The herald., 1897-03-08

mighty work that claimed the heart and
soul and strength Of the Master. Tne
life of Jesus was one of extreme pusl-
ness. When he called men to come after
him 1t was summons to iire OF IN.
tense moral activity, life that thrkst
itself into the thick of human AFFAIRS,
a life that found its sole reason for being
in the fact that it was destined to be-
come a redemptive force in the world
Jesus was no doctrnaire. He did not
come to set the world to learning cate
chisms but to set it about living right
eously and sweetly and lovingly. Inc
great thing in the world Is human lie,
and neither the church nor ceremonies
nor sacraments nor scriptures are to
take precedence of it, The value OF
these things Is simply their efficiency
| In getting the life Of humanity right
with God and with one another 1t is not
the church nor the Bible nor the sacra-
ments that are to be saved, put men,
And when, as is often the case. the forms
OF religion. whether as worship or faith,
supplant the great spiritual and moral
end which those forms were intended TO
| secure. and assume a value ana an I'M
portance in themselves above the meas
ure of the value of one human soul;
when these forms and accompanlments
of religion or the religion itself as
system, become the chief object or So
|
| to save its creed or it's customs and con-
yentionalities, or it's Bible, rather than
| to save men from their sins and woes,
| then these things cease to be Goa
sacred Instruments and become trav-
esty and hideous idolatry..
Every new moral force that Gou re-
leases into the life of the world has TO
contend with fierce opposition from us
very BIRTH No sooner does tresh I'M
pulse begin to work for the redemption
of men than it is mmediately-summon-
ed to submit to dogmatic and eccleslas-
tical tests. The saddest feature OF re-
ligious history is that its bitterest STRIFE
has not been a warfare against evil ana
sin and oppression, but against brethren
who were trying to secure the same splr,
itual and moral ends, but who diifered
somewhat in opinion and method. The
Salvation army, for instance, born, ike
it's Lord, in poverty and obscurity, was
jeered mathematical and crucined py
every sect in Christendom. II was m
prisoned, stoned, starved and chased IN
ridicule and wrath along the streets py
those who were processing TO 90 the
same work of redemption. And To-Day
the church finds that in prosecuting the
army she has been fighting against
God. Oh that we might learn the value
of men, of the souls of Gods children,
and the utter worthlessness or our the
ologies. our churches, our convention
alities. our modes of worship, our &C.
clesiastical proprieties, save in so FAR as
they minister to the divine work OF re-
deeming the world into Righteousness OF
life! Oh for the Christ spirit of tolera-
ton that is more eager to save soul
than to preserve a creed, more Jealous
to make a man than to secure pros
elytei The one great end OF the church
and the Christian must be to get Christ
actualized in the life of men. The ques-
tion of method is of small moment. The
question of motive is supreme. 1t is
serious matter to thrust ourselves or our
puny proprieties in> the path OF moral
work. Was not this the unparoohao4e
sin?
But q question remains: After tolera-
ton toward those outside our little de-
nominational fences, after the fellow
ship with those who, though not permit
ted to wear the tag of orthodoxy, are
yet doing the Masters work in the
world, what about their Christianity:
The New York Tribune relates as 1ol-
lows, of its experience: 1T was in the
cellar Of the Tribune building the other
night. The big engine was throbbing
with it's usual power. Suddenly a pipe
was torn from its connections ana
rush of escaping steam swept through
the furnaces. William Fitzpatrick was
the engineer in charge. He did not flee.
He plunged straightway into the thick
est of the sitting steam. 1t was as truly
the Jaws of death, the gates of hell
as the fatal valley of Balaklava- He
reached the spot, averted the danger,
and then came out again safe and
sound"
Such reading always suggests certain
thoughts to US. What Is the true bot
tom idea of religion? How much down.
right religion was there in this act.
The theologians would take this man
and find out what his exact views of the
divinity of Christ were and deal accord
ingly. The sacramentarians would find
out whether he had been baptized and
gone to the sacrament, and the sectar-
ians would like to find out what church
he attended. The question remains,
How much religion, well-pleasing to
God, has the man who quietly offers
himself to death to save his brother
from death? William Fitzpatrick here,
William Ingram of whom we were told
last month, who. stood by his train,
saved his passengers and was burned to
death himself, how much religion had
they? There seems to be much of
Christ's cross in this, but how much rec
ognized religion is there? We have been
taught much of the religion of the sacra-
menIS, anu tnt ItllSlOlt VI OclltN lib
rightly; how much is there in dying for
your brother man? This sort of thing
has often been put with the list of dead
orks. Was it a dead work? Francois
de la Rochefoucauld says, in way to
ccnfound moral distinctions-and man
could do few worse things-"Our vir-
tues are most frequently but vices dis
guised.' Was this vice disguised?
Then the next engineer will virtuously
leap from his cab. 1t is much easier.
Burning hurts. Steam scalds. If the act
Of Ingram were called vice to the saved
passengers they would pitch the caller
into the river. virtuously or viciously.
Oh, it would help US all amazingly, for
the very wise man to step down off his
high perch, where he sees only the stars.
and tell rs what this commonplace thing
was. WI all want to know. And when
the baptized people. and the sound be-
levers, march gloriously through the
pearly gates, where will William In
gram appear? Or can it be that the
truest faith is following Jesus, and the
highest faith of all following Him unto
death, for brethren? He that loseth
his life for my sake and the gospels
not a creed or a form of religion, but a,
principle of saving men-shall find IL
again unto life everlasting"