The herald., 1895-04-29

After preliminary remarks touching the
attitude of the church to organized labor,
the speaker said. in part:
1t is not true that the labor movement
is esthetic in tendency, but is towards
the end found in the teachings of Jesus
the real Jesus. | was il Montreal few
months ago, where but recently large
numbers of men had been engaged in wide
spread strikes. Speaking to one of the
leaders, who was very religiously inclined
| said to him Let us see what Jesus
taught and after going over the subject
with him he turned to his followers and
said, Yes boys. Jesus is all right.
We must apply the seromn on the mount
to the social and labor problems OF the
day. The church does not. generally
speaking, trust the working man and the
working men do not trust Athe cnucrh.
Why is this? Where has the. church been
at fault? First. the church through
the last four centuries-and espe-
cially during the last two centuries-has
laid too much stress upon opinion rather
than upon character. Too much empha-
sis has been placed upon religion and not
nearly enough upon righteousness. | know
of no morality that is not good religion
but know of great deal of religion
that is not morality. The end OF religion
is righteousness.
When mans interest in God is a reflex
only of his own wants. that man is
damned-and as this was uttered the
speakers white, shapely, clenched hand
came in force down upon the desk in
front of him. This being religious simply
to get on in the world. or to escape the
inconvenience or torture of the next, will
never save man. Why, the devil can
practice that art-the devil can assume a
pious spirit in order to gain a selfish
end, but he is the devil still. a..
& The Sermon on the Mount was as truly
a political document for the benefit of
mankind as was the Declaration of indie
pendence, or as was the Magma Charta
wrested from King John at Runneymede.
Again. the church is wrong in teaching
so much the beauties of a life beyond
in not applying itself more to questions
that concern us here. 1t greves me to
have to point out errors of the church.
The ancient Egyptian religion. the old
Buddhist doctrines and the Greek my
thologes all made the same errors-the
life after death-and refraining from at
tempting the solution of vexed questions
among mortals. Christianity came to us
with programme which proposed to set
this world right, and therein lies its supe-
rority over the old religions. The latter
had their fatal defects. but Christianity
came with a message to the living. Ii
came to set this everyday, busy world
Iight-thc world in which we live. But
the church has been existing altogether
too much as an end to be attained after
death.
Christianity was not sent to us as an
ark in which we might ride in saftey
out of the world. This conception OF
Christianity is false. Christianity wss
sent to make this Christian world in its
widest sense.
The speaker then spoke OF beggarly
gift to school by a multi millionaire
and impressively added: But there is a
God. living God who will right these
wrongs.
The nations of the earth are being sha
ken to their very foundations and societ,
pursues the mad whirl of sensual pleas.
ure and yet the church is silent instead
OF, as was intended. trying to build III
the kingdom of God. The archbishop Of
Canterbury recently said that if the teach
ings of Jesus were put into practice the
social structure would be overturned
Then it is time that society was over
turned
Now then, the world has never been
saved by men who attempted to save
from the outside. The work must be done
on earth and among mortas. This is
why God sent His Son down into the
world and among the people. to work on
a salvation of mankind. If the church is
wrong what are you doing to make il
right? You have no right to denounce thu
wrong unless you get in and try t.