The record-union., 1898-07-31
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
EXPRESSIONS FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
The Religious Thought Of the Day
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.

In the parable Of LaZ-
arus and the Dives our Lord represents
Abraham as saying to the latter, that
those who have Moses and the pro-
phets would not be persuaded though
one rose from the dead But Jesus
said to Capernaum: If the mighty
works which have been done in thee
had been done in Sodom it would have
remained until this day There is an
amount of moral evidence which needs
to be supplemented by sign to carry
it to the point of persuasion. There Is
an amount of moral evidence to the
force OF which no sign can add the
element of persuasion. In the degener-
ate days of Elijah a fresh evidence OF
Gods existence and power might be
needed, but that necessity affords no
parallel for us who live in this enlight-
ened Christian age. We not only have
Moses and the prophets, but Christ and
the apostles. and the long Christian
centuries. The call of God for us to
enlist in his service needs no external
reinforcement
The hopeless puzzle Of Christian Sci
ence," says the "Universalist Leader
of Boston and Chicago, lis, that while
denying the reality of matter and ar
resting that disease that does not exist,
it recommends itself to mankind-espe-
cially to womankind-as q new method
of overcoming the effects of matter and
of extirpating disease. If there is no
matter and no disease the achieve
ments on which Christian Science
mounts itself are as illusory as
the rest of the phenomena. Mrs.
Eddy never wearies of telling us
that our corporal senses are the
sources of error. They delude, deceive,
cheat us, continually. Hence our sal
walton is in forsaking our senses and
our moral mind But a witness thus
discredited and driven out Of court
should not be brought in the next mo-
ment and asked to tell what miracles
it's eXorcism has wrought There is an
amusing irony there. 1t is as if Satan,
after having been proven to be the
father Of lies and then shown to be
an utter myth, should be introduced
as the chief witness in support of the
veracity ana worth of his accusers."
1T is not to be denied says the New
York Outlook that the appointment
of days of either fasting or thanksgiv-
ing for national reasons is looked upon
with unspoken doubt by even devout
souls. The reason for this it is not
difficult to discern. There is a familiar
story told of Abraham Lincolns re-
sponse to a member of a visiting cleri-
cal delegation who said to him: L hope,
Mr.. President, that God is on our side;
to which the President replied, I have
not concerned myself with that queS-
ton; adding, after the shock of sur
prise had been well effected, But | have
been very solicitous that we should be
on Gods side To assume that we are
fighting a battle SO righteous and SO
important that it is worth the AL
mighty's while to intervene to help US.
and yet not worth his while to accom-
plsh the result himself, is not so much
a trial TO faith as it is a shock to hu
mility and to reverence. But it is quite
a different matter to assume that God
has a cause in which, as the Father Of
all the living, he is interested and in
which he permits his loyal children
to aid him.
The discussion in English Baptist
papers concerning the decline in their
churches and the reasons therefor still
continues. There is a disposition on
the part of many of their correspond
ents to point to American Baptists as
a shining example of the benefits of
fidelity to Baptist principles, says the
Chicago STANDARD" (Bapt). 1T is
true enough that we have had to con-
tend in this country with none of the
evils of So-called open membership
principles, which seem to US to make
the maintenance of Baptist churches
logical absurdity. But few American
Baptists are just now in a mood for
self-congratulation on account of the
spiritual health of our churches. There
is no reason for pessimistic prophecies,
to be sure, but the percentage of in
crease by baptism is far too small for
satisfaction. We are not disposed to
comment on the dismal forecasts of our
English friends by saying, We told
you So If they have made mistakes
so have we, though perhaps Of another
kind. The seriousness of some incon-
sistencies practiced by them in the mat
ter of baptism and communion may
be no greater than the seriousness of
our own unfaithfulness in other direc-
tions, notably that of missionary Civ
ing. Let US have none of the Phari-
sees spirit in this comparison of year
book statistics"
1T is time certain brethren woke up"
says the Interior" Pres) of Chicago.
This battle Of sin and Righteousness is
taking on new form: and he who goes
! into it upon the Lords side with flint
/ lock musket or SMOOTH bore siX-pound-
| ers will soon find himself hors de COM
| bat. Pulpit platitudes will not suit
/ the needs of the age. Dialectics and
| dogmatics of fifty years ago will not
| fill the bill. Apologetics which the last
generation found sufficient, the pres
ent generation laughs at. Sermons and
seminary lectures written thirty years
| ago need to be rerfied Our whole
spiritual armament must cease to be a
mere duplicate of that which our faith
ers used with effect What we need
is the spirit of the past, but the
equipment suited to the present and
ali our weapons brought down to date
| Boys brgades and institutional
! churches are not according to the
! tactics of the fathers, but they are
not to be discarded on that account
Let every new invention have honest
| trial: and in due time the churchs
dynamite cruiser will blow a hole
through the DEVILS MORO Castle; the
war will be ended and the victory
ours
I'VE believe" says the New York
"Churchman' P. Ed, that the church
to which we belong reflects the mind
and sets forth the teachings of Christ
This being So personal LOYALTY and &C.