The record-union., 1896-03-29
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. "

dent +" saws the Living Church (P.
E) of Chicago, ''it has adopted the
theory called of late Poly -Churchism.
According to this theory, the church is
not Necessarily visible institution at
all. 1t may exhibit itself visibly IN or
through bodies which men may devise,
or in individuals not connected with any
visible body. The aggregate of all such
bodies and of such individuals is called
the church, or the Catholic Church.
The criterion is not any definite or
fixed features of organization; 1t is not
even a fixed faith. 1t is to be sought
in what any one may consider to be
the works of the spirit 1t is assumed
that wherever we see, or think we see,
the works of the spirit there is the
church. The more liberal thinkers,
pursuing this line still further, consider
that such works are to be seen in some,
at least of the religions commonly
called heather, and therefore that these
systems must be allowed to be part of
the church. The Independent would
not, we suppose, go quite so far; but
it must be difficult to draw the line.
Those who hold to the Catholic Church
of old history have never denied that
certain works of the Spirit are to be
church herself, but they have not on
that account thought themselves war
ranted in breaking down what they
have accepted as diyinely established
boundaries. The Spirit, it may be,
works far and wide outside the church,
and thus prepares the way for the ulti-
mate triumph of the church herself
The Independent objects to our defini-
of q 1t rccs
from the main body and therefore mo
longer a part Of it. A sect, it seems,
is rather to be defined as a section or
segment within the body, the sects
being visible, through the body as a
whole is invisible. There are few, if
any, necessary beliefs, and no essential
features of organization, no necessary
rites or sacraments of grace. The plat
form must be broad enough to hold the
Quakers and the Salvationists on the
one hand and the Roman Church on
the other''
"A vital difference between. gymnas-
tics and ascetics has been obscured in
our Bibles, with loss to Christian
thought and power says the New York
outlook" Gymnastics is exercise for
development. Ascetics is exercise foa,
repression. This difference appears in
comparing PauFs exnortation to Tim
othy, Exercise thyself unto Godliness.
and his 5declarat ttons before Felix, 4 ex-
ercise myself to- have a conscience void
OF offense.' In the former, PauPs Greek
word (gymnaZe) denotes gymnastic ex-
ercise; in the latter (asko), ascetic. That
Christian endeavor has been exercised
in repression rather than in develop
ment is significantly intimated by the
fact that ascetic is naturalfzed in our
religious vocabulary, while gymnastic
has no place therein. Christian moral
ity still runs largely on the negative
line of Judaic legalism, Thou shalt not
and but moderately on the positive line
Of the Beatitudes. A large part of
Christendom still emphasizes the an
nual religious revival called Lent, by
exercising itself in special abstinence
rather than by special insistence, such
as the fifty-eighth chapter of Isaiah re-
quires for the acceptable fast on
works of justice ana mercy. Here is
the cause of the moral weakness and
degeneration that afflict the churches
to-day. Much of their goodness is of
the ascetic rather than of the gymuas-
tic kind. It's type is in the negative
righteousness of the scribes and Phari-
sees, rather than in the positive right
eousness of Christ
1T is very doubtful whethersthe Gus
tom of observing Lent makes any pro-
gress in the United States" remarks
the Christian Register Onit.) of Bos-
ton THE Catholics, of course, observe
it in their usual way. But then, the
EathOlir are decidedly IN the minority
in this country. Among Protestants.
The Episcopalians are supposed to OBJ
serve it; but their observance in MANY
cases is simply a supposition It is to
their credit rather than otherwise that
they do not let it interfere with their ra-
tional pleasures, and that they can en-
joy an opera or a social festivity in Lent
as we'll as at any other time and are
not obliged to restrict their dietary.
The heroic example of certain young
ladies who resolve not to eat any candy
during Lent will probably not seriously
reduce the confectoners' sales during
the season. Other Protestants have
never believed in putting all their re-
pentanee into a single month in a year,
and those that do observe Lent observe
it in some more rational way"
About five years ago." says the New
York Evangelist" Pres), "the Rev.
DR.. Schauffler called attention to the
disproportionate growth of the Episco-
pal churches in New York City as COM
pared with other Protestants denom-
nations, and attributed it to the fact
that in al the larger churches of that
order the clerical working force had
been at least doubled. His figures car
ried the proof of his theory In the
twenty years from 1872 to 1891 the com
municants in that church had increased
from 1862 to 3S, T13. Twenty-Five
churches, with more than one clergy
man each. had grown from a member
ship of S,529 to 10, ,152, while ffty-five.
with only single minister had only in
creased from II, ,121 to 1864. The en-
tire Episcopal membership in 1895 was
1859. Now the growth of the Presbv-
.terian churches in the. city has been
only from 16039 in 1872 TO %. .S06. as
reported by last years minutes. There
has been no substantial gain since 1887.
while in Brooklyn, as shown in a late
number of the Evangelist, the de-
nomination actually lost numerical
strength during the last decade. The
inference is irresistible that the eccle-
siastical dissensions which have marked
this period in both cities have had an
untoward effect. But the question also
arises whether there is not need of
change in the methods which have pre-
vailed, both in church extension and in
parochial administration"
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