The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-21
Tho Fifth Avenue Presbyterians.

The unanimous refusal OF the large meet.
| ing of the congregation Of the Fifth Avenue
Presbyterian Church to accept the resigna-
tion Of it's pastor, the Rev. DR.. HALL, indi-
| Gates that the dissatisfaction with his min
istry which led to his resignation was con-
Hned to the session Of the church, or the
| ruling elders. These elders recommended
| the acceptance Of the resignation n the
| shelving Of DIR. HALL as q pastor emeri-
tus" with q salary of 8 5000, but the con-
| RreRation was unwilling to adopt the rec
om~mendation.
Though the session had provided for the
| retirement Of DR.. HALL next June, It does
not appear to have selected any particular
minister to take his place as the actual pas
tor of the church; yet experience proves
that nothing is moro difficult than to find q
| preacher to succeed such q man as DR..
HALL. The Broadway Tabernacle, the Con-
| gregational Church at the corner OF Thirty
fourth street and Sixth avenue, has been
without a pastor for the last two years, or
since the resignation Of the Rev. DR.. STIM.
SON, simply because 1t cannot find q
preacher to suit Its critical requirements.
Minister after minister has preached in it's
pulplb On UEldl, pub uOuc VI bhOul huo bCoA
found up to the mark.
Moreover, the very cause Of the dissatis-
faction of the ruling elders Of the Fifth
Avenue Presbyterian Church with DR..
HALL would make the selection Of o sue
cessor to him the more difficult. Att bot
tom, 1t was the waning and the cooling Of
their religious faith. Instead of enjoying
his sermons the more because Of the
%soundness of their orthodoxy and their
Sc%riptural piety, they found fault with
them on that very account. They
wanted less severity of doctrine and
more latitude for their growing unbelief
and increasing desire for the joys Of the
world, which their wealth made possible
for them. This spirit Is always critical,
while vital and profound religious faith
can feed with satisfaction on sound doc
trine, however 1t may be presented from the
pulpit. In other words, q church is not
likely to find S%criptural sermons unappe.
tizing 80 long as its faith in the Bible is
warm only when that faith begins to cool
does the church grow finical In Its require
ments. 1t has no longer a healthy spiritual
appetite, but requires that It's spiritual
palate shall be piqued with all sorts of
spices of artificial pulpit condiments.
The Christian Intelligencer of this week,
the Dutch Reformed organ, quotes with ap-
proval a remark by the Bishop of Liverpool
to the effect that many people nowadays
"think doctrine Of no Importance; they
think everybody is going to be saved,
nobody going to be lost. Their religion is
made up of negatives, and the only positive
thing about them is their positive dislike
to distinctiveness." That is, they have
lost religious belief, and only an un.
defined religious sentiment remains to
them. Probably the words of the
Bishop describe the cause of the sessions
discomfort with DR.. HALLS preaching;
yet that same negative religion would
make it next to impossible for any other
Presbyterian preacher to satisfy them, or
would at least prevent their agreeing on
any other, with the result. II DR.. HALL
should leave, that, like the Broadway Tab
e~rnacle, the Fifth Avenue Presbyterian
Church would be long without a pastor.
The less religion there is in a church the
more fastidious it becomes in the matter of
pulpit oratory.
The present need in the session of the
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church seems
to be not a new pastor, but a revival of
religious faith.