Birmingham state herald., 1896-10-25
RELIGIOUS OPINION.

bishop of New York on recent occasion,
 is a most Suggestive rite" says the New York Churchman P, E.). Tt teaches what fI6wadays people seem so slow to ls2rn, that there is a clear and distinct | difference between things sacred and pro- fane, and between what is secular and what is religious. A church duly conse- | crated is to be treated with reverence, be- | cause consecration means the separation 1 Of something for specific, and that the 1 highest, use. The material quality of I building is not altered by consecration, | but the purpose and use of 1t are solemn | ly devoted to the highest and holiest ends l The conservation of building means 1 that within that building there is to go on | not trade, but worship; not social talk but the praise of God; not the feast of 1 earthly hospitality, but the supper of the 1 Lord; not worldly intrigue, but prayer; not laughter, but silent meditation and communion, uttered or unuttered, with l God. A devout architect once remarked | that what produced reverence in Roman l Catholic churches was the Host in the | tabernacle and the lamp that burned be- I fore it. A much more pertinent and l evangelical reason why people should move softly and speak little, excepting | when addressing God, in consecrated l church, is because that house has been dedicated to particular purpose, and l that purpose the most solemn of all-the | practice of prayer, praise, spiritual in- l struction and the partaking in the sacra- ments of the gospel"
 "The decision of the pope with respect l to the validity of Anglican orders proba- | bly, brings to an end for this generation at | least the movement of the extreme sacer- 1 dotal party in the Church of England and l the Episcopal church of this country for reunion to the Church of Rome," says 1 the New York Observer Pres.). "The l indispensable preliminary to that reunion | was declared by the leaders of the move ment to be the recognition of the ordina- 1 tion of the Anglican clergy, which, of | course, involves the recognition of the Anglican communion as branch of the l church Catholic. That with many
 who have hoped for some compromise on 1 the part of the papacy by which reunion l to Rome might be brought about 1t will | end all further advances is probable l That it will increase the number of indi- vidual conversions to Rome is also prob I able. Many of the extreme ritualists l have shared in the movement in order to | find in a final and pefemptory authority | a relief from their own wavering judg- ment With such the pope's unhestating assertion of authority, his fearless de- mand for submission, will only increase admiration and attraction. But that the pontiff's decision will end all hope of the l submission of the English people to the papacy there is no doubt, even were 1t
 not prevented by their insularity."
 | lneSe ulSCONeTleS Ol dnClcIt iCCOido
 and life," says the Boston Congregation l alist "are the most valuable commentary l on the Old Testament ever written and
 many of them antedate the Old Testa- | ment. They illumine the divine purpose | as declared in the Biblical accounts of l the history of Israel. They remove diff l culties which have been great stumbling l blocks; and if they lead us, as they do, to l rearrange our chronologies and to change some of our methods of interpretation, l hot R,.,., ct trof fa a l eral historical accuracy of the Holy | Scriptures. That they should be brought | to light just at this period, when scien- | tific attachments have for the first time made them intelligible and taught us | their value, can but suggest the provl- | dential care of God over the word which | he has given to men. His truth written on buried walls and tablets, in the sacred | books of his chosen nation and in the | hearts of men, is the same truth through 1 all the ages, and its record in every place 1 bears witness to itself and to the mind | which gave it.
 "A good rule for the sturdy practical re- l former is, go for something you can get, | and then get what you go for" remarks
 the Christian Register Unit.) of Boston. l "The trouble with some reform move
 ments is that they aim to shoot too high, | and explode in the air, or choose too long l a range, and fall far short of the target. | l can be hit if there is powder enough be- l hind the ball, something that can be done | if there is strength put into the doing | these are necessary conditions of early l and fruitful success. In many so-called
 reform movements there is too much scat l tering of fire. This is true of the temper l ance movement Its workers are mot
 united. Some are working in one direc-
 ton and some in another. Some are de- pending largely upon political success,
 and are spending their time and efforts in working for utter impossibilities. For | instance, we have national prohibition l party which, apparently obHyious of all | other issues, is putting up candidates of l its own for the presidency, and urging l the country to accept them. Of course there is not the remotest shadow of | ghost of a chance of the election of the | prohibition candidate on national issue. | If the same amount of time, money and
 strength were put into securing local vic- | tories for prohibition or temperance,
 something practical might be accom- 1 plshed."
 "In one of his letters touching a very important event in his life, George Fox wrote: Wherefore I let the thing rest, | and went in the work and service or the l Lord There is deep and vital truth or
 practical living suggested by this frag- | ment of a sentence-a truth which, re- | ceived and acted upon, goes far to make | the mind calm the heart peaceful and
 the hands effective" observes the New | York Outlook. 'There are great many conscientious but anxious people who md themselves continually tempted to post | bone work until all questions can be set I tled who attempt, in a word to antici-
 pate the education of life by grasping at l the beginning those results which come | only at the end. For there are great many perplexing problems which can l never be thought out; they must be | worked out. The man or woman who l wants to settle them in advance will fail | alike of the settlement of the question 1 and the doing of the task It is through | the active putting forth of ones power | that light continually streams in on the 1 questions which concern what one ought | to do. In any education the understand l ing of the ultimate uses of things must | be postponed; those uses are revealed | only when the educational process hears | its close. This is pre-eminently true of
 the supreme educational process which | we call life. There are thousands of | r...-