The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-02
WEST SIDE EVENTS.
Interesting Sermon Of Rev. John Griffith
on the New Literature aud
the Old Gospel.

"The New Literature and the Old
Gospel is the title of discourse which
Rev. John Griffiths delivered at the
Sumner Avenue Presbyterian church
last evening. The text was Proverbs,
xii, ~: "Of making many books there
is no end; and much reading is q
weariness of the flesh" He said IN
part:
Here we have the testimony of the fore
most literary man OF ms time as " ,h, Sn.
abundance OF books in his day. Now that
explorers have no new world 10 discoNsI'
they proceed to re-discover the old woriu;
The searchlight of science has been turned
on Assyrian. Babylonian anu Egyp.,LI,n pI,n
mounds, and one of the most remarkanle
results is ample confirmation OF solo,
mons statement.
"A book Is a book, though there's moth
ing in it," said Byron. The daily litera.
ture we con nsume furnishes the Chris tan
teacher and worker one OF the most per-
picking problems; and 1t Is not only use
less, but cowardly to content ourselves
with burying our heads In the SAND, IKE
the ostrich, and take no account oil this
great force which Is working around US.
With all our preaching, with only frac-
tional element of the population of our
large cities in our Sunday schools, win
the Bible-the best of all text b00ks-ex-
cluded from our public schools, with new
readers turned out by the million at these
schools. and with a supply OF reading mat
ter equal to the demand. both in quanti-
ty and quality, surely We have here
subject demanding the gravest atten-
ton OF Christian people.
A writer on history speaks of the pain
of new idea" That pain Is felt by all
who witness the Overturning of cherished
traditional systems by new forces. But
II Is q pain like the growing pains OF child
hood, grievous for the moment to bear.
but the pains of growth are more than
compensated by a noble manhood. The
main Of n iilpA Incomes of another
kind, however. We feel "the soul within us
climb" we refuse to grow, so 10 speak,
and prefer the progress standing STILL.
which the colored preacher used to speak
Of. Christian people and even the Chris
tian church, as an Institution among
men. for men, carried on by men, with
an application to all the Needs OF men,
cannot escape this necessity OF accomino-
dation to environment, as the philoso-
pliers say. Hence the solicitude of Chris
tians for n pure press, hence the convic-
tiOn that leads the ablest Christian teach
ers to make their best efforts through the
press, and the same conviction leads them
10 break away from the limitations OF
strictly religious publications.. and TO
adopt the forms Of the most popular lit
eratiire, and to utilize the most popular
organs for the dissemination of their
teaching.
But the talk Of q rivalry between the pull
pit and the press must be relegated to the
glib tongues of aspiring orators at de-
batting societies. Apart from its service
TO the all round needs Of the human race.
the press Is the greatest agency for carry
Ing on the work Of the church itself. The
personal power OF many great preacher
is multiplied a thousand-fold by the press.
Pulpit ana press work side by side for the
veal of mankind, with surprising har-
mony and unity OF aim. Mr.. Dana, of the
New York Sun, claims to call his paper q
religious paper. The fact that journalists
differ among themselves and from the
preachers on religion and social ques-
ti0ns should not surprise anybody who
knows how much the preachers differ
among themselves on the same questions.
The preachers seem ito want the whole
earth" of Journalism a little too soon,
while the editors, whose outlook upon the
world Is wider. are obliged to be economi-
cal with their preaching In order that
their newspapers fulfil their great distnc-
tive mission-publicity. From the ashes
of old forms and systems of duffusing in