6 external
incident of religion rather than upon the
spiritual consciousness of mankind"
There is nothing more significant in
the world of thought, and particularly
the scientific thought of to-day, than the
waning of materialism," says the New
Y ork Christian I7itetligencer (Ref.). 'It
is indeed probable that nine-tenths OF the
men OF science to-day are evolutionists,
but not one-tenth are materialists. The
theory of evolution itself, as it has been
sitted and tested, has proved far less rev.
pulmonary than was expected. Darwin's
great law OF natural selection is found to
have only limited range of efficiency. 1t
does not account for, as he never, and
only few OF his disciples have claimed.
the origin of things, and SO far as estab-
llshed Is not an efficient cause in and of
Itself. but only possible and probable
method by which He still guides and con-
trolls the order of events. 1t Is most sig
nlncant that evolution to-day, as main
talned by its leading candidates, is a di-
Vlnely ordered, a theological development
ana not mater1aIlstlc and unlntelllgent
one. In short of late, the advance of
science has been almost entirely in this
direction-towardG God and the supremacy
OF tbs spiritual, and away from material
ism, and the doctrine that matter has in
1t the promise and potency of Ilfe.'"
"Why should any one, and especially
the Christian. care what becomes of the
mere clothing which the souls wears in
this lIfe?' asks the New York Observer
(Pres.). "All creeds, save the Moham
medan, accept the Pauline belief that
only the spirit will enter the other world,
the body that shall be- will be wholly
different from and impossible of identif
cation with the body that now is. 1t is
sown natural body, 1t is raised spirit
uaI BODY To believe that the frame
worn out with disease, with impaired
senses, or minus hand or a foot, shall
survive the resurrection, is to believe
that death, not God, is supreme. Our
Lord distinctly declares that our life in
heaven shall be that of the angels, and to
reach that happy state there must be the
transformation of the natural into the
spiritual body of which Paul spake. That
the atoms OF our heshly bodies shall be
collected III our resurrection body is as
unnecessary for our happiness or identity
as 1t Is unreasonable from what we know
OF physical law and what we understand
by personality. The atoms of our bodies
are constantly changing here, yet we do
not lose our Identity, and there is no rea-
son why we should lose it in the change
from mortality to Immortality"
On the subject of triennial assemblies
the New York Evangelist (Pres.) says !:
Progress, which is something quite in
dependent of management, declares for
economy in the courts of the church, as
IN all administration of church money
and affairs and also for the autonomy of
the synods as working bodies, reserving
the assem- mbly as a court of final appeal
1t begins to be manifest that the assem- bly,
may become burden not only on the
funds, but on the efficiency of the church.
As last court it begins to feel out for
power not delegated by the church, nor
invoked by the needs of the hour. The
final reputation of the scheme of assem-
bly, control is a judgment on two points
at once. 1t atfirms the safety of inde-
pendent local control of the seminaries.
and almost as directly rebukes the ag-
gresslon of the assembly. 1t is this
tendency to intermeddle and override
which the wise men in our church are
waking up to reprobate and to repress.
The cure is easy. the way is open. Put
the assembly where the constitution in
tended to keep it; make it simply a court
of last appeal and ultimate guardian of
vested interests; take it out of Church
politics at once and for ever, and we
shall be on the road to peace and pros
perity."