The Wichita daily eagle., 1898-01-06
Pertinent Religious Comments.
NEW RELIGIOUS OPINION.

| a belief in the impossibility Of absolut
| knowledge; and 80 far, it is well chosen
| for scientific agnosticism menas that tn
eccenti4l reality Of nothing in heaven o
earth can ever be known to beings o
such faculties as ours. We CONSTANT,
speak of time, and space and matter an
force and motion and life and feeling
and thought and knowledge. Withou
the ideas which these words represen
We could not speak, or even think, at all
and yet, when we ask ourselves wha
these things are, We cannot answer. i,
the scientific sense, therefore, the wort
agnOsticism is well chosen; but in tht
religious sense less well. For, reasoning
as We may ard must from such cogni
tons. or conceptions as We have, ever
the omst extreme agnostic comedies and
affirms the existence Of realities, though
their essential nature lies beyond nj;
scrutiny. One of these realities ie
force, with all its various phenomena
mechanical, organic, vital. We discover
force in all things, in the stone which
falls to the ground, in the animal which
moves itself around the ground, in the
flower which lifts itself above the ground
but force implies power, and Mr.. Spen-
Ger rot only admits, but proclaims, that
the presence of an uncreated and eter-
nal power in the universe and in every
part thereof IS the most certain OF all
things Agnosticism is no right name
for this most positive ans dogmatic of
assertions; and the truth which ii as
serts, the truth Of the immanent pres
ence of God in the universe ne abs crea-
ted, is precisely the truth which the De-
ism Of century ago denied"
"At the present time there is to be
noted" says the New York Observer
(Pres), "a ntneesmypoehseerin
Pres), "a tendency in some spheres to
discard, for purposes of practical philan-
thropy at least, this idea OF the gospel as
a force with message which is its
chief feature, and to cultivate the notion
Of religion without words. Lincoln
House, for example, a social settlement
in Boston, which does a useful ethical
work, announces fatty in its annual bull
letin that it is its settled policy to make
no effort to influence people along reli-
gious lines, and explains its position by
saying: We believe from our eXper-
ience that purely social organizations
should simply stand for inorganic reli-
gion, and that without words But how
is this to be reconciled with the injunc-
tin of Christ, 'Ye shall be witnessed or
with the eager declaration of Peter, We
cannot but speak the things that we
have seen and heard? If man has 10
religion, and poses as mere ethicist, of
course ne can say nothing about ii.
though he should as speedily as possible
get a religion which will bear discussiin.
Yet, according to the admission Of some
IF the soial-settlement workers. the re-
igious dynamic, is the greatest source
)f power in the work. Why then Gin
zeal the declaration Of this fact? What
right, indeed, has any man who is a
Christian, at all to hide the fact that he
s a believer? 1t is claimed that by this
method of religion without words Jew as
well as Gentle is reached. But reached
Jy what and for what? Not by the gos-
pei, not by anything that converts the
1eart and regenerates the life
at is admitted on all Sides says the
New York Churchman P. Ed that
secular Sunday, if such should ever be
he result of the present tendency. would
,e fatal TO the religious, even the phys
cal health of the nation. Ie is certain
nat the continental peoples who have
or a long time made Sunday either a
lay Of mere toll in the service of amuse-
nent or industry are coming to the con-
lusion that such a state of things is
,rejudicial to the well-being. There is
movement afoot in France and Bel
rum to remedy this state Of affairs.
The continental Sunday is synonym
or religious neglect and the proclamation
f a molly day. But the people on the
ointment of Eur9pe are now enrolling
themselves in associations for the refor-
nation Of the abuse. The 'Ligue Pop
lare pour lie Repos du Dimanche,' is
ne most influential among numerous So
ieties which have the same end in view.
'hese societies include in their men,
ers men Of religious teners, and are in
re ising in numbers and influence every
ear. While the avowed object OF
hese associations is distinctly that Of
elieving the la5oring classes of Sunday
-ork, il cannot be denied that indirectly
ne interests OF religion Will also De
The older men in our evangelical I
hurches mournfully recall the days Of |
he great revivals under Finney and |
Knapp and their co-laborers," says the |
Interior Pres) Of Chicago. Not long !
.nce one Of our brethren lamented in !
he press the disappearance Of old !
lshiCned Conversions We are not so |
outhful but that we remember the fer /
he physical prostracions. the exu5erant |
lOuts which marked those scenes. Per |
lnally we do not cares to lock upon |
Ien again. They were nc. Biblical. |
hey We're not necessary, they were not |
efensi5le. Many in recalling the cid |
lshioned' conversions forget more than |
ley rem enoe-, and time has softene5 |
lany a ragged edge and jagged point. /
ven during the prevalence OF these re-
- Is N-iS O-oN4 c. uEJAt ilSI ilSlL tACcS-
., and it was because they could not |
? freed from their eXcesses that the
lurch by a strong public sentiment re-
-essei them. Any one Will be benefit
spiritually by reading the biography
Charles q. Finney, or by studying his
Olume on revivals, but the statistical
story II these periods is darkened by
lCdOKS From city 10 cf-v -ha axc;He !
ent swept with increasing momentum
ld in 1852 more than "a, ,OOe were added
the Presbyterian churcl confussion. In
le next four years over So .o00 were re-
lived upon profession OF faith. besides
i that came in from other denomina-
DTS hN la--a-. a-i X... the t.,-al No. - !