The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1897-12-03
THE FLYING ROLL"
REv. DR.. TALMAGE AND THE RE-
LIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS MISSION.

Modern "Flying Rolls"-Journals Thai
Drop Benedictions Upon the Nation-De
nominationaI Differences.
kCopyright, 1897, by American Press Assoc
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 In a previ-
GUS discourse DR.. Talmage, having
shown the opportunities of the secular
press, in this discourse speaks of the
mission of religious newspapers. His
text is, "Then l turned and lifted W
mine eyes and looked, and behold fly
ing roll" (Zechariah V, y.
In dream the prophet saw some
thing rolled up advancing through the
heavens. 1t contained divine message.
1t moved swiftly, as on wings 1t had
much to do with the destiny of nations.
But if you will look up you will see
many flying rolls. They come with
great speed and have messages for all
the earth The flying rolls of this CEN
fury are the newspapers. They carry
messages human and divine. They will
decide the destiny of the hemispheres.
There are in the United States about
90, 600 newspapers. The religious news
paper of which [ am the editor was
born 10 years ago, but born again
years ago. In this brief time it has
grown to about 200 600 circulation,
and, by the ordinary rule of calculating
the readers of a paper, it has about
100000 readers Our country was
blessed with many religious journals.
edited by consecrated men, while their
contributors were the ablest and best Of
all professions and occupations. Some
of those journals for half century had
been dropping their benedictiOns upon
the nation, and they live on and will
continue to live on until there will be
no more use for their mission, the world
itself having become a flying roll on
the tempests of the last day, going out
of existence. There will be no more
use for such agencies when the world
ceases, because i'll the spiritual state we
shall have such velocity that we can
gather for ourselves all the news Of
heaven, or, seeing some world in con-
tlagration, may go ourselves in an in
slant to examine personally the scene
of disaster.
: All Regiments In One Army.
Was there room for another religious
journal in this land, already favored |
with the highest style of religious jour
nalism? Oh, yes, if undenominational, |
plenty of room Nothing can ever take
the place of the denominational newspa- |
per When the millennium comes in, it |
will find as many denominations as there |
are now. People according to their
temperaments Will always prefer this
or that form of church government, this |
or that style Of worship. You might
as well ask us all to live in one
house as to ask us all to worship in che
denomination or to abolish the regi- |
ments of an army i'll order to make them |
one great host.
Each denomination must have its own |
journal, set apart especially to present |
the charities, explain the work and for
ward the interests of that particular
sect. The death Of one UNCONVENTIONAL
journal is a calamity to all the other de
nominations. | would almost feel that q
great misfortune had happened me if
The Christian Intelligencer of the Re
formed church (my mother church) did
not come to my house every week, for |
was brought up on it, and it has become
household necessity. such denomi-
national journal had better be edited by
some one who, rocked i'll the cradle of
that church and ordained at her affairs,
having become venerable in her service
sits specialized and wise and with heart
full of sacred memories addresses the
living of today. In the most sacred crypt
of our memory stands the statue of the
religious editors Abel Stevens and
Joshua Leavitt, and the royal family of
the Primes-Iren8us and Eusebius-
while others linger on the banks of the
Jordan, where they will not have long
to wait for Elijah's chariot, and when
they go up, if we still be sitting at our
editorial desks, we will cry out i'll the
memorable words, my father, my IA
ther, the chariot of Israel and the horse
men thereof!
But, then, tire are great movements
in which all denominations wish to Join,
and we want more undenominational
to marshal and advance and
nails have a difficult task, because all
Christian men, if they have behaved
well in their denominations, for some
reason preferred the one of their natural
and spiritual nativity, and even looking
off upon the general field and attempt
ing wider work will be apt to look at
things through UNCONVENTIONAL prefer
ence and to treat them with a denom-
national twist
In the issuing of the religious jour
nal whose seventh anniversary preach
that difficulty has been met and over
come by the fact that its publisher is
Methodist, and in its editorial rooms
there are Presbyterian, an Episcopal
liam and a Congregationalist, and line
Of denominational prejudice in editorial
Or reportorial column would run against
protest. Against John Wes-
ley's free grace or Calvin's eternal de-
,rees or Bishop McIlvaines canonicals
Dr. DR.. Dowling's Baptistery from years
End to years end not a word is written
Or printed. On all these subjects we
nave convictions, but undenominational