The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-10-10

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as they refused to obey those who they
claimed had no authority to order the
ceremonies and vestments. We hold. as
they did, that any congregation OF belley-
ers may worship in any ritual 1t mas
profitable. But we hold that any congre-
CATION, whose spiritual instincts prefer
the simplest utterances of prayer and
song, is none the less entitled to equal
recognition in the Church of God.
s'We cannot assume the name OF Luther
or Calvin or Wesley. Great men were
these mighty men, and their life mas
been infused into the Christian Churcn,
and their teachings have added to the
great wealth of Christian thought. But
we look above them, to their Lord and
our Lord, and bow only to the name OF
Him who stitch upon the throne forever
and ever.
DIR. BRANDS PAPER.
A paper on sDoctrinal Preaching was
read by Rev. James Brand, D. D., pastor
of the First Congregational Church,
Oberlin, Ohio. He said that the news
paper editors not long ago criticized
preachers for not discussing anything
within eighteen hundred years of the
present date. Another fault found with
ministers was for discussing dead Phari-
sees while living ones were in the audi
ence
These remarks are based upon the idea
that preaching is not up to the time
The criticisms are not without force.
"Modernlty" is important The living
Pharisees are the men to go for.
Some of the most healthful and encour-
aging signs of spiritual life that have APP
peared since the days of the Apostles,
have appeared in the last few years. The
Christian church of today. with all it's
defects. is better than in the days Of the
| Apostles. Real preaching which has 'un-
Outstanding of the times,' is not losing
| it's power. There are, no doubt, literary
dyspeptics in the world of thought. who
are impatient with preaching about sin
and need, and, if to please them, man
aims simply at Hmodernity," or If he
breaches ssfor revenue only" he has
missed his calling.
This is also an age of growing doml-
nance of secular education, which directs
the attention of men from the phenomena
of moral liberty and responsibility, which
are found In mans moral nature alone.
This gives the mind a strong Materials
tic basis, fortif1es it against religious
truth, and thus deteriorates the funda-
mental moral sense, to which the Gospel
makes its appeal Besides this, the church
| life of today, including preachers them
selves, is marked by popular rather than
scientific materialism. The striving OF
the church for earthly competence, the
struggle for luxury and ease and social
advantage. the effort to avoid self denial
to wear soft raiment, to 1--we in sealed
houses, and to enjoy congenial SPIRITS,
has fearful hold upon orr Christian life
Of today.
The pendulum must swing back again
from an overwronght liberalism, toward
| those eternal serities of God nature and
government, which underlie and feed the
religious sentiment itself. :.
| The Christian doctrines which need
special emphasis in the preaching OF to-
day are:
| The nature and attributes of God.
| 2. The fact of the Divine government
The fear of the motive OF fear is one q the
weaknesses of modern preaching. 1t is
not the theory of atonement but the gov
ernmental necessity Of it to guilty man,
| that needs larger place in the message
of the pulpit.
| 8. Our times need those truths which
are fitted to awake and stimulate the con-
science, in addition to those which merely
appeal to the affections.
| 1. The present drift of religious
| thought needs more old fashioned preach
| ing on the nature and guilt OF SIM There
| is majesty decay of the senses Of the
guilt of sin in modern Christian ex-
perence. The preachers hardest duty has
always been to produce an adequate sense
of tho sinfulness Of sin and hence of the
\ need of atOnement.
Compare the preaching which involves
these solemn and mighty views OF God,
| of sin and of duty, with that easy-gOing
inciplent rationalism which is beginning
| to work today in almost all denomlna-
tlons and see which human nature needs.
The one encourages he pride OF intellect
| the other BUNDLES it in the dust. The
one says, what is called in is a misfor-
tune; the other, sit is exceeding sinful y
| The one says society must realize it's
hopes and its destiny in The line of mem
| tai development; the other says, they
must come in the line of supernatural
regeneration. The one tells me that /
must be trained; the other that must be
i forgiven. The verdict OF history is that
the result of the former will be cultured
selfishness, that of the latter. an unselfsh,
purified soul.
5. The most imperative duty of the pull
pit for our time is to aim at the spiritual
izing of Christian life. That, too, needs
doctrinal preaching. 1t is an open CUES
really Christian, whether while blessing
and saving many individuals in the
churches, our type of church life is not SO
far removed from Christ's ideal, as tic
fail in its effort to save the world.
The question which people are asking
and will ask more and more is. what is
the attitude of Christianity toward the
great historic, organized fashionable
wrongs of society. The pulpit must an.
swer that question with no uncertain
sound The preacher who does not see
and feel the awful shadow of our secular
lied civilization, who does not warn men
from God against the cruelty, the luxury,
the lust of great cities and great corpora
lions, the preacher who does not apply
Chrit' doctrine to human affair, who does
not set an example to the secular press
| ing official corruption, has no claims upon
the public ear. Any man who claims to
represent Jesus Christ must preach to
make the church missionary church;
He must have hand in the social and
| industrial struggles which are agonizins
both rich and poor in our time.
PROVISIONAL Committees RE-
PORT.
The report of the Provisional COMMITTEES
was presented 1t suggested that special
| oo,,, ", too I,o arpointod at this SasGiOn