The record-union., 1896-02-08

said Paul. Nothing else was required.
They took the exceedingly broad-the
broadest possibIe-definition of the linn
| its Of the church, that which Christ
himself had so strongly drawn, Who
soever is not against me is for me- 1t
was therefore a tremendous mistake to
suppose that Christian peace and unity
could rest upon authority. 1t could not
exist without love- and there could be
no love without liberty. There must be
a central object and bond for this uni
yersal union That object was Christ
himself, the sole and only potentate-
prophet, priest, king, law-giver. ruler.
But here is a seeming paradox. How
can there be perfect liberty under an
absolute ruler? Because perfect allegi-
ance and obedience to Christ will place
US in perfect harmony with all the laws
OF the universe. We never can feel linn
itation or restraint from any of them.
Every one of them viii be our minister.
Here, then, is the secret of peace and
unity on earth, as well as in heaven.
May all the devices and inventions Of
men, their PHILOSOPHERS and systems
and tests, which are beside this, sub
stituted for it, or contrary to it-aIl that
puts limitations and barriers in its way,
perish from the EARTH
THE terms Christian and Church
enter into the titles of organizations
which have no right to them" says the
New York Christian Intelligencer''
(Ref.). Societies which lack the prime
essentials that constitute the Church of
God have appropriated these terms and
incorporated them in their names. The
Church of God is much more than what
is commonly understood as a club; it is
much more than a number of people
handed together for social or philan-
tnropic purposes. The church is con-
spicuously distinct from all other insti-
tutions in that it is blood Thought, and
has for its recognized head the Lord
Jesus Christ; for its creed, divinely
enunciated and eternal truths; for its
sacraments, the symbols of atonement
for sin and the washing of regenera-
ton by the Spirit; for its object, the
salvation of lost souls, and their incor-
poratiOn in the body of Christ. If we
open the Bible with reverent hands and
scrutiniZe its pages with unprejudiced
minds, We cannot escape the conviction
that an institution may be formed and
indulge in the boast that it is unde-
rOminational and requires no creed on
the part of its MEMBERS and may call
itself a church, and, to win popularity,
The Peoples Church. and yet be no
church. It may be called that, and be so
considered by the masses, but as a
church it can have no recognition in
heaven, nor on earth, by such as have
any conception at all Of what the
Church of God is. A creedless church
is not more an anomaly in these day
than travesty of the Church of Christ.
Tt is a libel on Christianity
Every college student who thinks for
himself at all desires to think freely
says the "Congregati of Boston.
IF in his little world of thought and
life-little, indeed, only by comparison
with the great current of the age whose
influence he feels without being yet a
part Of it-there is one goddess who has
undisputed sway, it is liberty. This is
a part of the divine order which brings
UP the new generation to remodel the
conclusions of the old. Too great un-
willingness to change in the rising gen
Grafton would mean a halt in the pro-
aftergrowth in conservatism from the
teaching which experience brings. and
the caution which responsibility en-
forces. 1t is well, however, that young
men should remember that liberty
looks on the world with open eyes. 1t
is a counterfeit and misleading spirit
which urges US forward before we have
faced the facts of the world and
weighed the relative Importance of the
which present themselves. to
our view. Free thinking is the hope of
the world Intellectually, and of free
thinking Christianity is not at all
afraid; but ill-considered and prema-
ture thinking, while it can do no per-
manent harm to the kingdom of Christ,
is capable of doing unmeasured harm to
the careless thinker"
Unless we are prepared to admit
that for us the Bible is simply human
book and contains no revelation, the
message of God it conveys is authorita-
tive whether it accords with our pre-
conceived ideas or not" says the
Watchman CBapt.) of Boston. THE at
tacks of destructive historic or literary
criticism may have weakened the faith
of some men in the divine origin of
certain portions Of the Scriptures, or Of
the whole Bible, but if we believe that
any part of it is divine, the most un-
reasonable attitude toward that part
is unwillingness to yield to that mes
sage of God because it runs athwart
our notions. For our part we do not be-
lieve that faith in the Bible, as di-
vine book, has been seriously weakened
among Christians by the often conflict
ing arguments of the critics The Bible
is assailed by a more insidious foe, and
that is the notion that we may accept
it as a divine revelation, while at the
same time we pick and choose among
its statements, and cordially accept
only those which fall in with our pre-
We are to let God have
His way with our ideas"
"A New York Judge of the higher
court has very lately been expressing
his opinion that a divorce is in this
state frequently obtained by fraud,
and therefore unlawfully. The divorce
cases are by a large percentage decided
by default, the accused party in the
suit refusing or neglecting to appear
and offer a defense This, on the face
of it, according to Judge Beekman,
bears evidence of collusion. 1t also,
says the New York "Churchman" (P. |
E.), bears evidence to another more
serious feature in such cases. 1t shows |
that the party to the marriage cove |
nant, from whom a divorce is being
sought on statutable grounds, does not |
feel the stigma which the charge