The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1897-08-23

They need inspiration. They need TO
have hope brought to them; they need
to be reused to belief in their power
by the help of God to live on higher
principles. 1t Is when men of this s>class
are fighting their own battle against
their own weakness that they can best
be aided by thoughtful sympathy and
friendly help But besides these there
are not few who are caught, as II
were, in some overpowerlng current OF
trouble which they cannot deal with.
Such are those who cannot find employ
ment, though often longing to find II.
The difficulty of helping these Is well
known and requires most careful study.
And, lastly, there are the many who
are physically unable to maintain them
selves; sometimes from congenital weak
ness sometimes from accident or dis
ease, sometimes, and indeed most often,
from old age. To instil Christian prin-
ciple into the great body of Church.
men; to press on them the duty of not
only being ready to give and glad to
communicate, but of giving their time,
their trouble, their careful thought to
the discovery of the best mode of help
ing individual cases of need, is the task
which our Master gives us. We warmly
commend to all Christian people the Re-
port of our Committee on this subject
INTERNATIONAL ARBITRATION.
There is nothing which more tends
to promote general employment and con-
sequently genuine comfort among the
people than the maintenance of peace
among the nations of mankind. But
besides and above all considerations of
material comfort stands the value of
peace itself as the great characteristic
of the Kingdom of our Lord, the word
which heralded His entrance into the
world, the title which specially dstin-
guishes Him from all earthly princes.
There can be no question that the in
fuence of the Christian church can do
more for this than any other influence
that can be named Without denying
that there are just wars and that we
cannot prevent their recurrence entirely,
yet we are convinced that there are
other and better ways of settling the
quarres of nations than by fighting. War
is a horrible evil followed usually by
consequences worse than itself. Abitra-
tion place of war saves the honor of
the nations concerned and yet deter
mines the questions at issue with COM
pleteness. War brutallzes even while il
gives opportunity for the finest heroism.
Arbitration leaves behind 1t a generous
sense of passions restrained and justice
sought for. The Church of Christ can
never have any doubt for which of the
two modes of determining national quar-
rels 1t ought to strive.
We pass from moral questions to &C.
cesiastical, and first to those which may
be called internal
On the subject of Religious Communi-
ties we do not consider 1t to be yet
possible to give advice which can be
treated as final. We believe that such
communities are capable of rendering
great services to the church and have
indeed already done so. But we think
more regulation is needed If they are
| to be worked in thorough harmony with
| the general work of the church as a
| whole. What form such regulations
should take requires much further con-
| sideration. Meanwhile we express oul
| strong sense of the care that ought to
be taken in making sure that no one
| undertakes the obligations of community
| life without having, as far as human
| judgment can ascertain it, a real voca.
| tion from God. Whether God means q
particular person to live in this particu
lar way is the preliminary question tc
| be determined by the person who asks
to be admitted into a community and by
| the authority of the community that ad
mits that person. We have requested
| the committee to continue it's labors
| and we commend the Report to the at
| tention of the church.
| THE UNITY OF THE CHURCH.
| On the Unity of the Church our com
mittee has not been able to propose an,
| resolutions which would bind us to i'm
| mediate further action. A committe,
has been appointed to open correspond
| ence with view to establish a cleareI
I, understanding and closer relations will
the churches of the East. The arch
| bishop of Canterbury has been requested
to appoint committees to look into th
| position of the Unitas Fratrum and th
| Scandinavian church, with both of whicl
we desire to cultivate the most friendl,
possible relations. We recommend ais
that every opportunity be taken to EN-
phasize the Divine purpose of visibl
unity amongst Christians as a fact o
| revelation. We recommend that commit
tees of bishops be appointed everywher
| to watch for and originate opportunitie
of united prayer and mutual conference
between representatives of differen
Christian bodies, and to give counse
where counsel may be asked: these com
mittees to report to the next Lambetl
conference what has been accomplishe,
in this matter.
Above all, We urge the duty of specia
irtercession for the unity of the churcl
in accordance with the Lords Own Pray
er, as recorded in the Gospel of st. John