The San Francisco call., 1898-01-17
IDOLATRY IN THE CHURCH.
The Polished Idol of DenoDiDo- tionolisn and the Golden
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'Church Idols" was the theme of Oliver C. Miller. pastor of the Church of the Holy Spirit, yesterday at the morning service.
 The speaker selected his text from Ho- sea, xiv:S: What have I to do any more with idols?" and said in part:
 ''The chapter from which our text is taken records one of the happiest scenes in the history of Israel-God returning to heal their backslidings and love them freely because they forsook their idols. Oh. that this scene might be re-enacted in our nation. When the church of to-day Is weighed in the balance, it Is found wanting, it requires but glance to re- veal the fact that she is full of idolatry. l recently talked with a number of ear nest ministers of all denominations, and 1t was the verdict of all that there is something wrong with the church. What is it but idolatry? Yes. idolatry. There stands before us the polished idol of de- nominatiOnalism set right up in the tenn pie of the living God. Holy Ghost power is not confined to isms. be they Catholi- cism, Calvinism, Lutheranism or any other ism. If either Calvin or Luther could return to the earth to-day, they would with fiery indignation resent their names standing for the pure Gospel of Christ. Although l am a clergyman of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and am at no variance with its Scriptural Christocentric doctrines, yet will 1 suffer no denominational walls to come between me and my brethren in Christ Jesus, such as are sealed with the spirit l can hard ly believe that denOminatonalism was ever ordained of God; it is rather the ab- normal than the normal development of Christian faith and practice. 1 believe that in these the closing days of the Spirits dispensation he is about to sound the death-knel of denominationalism and elect or call out, from all denomina- tiOnS, those whom he has sealed as heirs of salvation and who love to watch for their Lords appearing. At Christs first coming he broke through all the existing forms of ecclesiasticism, and so it will be with his second coming. Oh, for some spirit-flled man, like Asa of old. to cast out from the Church of the Living God this polished idol of denominationalism.
 Then there Is the idol of idealism stalking into the very holy of holies of the church Of Christ. Men fancy their own ideals of a perfect life, instead of ac- cepting by faith the only perfect ideal, Christ Jesus. the only perfect typal man. Then. too, the hideouS idol of Self is set up right around the communion altar of the Saints. Despite all efforts to counter felt the Christ-life within humanity, there are really only two kinds of lives, the self-centered and the Christocentric. Christ is the great supplanter. When he comes in Self must be put out Notwitn- standing Gods awful warning to his an cient people, the Golden Calf is uplifted in both pulpit and pew, and the majority Of those enrolled in the church fall pros trate before him in adoration. Here we find the reason why the church has lost the respect of and her hold upon the masses. Among these idols is one most of worldly pride and fashion, Haunting its deceptive fnery in the very face of God before whom all idols must fall Although ths time for the annual revival is now on.