The herald., 1895-11-10

mind and With all thy strength" and
"Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy
SELF" Hating long prayers, He gave by
way Of example little one VIII On was
stable for all mankind, whom its first
two words knit into uni versal brother
who had great possessions and who had
kept the com msndments OF Moses from
his youth lie said: lone thing thou
lackest; go thy way; soil Whatsoever thou
hast and give TO the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven."
The Christian religion, then, is the
bond OF brothe rh God VIII Ich binds man to
man In Christliks forgiveness and living
kindness. 1t deman 10 no ceremonies. no
consecrated buildings with long-drawn
aisles and fretted roofs, no wiite-roped
hierophants or black-stoled priests. no
incense, sacrifices nor courtly music. no
stereotyped prayers nor formal faith.
The sunny hillside or . shady garden. an
inner room OF the open street, palace or
dungeon, wherever tW0 or three OF His
disoiple are gathered together, there 10 o
Christisn church. Its brsviary Is the
human heart; its sole doctrine, spontane
GUS love OF all God 8 creatures and amel-
ioration of sorrow, suffering and ignor-
ance wherever We meet them.
| Is this our relieion2 Are we ChristiansP
| Are the solemn mummeries which so
many millions of us 60 through In set
places, at set times in the week, the ex.
! ercise Of true religionf Do We worship
/ our Maker with our hearts or with our
| lIpsY And do we believe that al APP
| proach to Him is mockery unless we
have first forgiven everyone that has tres
passed against us2
So far from being Christians, are We
even P'otestants? Have we not renowned
one infalliblity for anotherP And what
| does 1t matter whether We call 1T pope or
creed; whether it be a buck written BY
mau or q man who may write book. II
we set up for ourselves nh inhexible
standard by which every mind must be
measured under pain of anathsma? The
bed OF the robber Procrustes was an in
nocsnt device to this diabolical engine Of
mental and social prescription.
Could the Son OF Mary come among us
today and resume His earthly work where
He left off. we should consiRn Him to the
workhouse. or the vagrant ward. or worse.
He would be surprised to learn that We
are HIS followers, calling ourselves by
cepts. Surely He would disavow us.
! Possibly He would say, rs of old, 'Ye
cannot serve God and Mammun.
That old Syrian demon Of riches 10 I'M
oubtedly he whom we serve. We are
proud of our God. We sacrifice to Him
abstain he Is counted fool. We give 70
this MANN our energies, our hearts,
our very lives. Go through our factories,
| our workshops and mines. See men. wO-
men and children toiling in every form.
early and late. Note their worn, drawn
faces and deformed figures. They are
working honestly fol- pittance. fos
bread, but who sets them on2 VINO sweat
them, racks them, brushes them, so that
they are always lowering between want
and despair? Mamnon. Greedy capt.
talists, large and small-and 80 many are
greedy -demand great gains. And to
satisfy this demand, even our young
girls have to wear out their youth in
over-exertion. Consideration is seldom
shown. Our workers have not only TO
| com pete with each other, but all Europe
] is permitted to cast its paupers and re-.
fuse population no our shores, TO the fur
thef impoverishment Of our own poor.
4 but II the vulgar laymen. intent on
Ling speedily rich. adore mammon,
surely our church, our Protestant Cnris-
tian church, exercises him from her
midst. Does she? Are not fat livings
schemed and bareained for as diligently
a. the proverbial PLUM" Is nor rank
simcnv practiced and the "cure OF souls"
bought and sold like any commodity in
market overt? And what would the meek
and lowly Jesus say ii be saw bis pro-
fessed SUCCESSORS dressed in purple an
fine linen, faring sumptuously every day
and rolling in gay chariots to magnih.
cent temples. Astounding in luxury and
wealth, and not Lazarus presentP
! This demon has made the civilized