The record-union., 1896-08-02
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions From Various Religious
Newspapers.
The Religious Thought Of the Day as
Expressed in the Sectarian
Press.

WIllIlk lIldl dll the recent ldlk tlOT IL Ildo
been nothing else) about reunion with
Rome has been utterly thrown away, y,
says the New York "Churchman' P.
Ed. 1--WE cannot deny that good deal
Of this talk has been kindly and friend
ly. The English Joseph and his long
estranged and unkind italian brethren
have, at any rate, talked together.
People can seldom talk together with
out some sort of an understanding be-
ing the outcome. There are two classes
of difficulty lying at the root of all
polemical and ecclesiastical estrange-
ment. There are moral as we'll as in
Iellecutal obstacles to the reunion of
Christendom or Of amy divided parts of
1T. The kindliness of Leo XIII, the
fearless honesty and candor of Vaughan
on the one side, and ON the other the
generosity of Professor Sunday, and the
deferentia1 lowliness toward the Pope,
which vague hopes and hazy theories
have put into the heart of such church
men as Halifax, Puller, and Spottis-
woode, are things much better than
hatred malice, and all uncharitable-
ness
THE text of the papa1 encyclical is
now before u.s. says the Christian
Register CUnit) of Boston, land, with
out doubt, it replies, and replies un-
equivocally, to the suggestions of Mr..
Gladstone looking towards the possible
recognition by the head of the Catholic
Church of the validity of orders in
the Anglican Church. The Pope does
not see it in that light. In his view
the shadows fall altogether the other
way. The sole point of agreement ap-
pears to be in the recognition of the
desirability of union, believing, as do
both Catholics and Anglicans, that he
who founded the Christian Church
wished it to be one, his mission being
to save the whole human race without
distinction of creed or nationality, place
or time. There has naturally been
much comment upon the wisdom of Mr..
Gladstone opening the subject by COM
municatfon with the Pope at all, the in
evitableness of the papal attitude being
so apparently assured; and the Irish
Catholic" even goes so far as to declare
ats opinion that Mr.. Gladstone, with
deep diplomatic foresight, forced the
question, with the expectation of using
the reply of the Holy See as the ground
work of am aggressive attack upon
i the Protestant and anti-papal party to
an extraordinary activity, while the re
sponsibility for such an agitation will
row be put upon the Pope himself. We
do not however, for moment allow
ourselves to believe that Mr. Gladstone
was prompted by any such ulterior mo-
tives."
nf ho ID
says the "Watchman" Bapt) of Boston,
from which certain types of Protest
antism have not yet freed themselves.
is the belief that there resides in the
Christian sacraments a virtue that is in
dependent of the disposition Of those
who receive them. The idea of baptismal
regeneration grounds itself in this error
Now L know said Micah, that the
Lord win do me good seeing I have
Levite to be my priest Micah thought
that if he had the symbol he had the
reality; just as multitudes of men think
that if they are baptized or receive the
communion somehow they stand in
different relationship to God; as if there
were some magical efficacy in the sac
Taments independently Of their own vo-
lition. Historically it was in this su-
that the practice of infant baptism took
its rise. This story of the ark illustrates
the truth, symbols confer no grace 1t
was not simply the presence of the ark
in place that brought blessing, but the
response of the people to the truths the
ark symbolized. Repentance and faith
may make baptism and the Lords Sup
per mean much, but without those dis
rucifionS nf the heart fhpv Y>a a ccIa,,,y,
mockery.'
"A man cannot close his eyes to all
the evil in the world of thought" says
the New York observer Pres). But
it could be wished that the evil of agnos-
tic or monotheistic teaching were less
insidious. that it was bolder, more bru-
tai, more dogmatic. The spear where
with our Lord was pierced may have
been blunt of edge and the nails large
and duh, but these modern crucifers of
His blessed self employ more delicate in
struments. Much in modern literature
passes even for distinctively Christian
thought which is in reality pagan in
its aims and influence. The mind is be-
fogged. Of course there is a Christ
but he grows dim. He becomes more
and more a mere figure-picturesque
poetic inspiration. but still negative
as regards his appeal to the worlds
adoration and obedience There is a
kind of hazy, doubling devotion which
does not see the wound prints and does
not realize that the sins of a wicked
world have placed them there. To such
he is a type of Jewish persecution, just
rs Socrates was of the intolerance and
Childish supiciousness of the Athenians
Iut our Lord did not come into this
world merely to make an ayatar. He
cid not come into this world as an his
tCrical companion piece to Buddha or
Mchammed. He came from the throne
Of eternity to save a lost race and to
spread before hungry humanity the
heavenly mamma"
This phrase (glimmerlng of a future
life) has lately been applied by a scien-
tific investigator of great ability, in the
title of a widely read article, TO certain
cases of alleged communication from
departed spirits. The phrase seems to
imply that If such evidence could be
made less glimmering, the future life
would be luminously proved. In our
View" says the New York Outlook" !"
''thIs is utterly fallaeious. The future
life is already certified by evidence of
rational and moral kind with as much
adequacy as the scientific doctrines of
gravitation and evolution. The current
skepticism about Immortality is quite
at fault i'm faupyinp that any kind IF