The record-union., 1895-03-30
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,

1.-TWO downtown churches in this city
are In danger of extinction" says the
New York Independent. zone of them
is the Episcopal Church of the Annuncia-
ton on West Fourteenth street; the other
is the Church of Sea and Land, Presby
terian, just off from Chatham Square.
These are two very interesting cases, and
Interesting in part because OF the protest
which is making against the action pro-
posed Beside these, the Scotch Presby-
terian Church on Fourteenth street, |
which moved up town some time since.
has decided to sell out its old property. |
Is church to be given up when
1t ceases to pay expenses? Is it right for |
great denomination like the Episcopal |
or the Presbyterian to strengthen its |
churches among rich people and let its
churches among poor people die? ls that
accOrdIng TO the Gospel of Jesus Christ? |
we are told that the people in the neigh |
borhoOd are not Presbyterians or Episco-
palians. Very likely. But they are hu- !
man beings; they are sinners, and they
need the Gospel, and it is to human be- |
lngs and to sinners that the Gospel should
be sent. We are told that around the
Church of Sea and Land there is a great
The first converts to the Christian Church
were Jews, and Christianity should be
preached in an honest, persuasive way to
Jews and to Chinese, to Americans and
Germans and Poles and Hungarians and
Russians, TO Greeks and barbarians.
This is the very class that needs the Cos
pei, We can give up churches among
some people, and they Will not so greatly
miss them. They have carriages and can
afford to travel little further for their
worship. But the one class that should
have the Gospel brought close to them is
just the class from which these two
churches are running away. Such con-
duet is faithless, is unchristian, is cow
grdly."
The New York Christina Outlook says
that Men as well as women will give
literally of time, strength and money to
build hospitals, orphan aSylumS, homes
for the destitute; Will grow fearful over
the sorrow of tenement-house children,
eloquent in pleading for the reliefs that
appeal most TO them; will urge the need
OF fresh air homes in summer, while the
money which they propose 10 give may
be drawn from the very source of crime |
disease and death-the tenement-house of
to-day. The same energy applied to the
care OF their own tenement-house prop
erty; the same Intelligence devoted to the
problems OF the children at the source Of
their misery; the same inventiveness
used TO devise means OF securing free and
plentiful light, air and water in the
homes OF the Children, and the same gen.
erOslty exercised in keeping tenement
house property in repair, would reduce
the sum total OF human misery, and in
crease many fold the sum total of human
happiness. 1t Is the misappiication of
money and energy that wastes the worlds
productive forces, that saps life of pleas
ure and prevents the growth of souls
a rE in
stead of applying salve on it's surface, we
shah relieve the burdens of the Door by
dealing justly with them. When the
owners OF tenement-hOuse property will
accept as lair return on their invest
ment the legal rate Of interest, and eX-
pend all over and above that in main
tanning baths for the use of their tenants,
IN wages to responsible women to care
Tor the hOuses-sUch can be found-and /
IN keeping the houses up TO the standard
set by law, they will realize that they are
reducing the tendency to vice and dis
ease, and fighting pauperism at it's roots"
"How hard 1t is" says the Christial,
Register (Unit) OF Boston, Ito drive
away the bugaDoos of superstition. espe-
cIally when ministers use them TO frIghIen
their congregations! one would suppose
that the theO- ogIcal superstition that the
application OF w&ter IS necessary to save a
soul from fire ught 10 be as dead as a
mummy by this time The doctrine of /
infant damnauOn, though it still exists /
in the creeds, Is believed by very few in |
these days. But II comes up now and /
then, as 1t did recently in a village in
which a child was taken suddenly and |
dangerously sick. 1t had never been /
baptized, and the parents were afraid (
that 1t would die before the rite could be /
administered. a messenger was sent for /
a minister who lived near by; but when !
he reached the house he found that both I
OF the parents were unbaptiZed or were /
not protesting Christians, and the laws !
OF his church forbade him to baptize the |
child under such circumstances. But, /
being merciful disposition, he uumerci- /
fully walked up another minister at the |
dead Of night and asked him to adminis-
ter the rite. Minister No. could not |
at first understand why he should be
reused IN his slumbers for this purpose
when minister No. l might have con-
Quoted the rite. But, belonging to a
church which was willing to baptize the
children Of unbelievers, he heard the ex-
PLANTATION, and graciously went to the
house, and. by putting on little water
on the brow Of the child, saved it from
hell and the wrath of God! Verify,
there is still need Of Outstanding our
Christianity"
THE lesson of current ministerial and
lay Scandals" says the New York Chris
ttUg AdUocate (Aleth.), sis that the abdi-
cation OF the power Of discipline in the
churches, both in respect to the Iaity and
clergy, is bringing forth thistles. Peace,
peacen have the churches cried. and
there is no peace Popular ministers
pass on uncriticised and unInvestigated,
though the air is thick with rumors.
Laymen commute for the absence Of good
deeds, and even for the presence of bad
deeds, in their daily lives, by large con-
trIbuuOns or personal atfability and social
position. A few weeks ago d man high
III the church, closely connected with all
OF Its benevolent operations, was found to
be a deiaulter. He had robbed widows
and orphans for years, had absolutely
broken up one bank and paralyZed an
other, and then he shot himself. His
former pastor returned to the city where
these deeds occurred publicly spoke Of
his magnanimity and lioerality, and init
mated that his tragic death eXpiated
his possible mistake 1t requires moral
courage TO enforce discipline. The alb
sence of 1t debilitates the church and
causes more unbelief than the attacks of
lnhuels; indeed, il is the chief weapon of
popular intidelity, which, from the great
number of inconsistent Christians, iniers
the delusIon, inconsistency, or hypocrisy
OF all. The time IS come tor judgment TO
begin at the house of Cod"
Speaking of Mr.. Balfour's book on
The foundations of Belief" the IVatch-
man tBapLl OF Boston says: 1--WE have
long believed that the tendency OF the
pest modern thought was toward Chris
Llah tnelsm. We have seen no weghtier
cohhrmatlon OF this opinion than the
fact that MIR, Balfour, whose great INTEL
Iectual power has put him so In the front