The record-union., 1897-04-18
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
Expressions From Various Religious
Newspapers.
The Religious Thought of the Day
as Expressed i'm the Sec
tartan Press.

Ed of Philadelphia observes: When
man becomes a Roman Cathollc IN
all but the name, he ought to take that
name; when the authorities to which
he appeals are Roman and not Angl1-
can; when he looks to Roman doctors
for guidance and regards Anglican
standards with disdain; when he is
fighting am uphill battle to establish
doctrines and ceremonies and prac-
tees in a soil in which they will not
grow; when he has necessarily to
struggle in an Anglican church for
things which he can have in peace and
quiet in the Roman church, it is the
dictate not only of common sense, but
of honor and expediency, to join the
communion to which he clearly be-
longs. Men like Mr.. Maturin some
times remain in our church, or in the
Church of England because they hope
to convert it to the medieval princi-
pies and practices which they imagine
to be Catholic; but the time for that
illusion has gone by. A more hopeless
crusade was never undertaken. Re
formations, like revolutions, do not go
backwards. Our Reformed Church
will never return to Popery; and when
a man of Mr.. Maturins views comes
to that conclusion, there is no longer
any reason why he should remain in
position which is utterly hopeless
and, what is worse, utterly false
r
ITO our mind" says the New York
independent" the weakness of the
(English) Archbishops' reply Ito the
Pope on the question of the validity
OF Anglican orders) is in the attempt
it makes to minimize the Protestant
reformation and to magnify the impor-
lance of the validity of regular and
legitimate orders. They have not
frankly stated that their doctrine of
the Eucharist differs from that of the
Roman mass; they have tried rather to
make them as near the same as posi-
BILE, and have even denied that the
Pope's characterization of the ritual
lists as that small section of the Angli-
can body formed in recent times, whose
contention is that the said ordinal can
be understood and interpreted in a
sound and orthodox sense is true, as
If the ritualist doctrine was the doc
tr1ne of the whole Anglican Church
Accordingly, the reply Of the Arch
bishops is accepted by the Ritualists
as their justification, as proof that
their Interpretation is the interpreta-
ton of the church at large This is
not, we trust the case. We trust that
there is in the Anglican Church a very
large body whose sympathies go out
quite as much to the Protestant Chris
tians about them, who have Just been
celebrating their unity of spirit in a
great conference, as they do to the
more distant Roman and Greek com
munions" fa
That some pastors observe that GER
tain OF their young people stray off to
the Episcopal fold because they like
the service is not necessarily an argu-
ment in favor of reproducing a diluted
form of Episcopal liturgy for general
USE" says the New York observer"
Pres.) LAS a matter of fact. some
people are better helped spiritually by
set forms of petitional address, where
they know beforehand everything that
is coming, While others are much more
edlned by exercises accumulated to the
needs of the hour where spontaneity
and freshness characterize the self-un-
Ioldlng prayers. An 'extemporaneous'
prayer is not necessarily uncouth and
rude, While on the other hand some
very undignified expressions occur in
popular liturgies. The true test after
all is spiritual and not literary.
much less fashionable one. The real
question is, What form of prayer is
spiritually most helpful to the greatest
number? If the form most assisting
edlhcation be a liturgy, then nothing
need be said against liturgical serv-
ices, despite all the perversions OF a
popery and a ritualism which have mis-
USED them in the past. If the exrempo-
faneous method is more nearly the
gospel ideal of service then a plea for
beauty or adornment in worship at the
expense of spirituality is inadmissible.
The net result of the discussion is more
apt to be a decision to impose nothing
obligatory in the liturgical line upon
the church, while facilities may proper
ly be offered to any congregation to so
enrich its services if it desire But one
thing at all events is to be demanded.
and that is that no such innovations
be allowed to Danish all extemporane-
Gus prayer from the public desk. Let
NiNiS NC ooile IIeeuOIn Oh play IN the
matter An optional modest liturgy is
one thing, and perhaps desirable. but
an obligatory and exclusive liturgy
will never do"
"One of the sayings current ;ust
now" says the New York christian
lntelligencer" Ref) lis that God cam
not and will not do what we would not
DO. His nature as a merciful being will
not allow Him. for example, to com
mand the destruction of tribe or ma
ton or men, for we would not do it.
But God is the arbiter of destiny to in
dlv1duals and nations. Men are not.
GOD had the right to smite .Ananias
with death because he lied unto the
Holy Ghost He sees the heart: we Go
not. He knows the degree of wicked
ness expressed in an act; we do not
lie KNOWS when a nation has filled the
cup of its iniquity when it is so sat
urated with iniquity that it ought to be
destroyed. God is the sovereign ruler
and judge: He administers a moral
government, rewards good, Furnishes
evil. The governments of men also
punish disobedience to righteous laws.
To treat the bad and the good alike
would be folly. We as individuals have
no right to give man up. 1t is our
duty to endeavor to improve him until
death removes him from our influence
God has the right to decide when to
declare: Ephraim is joined to his idols. |