The record-union., 1896-03-07
IN RELIGIONS REALM
Expressions From Various Religious
Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day as
Expressed in the sectarian Press
Some Matters of Interest to Both
Ministers and Laymen.

Ministers and Laymen.
''Fxtrayagant and reckless words,
which are calculated to stir up strife
and even war between nations, are only
a particular case" says the New York
.'Churchman'' P. E), 'of that uni
versal immoderateness which is be-
coming more and more characteristic
of modern society, especially in Eng
land and the United States. The news
papers, with very few exceptions, seem
incapable of telling a straight story.
Nobody can break his neck by accl-
dentally falling out of window; he is
dashed to DEATH There are no simple
fires, but fire-fiends play mad pranks
and make tinder Of whole blocks OF PAL
aces If a 'ritualist church is
to be consecrated, or if there is to be
service on a saints day, the whole pusl-
ness will be caricatured or gloritied, as
the case may be- The clergy, strange
to say, will wear surplices. All sorts
of things will be described which were
visible to no mortal eye but the re-
porter's On one occasion, a few years
ago, worship was offered to two images
of angels in the chancel of Trinity
Church All this, of course, is impu-
dent mendacity; but habitual lying
makes liars Truth loses it's beauty
and its worth. There must be some
standard measure, or how can any
length or capacity be tested? Indeed,
there is scarcely any duty just now
more imperative than the duty urged
by ST. Paul, Let your moderation be
known unto all men, This should be
urged even upon children in the very
nursery. 1t should be urged upon cler-
gymen in their sermons, upon revival
lists and missioners. 1t should be urged
upon the people who think they are
poets, and write what they call 'odes'
on sundry occasions. Keep thy tongue
from evil, and thy lips that they speak
no guile People who make wild and
reckless statements should promptly be
brought to book. 1t is not only inn
moral, it is bad FORM to make random
assertions that cannot be verified. 1t
should be understood that immoderate
people are vulgar and ill-bred as well
as wicked and untruthful."
seThe influence of the churches is not
Insignificant" says the New York Out
look "A certain glamor surrounds
the preachers of the past: the pulpit and
the church are supposed to have lost
their power; but this is not true. Even
the revival meetings of Whitefield, Fin
ney and Lyman Beecher were not so
largely attended nor accompanied by
such significant results as those OF
Dwight L. Moody and B. Fay Mills.
Why do not young men attend the
church? the newspapers are asking.
The answer is, more young men attend
the church than ever before. The mem
bership roll of the Young Mems Chris
tian Associations, the Young Peoples
Societies of Christian Endeavor and the
Epworth League attest the truth of
this statement. The preaching OF the
present is more practical, has more to
Go with actual life, concerns itself more
with business, with politics, with the
household. with the life that now is,
with the kingdom of God on the earth,
than preaching ever old before. The
churches are not all they ought to be,
but they are more schools of virtue and
less schools of theology, more working
forces and less social clubs, more ag-
gressive, more forth-putting, with a
greater variety of enterprises, philan-
thropic and Christian, than ever in the
past history of the nation. We have not
been accustomed to think of the pawn
brokers shop as a Christian or even as
a. philanthropic institution, but it has
been consecraJted to the service OF hu-
manity through the inspiring instru-
mentality of one great church IN New
York. The churches, too, are the reser-
voirs of the best moral sentiment
When lately the note of war was sound
ed from Washington, and echoed
throughout the country from ocean to
ocean and from lake TO gulf, it was not
craftsmanship, nor journalism, nor
commercial interest that first cried halt;
it was the Christian ministry of Amer
4ca, speaking in every city, East and
West, North and South, without agree
ment. without mutual understanding,
that bade the Nation pause and solve
this problem by reasonable and ami
cable measures"
1--WE will not now criticise the systems
around US, the revivals, union meet
ings, weeks of prayer, etc. Those who
use them are at least consistent re-
marks the Living Church" (P. Ed of
Chicago land earnest churchmen be-
lieve they have "a more excellent way
There are good works prepared for
them to do, good ways marked out for
them to walk in. Lent is one of them,
and a very important one. We do well,
we believe, to leave the others undone;
but what if we leave this undone also?
The neglect Of Lenten duties, Lenten
discipline, Lenten devotions, is not only
disloyalty to the church, but practical
denial of the supremacy of Christ's
claim. The uninterrupted following of
the business and pleasures of this. life,
even with moderation and temperance,
forbids the entire conservation of
heart and mind and soul and strength
TO God 1t is a need of the soul that
these absorbing interests of the world
that now is should be subordinafed at