The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-06-16
Some of the Demands Made Of
the Pulpit.
ATTITUDE OF MODERN THOUGHT
United States Army Officer Has
Somewhat to Say of Both
Church and Laity.
By CHARLES william Larned. U. s. A.

Unuer the Impulse Ol u STOnB ulSsent,
l wrote some words OF protest against
the conclusions OF a magazine article
which undertook to hold the pulpit re-
sponsible for the truancy Of the modern
young man, and to condone his absence
from his church on the plea that his
tastes and wishes were not sufficiently
catered to by the average pastor. The
article In controversy appears to have at
tracted considerable attenuon, and l am
led to believe from my letters and some
later papers in The Churchman that my
protest finds an echo Of approval In
various quarters. judge the topic to ba
o live and somewhat sensitive one, with
a good many last words still unslid and
differences of opinion yet unreconciled.
These differences represent two widely
separated views Of the office OF the church
In Its relations to Its members; whereas
there Is little conflict ds to the young
man, his rdoings, sayings and grievances.
He Is a constant quantity in the conten-
tion, bnt the extent Of his claims and the
amount of his just dues from that hard
pressed and coldy patronized superstl.
ton, the church, are very much In issue.
The assumption that he has rights and
claims which, II not acceded to, render
the church liable TO the penalty of his
dlspeasure and withdrawal, constitutes
one of the positions; the assertion that
he has no inherent rights whatever, and
that 1t is both his duty and privilege TO
range himself under the banner Of his
church under penalty of forfeiture OF
membership and at the peril of his soul,
is another, and believe the true one.
1t is at the issue here existing that
my rather badly aimed fire was directed,
and l feel constrained by various mis-
apprehensions revealed in the correspond
ence 1t has occasioned to correct my
sights somewhat and concentrate my at
tack. The question, as l define 1t, is
simply this: Is the house of God a
temple or debating club? II the former,
the young man has no ground Of excuse
for his truancy In any personal deficiency
of the priest or minister; II the latter,
he is quite right in being as exacting as
his intellectual tastes or preJudices de-
mand. 1t seems to me this question Is
vital, not only In this particular dispute,
but to the very existence of the church
as an organic body. Was there estab-
llshed nineteen hundred years ago, by
certain Jesus 70 Nazareth, a supreme re-
ligion Of truth, or philosophic cult
whose theories Of the soul, present and
future, were to be gradually perfected by
skilful dialectic in a perpetual academy?
IL 1t was a religion, 1t carries with 1t
worship; worship carries with 1t organic
alton and concert; organized worship
makes an organic church, and carries
with it the young man, the old man, and
the child, as matter of duty and not
of taste; as a matter OF necessity, and not
of coaxing. IL the nominaily Christian
young man will define his view of the
church, one will know better how to an
swer his complaints regarding tne pulpit,
The attitude of modern tree thought
coward Christlanity is quite frank and
brutal and is expressed somewhat after
this fashion:
You are mostly, If not wholly, an ex-
posed superstition, welded to very ad-
mlrablS ethical philosophy. If l accept
You at all, you must get up to the Level
of modern thought and accept modern
conditions. You must stop 'goody goody
and preach practical business sense"
The demand of the young man for a
positive" and not a negative religion"
with a live, up-to-date clergy, is a reflex
of this opinion. He defines the kind II
Christianity he wants expounded under
psnalty of his severance II 1t fails to
please his taste or his humor.
What community will justify q deserter
who abdndons his flag because his cap
tain or lieutenant Is not to his taste?
Must he not at all hazards stand to his
colors, answer "here" at roll calls, and
put shoulder to shoulder with his COM
rades in the fight? If he has grievance
against his officers there are proper ways
for their consideration and remedy, but II
is not desertion. The man who shirks
and deserts under such pretexts has
treason in his heart, and has already
more than half gone over to the enemy.
But as laic l also have somewhat
against some of the clergy, for 1t Is
they who are largely responsible for this
plea of the recalcitrant. They are the
ones who have done what no officer in
battle can do for an instant without
fatally impairlng his authority. and the
integrity Of his cause and inviting
mutiny-they have argued with their men;
disputed with them the validity of their
orders; debated with them In ranks and
under fire in the very citadel of the fort
as to the truth Of their cause, the author
ity Of the Commander-in-chief, the mean
ing Of His orders; they have questioned
the condition under which they wear their
own uniforms and shoulder straps, until
not a few are privately interpreting and
pettifogging their oaths OF allegiance.
They are conforming to a modernized
Christianity, to critical and progress
sive" faith, called broad" as a euphem,
ism for shallow, and they are also be-
traying their trust in exact proportion to
such conformity.
venture to say that what the young
man Of today wants more than anything
elss in the world is the spectacle of mag
nifcent conviction-the glowing fire Of a
faith that lives, and speaks and does
Christianity as the one and only supreme,
inclusive and overwhelming fact Of life,
and does not hang with trembling ex-
pectancy upon the verdict OF the philoso-
ply OF doubt. 1t matters little what gift
the preacher has II he has not this; and
II he possesses this he will not lack for a
following of men, young and old. The
age is sick with doubt. Men parade II,
affect II, believe in II even; but they do
not like 1t. They love those who have
II not, and will flock after the man Of
positive conviction with eagerness and
content. But the bell-wether must not
argue; he must lead. If he hesitates the
herd will trample him. The one para
mount, indispensable attribute OF a leader
Of men is-conviction In his cause, good
or bad; or, at least, the persuasion of his
followers that he possesses It, When he
sits down to argue his own conviction,
and theirs he is lost, and the cause as
well, so far as they are concerned
But on the other hand, what wearies
me exceedingly, as contemplate my own
past ana the attitude OF he reluctant
young manhood OF today. is the whine
about lack Of sympathetic handling and
coaxing on the part Of the church, and
and the consequent sulking and abandon
ment. Christianity is at every mans
hand in Christian lands to take or to
leave. It is no new thing. II is no
esoteric cult. 1t owes nothing to man.
He owes everything to IT, He decides at
his own peril, and once decided, he can
not shift the responsibility on TO the
shoulders Of another Young men driven
from the church by unsympathetic