The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-01-06

out or the basket must be of iron. The
 former was done. When we think of
 the ship of the church on the sea which
 it was compelled to breast, We can only
 think of flying jib as the sail car ried,-~that is propelling force of free
 grace rather than by the hard Cal whistle doctrine.
 In the Congregational church there are no heresy trials, or if any; they are rare. The church is to-day in state of theological transition. It has
 been the birthplace of heresy and has made the addition of Unitarianism. This is a business sort of Congrega- 1 tionalism, wide awake and alive to the spirit of the age. The Congregational church looks with suspicion on all ir- regular ways of advancing religion, considering educational methods the best. It tries to substitute for the idei of the everlasting flame of hell the extinction of the wicked. The belief of the average Congregationalis is that
 not many people will be lost, but that those who cannot survive will be en-
 tirely exterminated. This church has the most favorable conditions for the
  This is the secret of the success of the church in the western part of the United States. In New England the ritualtstic principle is growing, Many Congregational churches in this city have voluminous confessions which would not be tolerated in the west. The Congregational church has been particularly successful in Iowa and Michigan, and to some extent ill the south. It is free from religious cant, 1 but what is most unfortunate, it car ries the evangelical flag. It might imi- tate the Baptists in putting out of it all statement, might have no creed. but follow the Scripture. Congregational people are above the average in intel l ligence, and represent the very cream of the middle classes. The church has been democratic throughout. believers in modern scholarship and from a scientific and literary standpoint study ! of the Bible, it accepts the results. It does not believe in clerical uniforms. 1 It's ministers dress as American citi- ! zens with no high collars or other ap- plLrtenances Anything sanctimonious in dress is despised.
 I venture to say that the Congre- gational church was the first to refuse 1 government aid in the conduct of h. dian schools being closely followed in this by the Baptists This shows the truly American spirit of independence Such a spirit has furnished the very soil from which has grown our free in 1 stituti0ns. The prayer meeting with it's | freedom of speech for all was the be- l ginning of the town meeting. The Con- gregational church gave birth to the l Yankees. In England the non- Con 1 formists were opposed to popery and
 carae to cold, stern forbidding New l England. The new country had good l effect on the Puritans It cooled down their ardor and hatred of the pope They found something else here to do, l to cultivate the rough soil and combat i the forces of nature They had here 1 no pope or king to fight and so betook 1 themselves to industry. They came to 1 be a different people from what they
 had intended; they came to be Yankees
 Just before the worlds fair Rev MT Johnson, pastor of a rich church in Chicago, while striving to have the fair closed on Sunday said, Give us only one breath of Puritan air, little thinking that if we were now living in Puritan times ''hs hide would be hung on the fence"
 l The church now numbers in the united church about 50OO0o members, who are cheerful, progressive Presby- terians It is destined to be the ban ner church to carry on the new theo- logy and may God speed it in it's great and glorious work
 The annual meeting of the Church of the Messiah will be held next Wednes- day evening. The topic for next Sun
 day evening will be the Good Things in Presbyterianism." <"