The record-union., 1896-12-27
Expressions From Various Religious
Newspapers.
The Religious Thought Of the Day as
Expressed in the Sectarian
Press
Press.

Chicago, those who have been in dread
of it's encroachments in this country
may dismiss their fears. Rome array
ing itself in the garments of nationality
and patriotism, and cul1vating rela-
tions of sympathy with American ideas
and aspirations, might indeed make
some headway among our people, and
in time become a formidable power in
the land. But Rome, clinging to its old
foreign guise and aspect, and maintain
ing the character of an alien camp,
dominated by a foreign despotism,
among a people with whom it disdains
to come into congenial touch, can
arouse no reasonable apprehension.
Such a policy, if steadily pursued, can
only result in failure, for not only is it
incapable of conciliating the native
population, but it cannot maintain the
hold of the church upon the descendants
of it's own people as they become assim-
Hated to the environment Of their
adopted country"
THE truth is,' says the New York
observer Pres.), that the theology
needed to-day is one broad enough to
take in and unite in the synthesis of a
divine harmony the two great ideas of
la,w and love. No age can spare either
thought out of its philosophy. We can
not conceive of q 1awless any more than
we can of a loveless felicity. We are
willing to admit that the old orthodoxy
may have been in some of it's phases
somewhat over-elastic in temper and
terms. It is difficult for men to keep
rhe balance of any truths. But that
fact constitutes no real reason why the
present age should so far rebound from
that as to throw overheard all idea Of
larT and of retribution as a logical and
practical concomitant of law. And that
is not the truly liberal, but is really the
narrow theology which seeks to con-
Struct rs theodicy out of the single ele-
ment of benevolence, rather than out Of
the two associate facts of law and
love"
The unification of knowledge IS
something in the domain, not of politics
or sociology, but of speculation, which
Christianity has emphasized even from
the time of St Paul. ST. Paul believed
in a unity of knowledge in Christ" i"
says the New York "Churchman'' (P.
Ed. 1T is necessary for men clearly to
understand what is implied in this
statement. Herbert Spencer has re-
Gently completed a work Of ten vol
unes IN which his laborious genius has
attempted to construct a system of un-
versal knowledge. Theologians and
thinkers are indebted to Darwin's the
ory of evolution, from the fact that it
enables the mind to conceive more
clearly the creation of the world as a
.slpgle act on the part of the Creator.
The human imagery OF the inspired
writings takes new and living mean
ing when examined in the light of this
splendid intellectual discovery. But
the law of evolution, when employed by
Spencer as the hinge or rather the axis
On which his system of philosophy is
made to move, is found inadequate to
account for the whole phenomena of
human experience. Spencer ignores
such facts in human consciousness as
the sense of Gods existence, the senti-
ment Of Immortality, the passion fo1
duty. the moral intuitions Of mankind
He has not unified knowledge excepting
in accordance with the analogtes of ma
terialism. These analogies fail in the
domain of ethics and religion. In the
mere intellect OF man as biological In
vestigator there is no end found to the
battle between science and supernat-
uralisn. The reconciliation of these
two parallel activities Of man, the ra-
tional and the religious, can only be
found in the idea of God. who is the
Source and Author Of both"
we know that there is a tendency
TO ridicule men of one idea" says tht
New York Examiner" (Bapt.), "bu
this grows out of one-idea-ism being
pushed too far. until 1t has reached th'
bobby stage or lapses into mononania
But history and experience show tha
It is men Of intense and single purpose
men who say with Paul, This one thins
/ do who accomplish the work Of th'
world, amass wealth, attain to promi
nence in the professions, enlarge tn
boundaries of knowledge, and exten,
ard fortify the kingdom Of Christ upol
the earth. The pulpit of to-day need
TO learn this lesson. Instead Of follow
ing Paul's example, and knowing onl,
Christ and him crucified,' too man,
ministers are preaching almost every
thing but the Gospel. The result
empty churches, increased worldliness
languiShing missionary enterprises
growing disrespect for the preacher an
his vocation. The Gospel is as might
TO save as In Paul's day, and the worl
is now ready to receive the good new
OF salvation. # proclaimed with tn
earnestness and zeal of the great Apos
tie Just now there seems to be
widespread desire for a general reviva
movement In the churches, and tn
signs of hopefulness about it are III
emphasis put upon the Bible. and IN
disposition to return 10 the old metho
of preaching the Gospel. If the min
istry everywhere will make paufs dc
termination their own, we may hop
for an outpouring Of the Spirit like tina
of the Pentacostal day"
The distinction between revelatio
and inspiration is generally recog
r2ized. +" says the New York "ChrIstla
IntelHgencer' (Ref), and Is the mos
valuable in order TO the determinin
what the Bible is and how 1t is to be II
terpreted. Revelation has respect :
the matter or contents of Gods Wort
The author Of Il is the Divine Wor
himself. who completed in his own Ill
the revelation of God. which has bee
gradually and progressively unfoldin
through history. institutions and III
erature as embodied in the Old Testa
ment. Inspiration, however, has onl
10 do with the record OF this revelation
Men Of God wrote under the goidant
OF the Holy Spirit. who dynamican
and not mechanically Influenced thel
fr1 a should eyatar the record and II