The herald., 1897-10-25
Burt Estes HOWardOn "The
New Evangelism"
BISHOP JOHNSON RETURNS
AND PREACHES TWICE AT ST.
PAUL'S CHURCH
David Walk on st. Paul's Question to
Agrippa-Praise Service at
Simpson Tabernacle

yesterday morning in the First Pres
kterian church the Rev. Burt Estes
Toward spoke on 1.-THE New Evangel-
isrn." saying in part:
Every thoughtful man must have been
struck at some time or other by this sin
gular paradox-that churches may null
tiply, meetings increase and ministers
swarm in a city or community, and yet
the whole advance in the paraphernalia
of religion produce no appreciable ef-
feet on the morals OF the neighbor-
hood.
Its saloons will defy civil ordinances,
its dives affront decency, its politics
shame anybody but the devil, and all
these things become increasingly noto-
rious while the machinery Of organ
lied religion will grind Its grist; the
Sunday schools teach anything but prac-
tical and applied Christianity, and the
ministers mouth their stale platitudes
and deliver pretty little essays on the
morals OF ancient Babylon or the po-
litical ethics Of Israel.
In spite of annual reports that tell of
large accessions to the ranks of the
church; in spite of millions collected and
spent every year for benevolent enter
prises; in spite of our societies for every
thing under the sun, all this outlay and
enlargement of the church does not seem
to cut much of figure in the community
life. And some of us are beginning 10
believe that the potential energy of our
churches may be directed in their pres
ent channels until Gabriel sounds his
mighty trumpet and the social and COM
munity and corporate life of the world
will not be very much affected.
For, unless by some mighty evangel-
ism society itself Is redeemed into the
spirit OF Jesus. the church itself must
eventually fade out before the sweep of
sentiment that has been turning away
from individualism toward the social de-
velopment of the race.
We have made the serious mistake of
divorcing religion from life; we have
fallen into the trap laid ages ago by
schemirg ecclesiastics, and have come
to regard religion as separate thing
from the everyday life of the world We
have cloistered it, and robed it, and bow
ed down before it, until we have con-
founded religion with the Creator. and
have come to think that the chief busi-
ness of Christianity is to keep mans
religion as much out Of his ordinary
transactions as possible; we have hand
ed over the reign Of our political society
to method Of economics whose theories
we applaud or rail at, with never a
thought that the affairs of nation have
anything to do with Jesus Christ, or its
politics with his kind Of righteousness.
We have drifted far from the Masters
idea and the thought of the primitive
Christians: community life. Christian
ity, spirit of love in bonds of common
allegiance to Jesus, worship an incident
and not an end Christianity was the
organization of society in the mind of
Christ. 1t was the pervading of the COM
mon life Of the people with the brother
hood Of the children Of God. 1t was the
conduct Of affairs ib the spirit of love.
Then, by degrees, the ideas of men
were changed; they began to regard re-
ligion and it's organ the church, as hav-
ing to do wholly with forms of worship
and modes of faith.
And now, again, we see and have seen
springing up various organizations,
whose motive is purely Christian and
practical The Y. M. C. A., the Y. W. c..
A., the Salvation army, the college set
Elements, and Thousand others. What
Is the significance of all these? The
world is climbing upward toward an
ideal that is not satisfied with individ-
ual righteousne ess; that is not willing to
define Righteousness as matter be-
tween God and one man.
If the world is ever won to the religion
of Christ it must be by the gospel of
social redemption. This Is the burden
of the new evangelism. 1t is only the old
evangel issuing out of the grave where
it has long been laid. 1t is not enough 70
cry to solitary souls, Come to Jesus and
get an advantage" 1t is to cry aloud in
the market places, "Con1e with Jesus
and let us redeem the world, until the
waste places become gardens, and the
wilderness a place of homes"