The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-10-11

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unity OF seli-control or are they TO stand
aside and let the great power move Tor
ward as il lists? To me this is the ques
ton OF questions. Either Christian soci
ETY. must Christianize Democracy, or M
un.U Christian Democracy will seculariz'
society. No third case il possible. Ii II
these conditions that constitute thu
church's opportunity. Never since thu
days OF Jesus had Christian men such al
opportunity as is theirs today. Never
were life's fields so ready for the harvest
Never did the world listen so expectant
for the voice of an oracle as il does al
this hour. But, il we are To put our.
selves in touch with this force of the flu
ture we must change our front. lt has
been charged thousand times that the
churches as administered today are not
in touch with the masses. 1t is also
said that the industrial classes, taken in
the mass, are not in Our churches, that
they do not much believe in us. that they
will have little to do with Us because we
have had little to say to them. These
charges are quite too sweeping, but they
are not wholly without truth. We have
certainly not understood the masses, and
| fear we have not seriously tried to
understand them. The consequence il a
widespread alienation, not from Christi
ity itself, but from Christianity repre-
sented in our churches. Too often they
have asked for bread and we have given
them stone; they have begged tor fish
aud we have given a scorpions; they have
asked for light and leading and we have
waved censor or handed them anti
quarian dissertations on discredited leg
ends and effete theologies. These people
are not bad people-they are good PEG.
pie. They are not pagans and infdels;
they are warm-hearted and amiably dis.
posed men and women. They can be
won. ! know OF no reason which is not a
dishonor TO Christ, why any church
building in this city should have in it an
empty pew. Not one! But if we would
win them we must change our tactics.
We must meet them on their own plat
form. We must speak their language.
We must look at LIES questions from
their view point. We must make them
EEL that we and they are brothers aud
sisters and that as such we love them.
And withal we must be robust and
manly. not maudlin and childish. We
must in Christ's name interest ourselves
n those questions which are problems OF
lie and death to them, and redeem them
through their symDathies by the warm
)lav OF our own. We admire, we saw.
he practical wisdom and superbly her
DC courage of our puritan aud Pilgrim
athers. And well we msy. But let us
understand that we are their lineal sue.
essors. not when we slavishly initiate
heir methods but when we adopt their
principles. Their dominant principle
reform in manners, reform
n church government, reform IN church
doctrines, reform all along the line.
3Iave spirits that they were, they were
lot afraid OF being innovators. They
we're martyrs for daring to suggest that
Tod had not spoken His last word. We
iced return to the Pilgrim spirit. We
want men OF lssachorr back again; men
With eye quick to read the possibilities of
he hour. and hand prompt to act as
may demand. Worship il
Irvine, but there is nothing divine IN the
)rdier OF worship. Yet IN many of our
il it we're one of the Ten Com
it could not be clung to
With more punctiIlious Difference. Depend
lpon it il we are to lay hold of the
masses we must do one unloading. We
ire carrying too much baggage. We
must get rid OF our conventionalism. We
must discharge Ourselves OF all stencil.
We must come down from cloud-land ell
ovation and stand on common ground.
And we must if needs he, DEFY the NUT
-erings OF the eCclesiastical Mrs. Grundy's
by new departures, by new methods
born OF the times and adapted to the
times. The church needs Columbus to
help her out OF the old into the new world
that is around us, and awaiting ner con-
quest.
Twenty centuries ago a young Naza.
greatest OF Innovators-the
sublimest of revolutionaries-hea
own conoclast-stepDed into our world
OF disorder and sin; discovered it's secret,
saw the remedy and pointed men to it.
saying Follow Me"-and those words
rang in mems ears like bugle.call, and
arrested as by tie accent OF divine
men cleft all and followed
Him."
My people-that sweet voice fingers in
the echo still. Happy is the church that
obeys its call