Birmingham state herald. (Birmingham, Ala.) 1895-1897, 1896-05-10
OUR SOCIAL WORLD

tAll items of social interest will be gladly
noted in these columns if sent to Mrs
George G. Ball. Nineteenth street, between
Tenth and Eleventh avenues. South High
lands. Telephone 9SS)
The assembling of the general confer
ence of the Northern Methodist church
at Cleveland with its delegates, which
run up into the thousands, and of the
Southern Baptist convention at Chatta-
nooga with it's hundreds of delegates,
brings daily before the attention of news
paper readers the question of the reli-
gious condition of the American people
and the progress Of religious thought
with all classes of the nation. The South
ern Baptist convention has just begun its
labors, but its sessions will in all proba-
bility be marked by the same fraternal
feeling and the same desire for the gen.
eral good which have dominated previous
conventions of the Baptist church.
The Northern Methodist conference
has been, on occasions, stormy gather
dng, especially whenever Banquo's ghost,
dn the form of the woman question:"
refuses to be downed by violent and vi
Imperative opposition. Four women dele
gates seem to have created more excite
ment and brought to the surface more
dreds of representative churchmen than
would have been considered possible sew
eral weeks ago. The scene described a
few days since in the telegra phic dis
patches when the matter of admitting
the women representatives was again
mooted would have been considered dis
reputable even in an unruly political con-
vention, with warning factions striving
for ascendancy The right and wrong of
the matter need not be discussed by us,
n this Il iS
to more than refer to the simple justice
due to the women of the church; but
everyone who is an unprejudiced observ-
er of the turmoil and excitement incident
TO these discussions must be surprised
that Christian men-ministers and lay
men-can become such partiSans and ex-
hibit such violent temper that they dam
age the cause of Christianity far more
by their lack of Self-control than the adj
mission of any number of women dele
gates could demoralize the workings of
the conference.
In this commonsenscal century, when
the world is thinking for itself and has
set a high standard of excellence as the
criterion by which Christians shall be
judged, the people are growing better
and purer. The civilization of the pres
ent demands honesty of purpose, honesty
of living, and requires that he who
breaches a doctrine shall be a living ex-
ponent of his teachings. The blind fat
in the office man may hold is relegate(
to an earlier and darker time, and no
man can expect to receive the honor and
respect due his official position unless he
fufillS the requirements of his office.
The world demands that what a man
teaches he must eXemplify not in one
small particular, not in the keeping of
one or two scriptural njunctions-whieh
in all probability are in accord with his
natural disposition-but he must make
all the sacrifices hear all the burdens
exhibit the neVer-ceasing activity and
energy of St. Paul in the perform
ance of his Christian duties or his
preaching and teaching are vain and
are but as sounding brass and tinkling
cymbal." The world has grown too old
and too wise to be satisfied with words
and sentences, whether they are startling
propositions or mere platitudes that
weary the flesh. This Is an era of action,
not inertia, of living as well as talking,
and no man can preach a sermon-even
though he possesses the tongue of an an
gel-half so powerful for good as his
own daily walk in and out the devious
paths Of life will prove. 1t is worse than
useless to struggle against the demands
of the times in which we live there is
no reason that we should desire SO to do,
for at no period of the worlds history
was genuine religion more highly es-
teemed and the true, honest, manly, self
sacrificing Christian more honored than
just now. The people of all classes,
creeds and conditions are anxious to
show every mark of respect for man
whose life is in full keeping with the
doctrines of the entire gospel, and who
conscientiously performs the sacred
VOWS he has assumed, regardless of per-
sonal sacrifice. And the judgment rem
dered by an unprecedented world Is gen.
orally in accord with a mans life and not
his words.
The constantly increasing tendency on
the part of the public towards a thorough
appreciation of true goodness is one of
the best indications of our times, and
suggests more than anything else the
growth of Christian sentiment. The peo-
pie are ready, yea ripe, for Christianity
In all parts of the civilized globe, and ii
is great pity that the cause of the gos-
pei should sometimes be handicapped by
the failure on the part of few men to
realize the demand made upon them by
a discerning public to be ever and al
ways the daily opponents of the teach
ings of Christ.
If there is one thing that has brought
the people at large to the present condi-
ton of mind regarding the Christian re-
ligion it is the noble, upright, beautiful,
self sacrificing lives of the very large
majority of the preachers of today. Liv-
ing as they do with the white light of
investigation beating upon them con-
stantly, they stand forth without re-
proach; human, yet self-subduing, and
furnish such manly. honest examples of
Christianity that the worldliest man
honors them for their purity, and is anx-
ious to emulate their splendid virtues
Religious sentiment is growing stronger
every day. and the daily lives of the
preachers of the gospel-with a few ex-
oeptions-ale incentives to greater
growth. They exemplify-with few ex-
ceptions-the teaching of Christ, and in
crease the faith of men and women in
the virtue of the doctrines they preach
When the world decides that man is
an unworthy teacher or preacher it is
generally the fault of the man and not
of the world.
While the general conference of the
Methodist church is wrangling about the
admission of women delegates the Amer
lean Medical association, which has just
held an interesting convention in At
lanta, accepted as members without de-
muir a number of bright women from