New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-03-03
TWO PIC1THES.

We desire f. present for consideration Two
pictures ~ contemporary religious life that are
iu., now sllhouotlcd before us. During tn" last
y..k = handsome aud stately church building
I'm West Fnurt,cnth.,t. was sold under the ham
NOR The parish whose place II worship II was
has occupied a position ~ Influence and respect
In The community Its clergy have been men
~ learning zeal and spiritual impulse. Its ser
vices especially during the last few years. nave
h..n frcuuent Its presentation OF Christian
doctrine has been clcar.cut and undilucd by
any or the numerous hazy views Of religion now
current. It's clergy have appealed 10 III" people
not as mere men. however brilliant ar dcv0ut
I'm, ~ yccgcrcnts of God and administrators
- divine and miraculous means Of grace. lis
farm of Worship has been married by none OF
,hosc lonscs from correct English and good
,osto NJ which the best of men are occasionally
entity. 1t employed liturgy. stately in It's
.ocrcd RHYTHM. weighted with the rapt devotion
of countless generations. unapproached ana I'M
,nnroochablc in It's limpid and domatc Eng
fish ana appealing in every line to the latent
splrit Of worship md reverence that lies deep
dawn IN every human heart. Nor did this parish
rest lis appeal only on its own corporate life ana
Character Behind il stood great historic
whose fixed doctrines and venerable traditions.
hiding themselves in the miStS of the first CHRIS
,ion centuries. were To 1t at once fonnt Of in
snration and source Of authority with such
,rourndous advantages and welding such pow
crs. could there b. any question that this parish
would succeed? Did it not rather seem a qucs-
,on how long 1t would be before all who lived
within It's area would listen to its message and
I'M Iyu, &, ron ri =
bcinc the case it's congregation has dwindled
70 q mere handful. Its old members have died
ar moved away; it has failed to gain new
membership ont OF the tccmins population by
which it is surrounded; and now its fine old
buildiny has been sold at auction. That is
picture number Cn"
The second picture may be seen on the same
block Of the same street, not a hundred yards
away Outwardly ii Is picture in stone, a
magnificent building nine or ten stories high:
but the real picture is limned In the work or
the great religious organization that Is erecting
It. Ii Is an organization that lays no claim to
the divine sanctions Of Il Church Ii has no ira
ditons linking it with the hoary past. 1t Is n
! thing OF today, created by a man still living,
| who was then an obscure reyivalist. 1t holds
10 exclusive divine commission other than that
which every Christian may claim; and It has
no priesthood with the power to open and close
the gates Of Heaven. Its worship has nothing
In 1t to appeal TO spiritual culture; and its ex-
borters are often as noteworthy for their MUIR
der of the English language as for their dcnun-
citation Of sin. They frequently transgress the
canons Of good taste in their methods and their
uttcranccs: and sometimes they have been guilty
of yuigarites that have shocked all revcrent
minds. This unique organization began and has
/ continued It's work among the lowly, the igno-
rant and the dcpravcd. When 1t started 1t had
| no money and no influence. 1t was greeted with
| tecrs. snccrs. rdcule. persecution ana violence.
| Great Journals denounced it; the pulpit solemnly
cursed II with bell and candle the comic week
lies lampooned It; the muslchall singers sang
coarse songs about 1t; and the masses stoned
| its members after which the Dogberrys Of the
law clappcd them In Jail But II went on its
| way. abating none Of It's strange zeal and dis
| carding none OF its crude methods. by all the
| rules Of the case. 1t ought to have died aborn-
| Ing. But II did not To-day 1t Is one Of the
| most powerful religious forces In the world and
here, In this city, within stones throw d~the
church that has just been sold at auction 1t Is