The times., 1897-07-13

Fave been made and are continuing to be
made, resulting sometimes in unneces-
sary humiliation to good men and loss TO
the cause of Christi
Or. George V. Leech, OF Grace Church,
then took the floor and said in part:
By the term church, in the question, Of
coulse. there is meant the church OF
Chrst as represented by the great body
OF Protestant churches Of the world DO
these hold TO and insist on the essential
teachings Of Jesus Christ; do they ex-
enpiify his spirit Of life? Essentially
they do. Probably 10 a greater extent,
as d whole, than ever before It is not
meant by this that some one or more
OF the different bodies may not he de-
1ecttve In It's statement Of one or several
points OF Christian doctrine
The apostolic church itself was not
exact at this point. 1t required the con.
slant watch aud care OF the apostles
To keep their churches from serious error
as TO mere statement of doctrine En-
Iors increased, 20 that for a thousand
years after the third century the church
as whole failed largely TO represent the
teachings and spirit of the Master Yet.
was true that there was ALWAYS within
the church great body who, like Victor
Hugu's good bishop, walked with the Re-
deculer in essential love; who exemplirled
In tnat love the true spirit of Chrssr's
religion and dtherefore impressed multitudes
for good. With the rise of Huss and
Luther. and the evangelical pioneers of
Great Britain and finally, with the Wes-
leys and Others. the true spirit began to
D. Iegained. From that time the cssea.,e
of Christianity has been more and more
developing During the last hundred years
more has been done in the true direction
pointed out by Christ than in the eighteen
hundred years prior.
In correct sta tsment OF teaching and
life today there is a nearer approach TO
what Jesus intended to teach and Illus
trate as essential in true religion than at
any other period in the worlds history
L do not mean that there is not much
to lament over ia the past and in the
present, too Progress has not been so
rapid as may be desired. But We must
not forget that the church'5 work is a
moral one, not physical Its forces were
typlfled by the tongues of fire at Penta
cost, The work OF the Christian ministry
Is one OF influence, persua sion; the af-
fectlons and wills of men are to be moved
moral work like this is rot TO be done
In day nor in a century, nor in ten
centuries Moral forces work slowly God
in nature has thus worked So He has
worked in His moral administration. he
was centuries in developing his preparatory
dispensation through the Hebrew church.
han for Syt-ift
Then, fresh genera tions of men are all
the time coming on the field. These are
to be trained and developed, even as those
that have gone before them. We ought
not then to grow impatient because the
moral uplifting of great and increasing
masses of Acknowledgements humanity,
tools not accomplished in a century. Had
the church been truer to Christ, the work
would have advanced more rapidly But
we must not therefore conclude that the
church is all gone astray.' A vast work
has been done. Each generation now, the
work is being done better and better
Presently the living generation will have
great held on the rising one. Heredity
Will then more and more tell. Christian
principles will more and more take hold
Oil individuals and families and govern
meDts. Things viii advance in geometri-
cal ratio. The prophets vision will be
more nearly verified The little one shall
become a thousand;' a nation shall be
born In a day
1T is a mistake to think that this
is in any peculiar sense 'dogmattc' age
The contrary is the fact The church is
more liberal today then ever before Es-
sential truth is insisted on 1t was
by Christ; by his apostles. There never
will come "a time when it should not be-
But anyhow it is blunder to say that
exact representations OF doctrine are ne
cessary to success in the moral lifting up
OF men, provided only the body of Christ's
vital truth and his real spirit of life are
maintained. With all prevailing mis-
statements there has always been in the
Christian Church sufficient basis of es-
sential truth to influence men.
The vital truths are not many. You
may sum them up in the Apostles Greed.
Even In the darkest ages. tens OF thous-
ands of both ecclesiastics and lay people
held and practiced the essential trjth
and life of Christ Of Nazareth; they lived
good lives Dying, they assembled to heir
Lord on high. 1t is so today in even the
churches which, holding the Apostles
Creed. rlay have indeed overloaded them
selves with errors A church NAV suffer
from much misstatement and yet holding
to the body OF vital truth, exert vast
power on tie world for good
This is true, we believe, as to those