The Universalist. [volume] (Chicago [Ill.]) 1884-1897, 1896-03-07

come proficient in to keep his present
place as we'll as to acquire larger. Any
thing more sensible, wholesome and lum.
inous than his observations on these
points could scarcely be imagined. The
tonic administered was precisely the one
the patient is most in need Of. Yet the
happy art in which the severest doses
we're given made them not only palata-
BILE but piquant. As we listened we
found ourselves mentally calculating,
What an unspeakable blessing to his
race has God raised up in this strong
and wise leader!
1t is thirty years since Matthew
Arnold published his Literature and
Dogma" A principal contention of Mr..
Arnold in that book was, that "the peo
pie" had fallen away from their faith in
the Bible and their interest in it, be-
cause it was not presented to them by
the clergy and the theologians in a way
that they could verify, and he proposed
"to find for the Bible basis in some
thing that can be verified" He did not
propose to put away the Bible, but to
give new and true view of it. The cur
rent view and the traditional view was,
that the Bible derives it's authority and
| it's value from its Source-'the moral
and intelligent Governor of the uni
verse;" This, said Mr.. Arnold, is an un-
verifable assump ption. Let US rather
| teach that the Bible is religious litera-
ture, sprung from the deeps Of the hu-
man spirit. This can be verified; and
this is what "the people" demand. So
shall we bring back the Bible to the in
| terest and use of mankind.
As we sat, deeply interested OBJ
server, for over an hour the other even
ing in the rude meeting place Of the
Salvation Army in Western city, this
confident opinion of Matthew Arnold
came back to us. Here we're no small
number of "the people" Since Mr..
Arnold wrote, this curious and singular
| ly effective religious movement has
| sprung up. In his own England. for
which Literature and Dogma was de-
vised, the Salvation Army had it's incep-
| ton and has had it's remarkable devel-
opment. 1t was not brought forth
under favor of any authority, civil or
ecclesiastical 1t was not product of
| culture. 1t had nobody to commend it
| o,d l;ftIa ~ raoop,rand ~ Vaf n hos
made it's way, first with "the people"
and finally with the priests and magis-
trates. 1t bears sway over as many peo-
pie today as are enrolled in the member
ship of the great Presbyterian Church.
Nearly all these people have been gath
cred out of "the world" and from the
lower ranks Of society, and they are all
daily Bible readers, whatever may be
thought of their knowledge of the book.
| Listening to the extremely literal
construction put upon the language of
Scripture. and noting how implicitly
the Bible was accepted and made use of
as the authoritative "Word O. Gol." we
were constrained to ask, whether the
Salvation Army enrolls any Of "the peo
pie" whom Matthew Arnold described
as demanding Bible they can verify?
| These people care nothing for the
basis Mr.. Arnold was at so much pains
| to find for the Bible. To be sure they
have their own way of verifying Scrip
ture, as Mr.. Arnold had his. But what
havoc his way of thinking Of the Bible
would make with their mission Evi-
IDENTIFY Mr.. Arnold, like many another
brave and less brilliant theorist, made
the mistake of identifying part with
the whole. "The people" whom he knew
about were the literary classes of two or
three countries. These were less than
one-tenth of the whole. But he took
them to comprise nearly all of Christen-
dom; all worth taking into account.
In thus pointing out the short and
narrow range of Matthew Arnold's reli-
| gious vision, we are far enough from
thinking the Salvation Army view of
the Bible the correct or lasting view.
l
The Army's literature, like its unmodi-
fed and dreadful theology, and its pagan
appeal to the selfshness of the human
heart, must be unlearned and must
pass away. What seemed little less than
ludicrous in Mr.. Arnold's new religious
dispensation, was the serene confidence
he had that 1.-THE people" we're with him
against the clergy and the theologians.
Where any one assumes to speak for
"the people" he would better adopt the
comparative method. and ascertain what
proportion his host bears to the whole
multitude of the people," Apparently
more people demand" Roman Catholi
ciem than any other style of Christiani-
ty; and the Salvation Army has great
or following in the United States, after
fifteen years, than all the liberal sects
put together. This settles nothing as
to which is nearer truth; but it shows
that the popular demand is still some
aeons behind Literature and Dogma.