The daily morning journal and courier., 1897-01-04
SIN, SUFFERING AND DEATH
PERMANENT EtCIS-BUT EYER
 CHANGING LIFE

Demands the Attention of the Church
 Which Must Progress With the World
 Such Ideas as McLaren's No Longer
 "Mere Ethios."
 | "The Changing Phases of the Church and Society" was the subject Of the Rev. Dr. T. T. Mungers sermon yes terday morning at the United church He said in part:
 Tt is the main function of religion to meet three unchanging facts-sin, suffering and death'-to deliver from sin, to comfort the suffering and to take awy the sting from death. Fer manent facts and conditions require the same treatment and call for per manentr order, an unchanging cnurcn. Hence the church is found in all ages doing these three things. In this work lies it's unity. But there are other things in the world beside sin, suffering and death a malady, an incident, doom. There is the greater fact, of life; life itself with it's work and its duty, which outWeighs one thousand times sin, suffering and death; sin IS an evil to be cured; suffering is an in- cident to be endured with such patience as God may give, and death IS to be held subject to hope. But life with it's thousand duties, with it's worrying phases, with it's special needs in each | indiVidual--is the chief field for re- ligion and indicates it's functions-and because life is going on under ever I-I... | r1,o in h q mysterious movement we call progress, but cannot understand. Religion itself will vary, take on new phases, use new forces and itself become a part Of the movement of the world.
 "We are in an unfolding world and the church must unfold along with It. That this has not been done in the past is the tragedy both of the church and the world, A stationary church in a moving world means fatality for each. It is a part of Protestantism that it holds itself open to change. It was itself product of change, child | of increased knowledge and a fuller revelation. It is one of the hopeful signs of the day that there is an in creasing willingness on the part of the
 
 thought of the world. In doing this, the church finds itself; it realizes it's power and justifies its nature. Just so closely as the church follows and meets the needs of society does 1t realize it's own nature and become a power unto salvation, but so long as it hides itself in the past chanting ancient hymns, mumbling ancient creeds, it defeats it. self and loses it's hold on society. It is a cheering sign that the church is keep ing abreast of the world; for then it is leading the world
 There is another spirit in the air, a spirit of tolerance; it reduces immense ly the dangers of society; it springs from many sources. First Christianity itself as We get close to it is breathing it's own broad gentle spirit over us. We are needing it's commands, not to judge our brothers, the wisest precept lever uttered in this short sighted world. Tt also comes from increased knowl- edge. Intolerance grows out of ignor- ! ance. The ignorant man cannot under stand how any one can differ from him. self, but knowledge, the broader vision, sees the possible truth on the other side. Just so fast as education and knowledge increase may we expect that men will hold definite and rational opinions and at the same time accord liberty and respect to the opinions of others.
 And here lies, the unanswerable ar gument for thorough and universal education. Men cannot live peaceably together, nor work together for the common good unless they come some where near one another in respect to two things; they must be in posses sion of common stock of knowledge, and they must be educated so as to use this knowledge.
 Just so sure as one part is left ig- norant and untrained, will 1t draw off from the other part simply because the two do not understand one another; and hence comes that fatal division of society into classes--a thing that can be endured in monarchy governed by force, but cannot be endured in a nation governed by its own people; be- cause the ignorant and uneducated will surely take the reins of government and govern according to their ignor- apce.
 Our only hope for safe government in this country is in education. The masses will govern, and they ought to govern; and therefore they ought to be educated up to the point of fitness tc govern. This is the New England idea education that does not stop because a boy has got enough, but is to go on until he has got all he can, and he can not get too much. Thus would it rear its state and keep it strong. But edu- cation is also the basis of tolerance.
 Another mark of the change in the way of thinking and feeling Is to be seen in the books that are being read such as Prof. Drummond Ian McLaren and Barrie; also in the growing in 1 tprnst in thn min