New-York tribune., 1899-06-18
MINISTER'S LEAVING THE PULPIT.

While the secularization OF American colleges
has excited great deal of comment, not a'
ways either wise or Just to the clericai pro-
fesslon, very little notice appears to nave peen
taken Of another tendency In many respec's
quite as noteworthy. We refer TO the desire on
the part Of so many cergymeD or nght nhu
leading to withdraw from pastoral work ana
take up the vocation Of teaching III ihs'itu-
tlons Of learning The acceptance by Dr'
Fnunce Of the presidency OF Brown University
Is the latest illustration Of this tendency. FOR
some years ne declares. an Invisible tide mas
been bearing him onward toward the educa-
tjopal world In commenting on this declara-
tIon. "The Congregationalist' remarks:
The same tide is taking the ablest clergymen
of the country away from their church puplts
many Sundays in the year to serve as preachers
at colleges and universities. 1t has swept or
ultimately will sweep Henry van Dyke from
New York City to Princeton University. II ap-
parently Is about to take Professor George Har-
rs from Andover Seminary to Amherst anu
the latest prey Of Its avaricious Gluten Is tne
Rev Charles r. Brown. Of Oakland. Cal. VINO
has been elected chaplain OF Leland STANFORD,
Jr University We do not know the precise
terms OF this offer or whether he Will accept
It, We simply chronicle the fact that the ricny
endowed, ambitious centres OF learning In the
country more and more demanding the par
tal. II not entire, service OF the brightest most
vital and inspiring Of the preachers OF the coun-
try and the unendowed church. with lts hyper
critical, exactng, unresponslve congresa'ion
must not be surprised II the endowed university
with it's eager, free, responsive congregation
wins In the race
It Is not, however. colleges only that are TO-
day so powerfully attracting Christian minis
ters. They are to be found in increasing num-
bers In other calings, mere especially. perhaps,
in Journalism and literature As rule, these
men have all the gifts that would enable them
to do effective work for the Church They are,
moreover conscientious men. They have not
abandoned the active work Of the ministry
without what seemed to them good reasons.
The fact OF the matter is that, either conscious
ly or unconsciously, the modern clergyman has
modified his view Of the ministry In its rela-
ton TO the so-called secular activities of life.
II Is coming to be more and more believed that
as the universe Is one there Is really no line
OF demarcaton between the sacred and the
secular and therefore, all work IS holy, to use
the old theological word and all callings ought
in some sort to have solemn religious sane
ton. To the minister who gets to thinking
that way about life there cannot be any inn
passable chasm between the specialized work
he is doing as officer of the Church ana the
specialized work some other man is doing as
n teacher or an editor. Does he need to be
solcmnly set apart for his work? Very we'll
then: so also does the other man; for what he
does may BE- quite as important In ITS ERECT on
the race as is the work Of the ordained minis
ter In other words the tendency or thought
in the churches to-day IS to invest all v0cations
and all work with the same sense or religious
obliga ton that so pre-eminently surrounds the
minister and his work. From this point of
Wow oll work Is sacred and all service Is
divine.
Then. also. the spirit of investigation so
prevalent in the churches to-day has driven
ont of active ministerial life many clergymen
who find themselves unable any longer to ac-
cept the popular theology of their denomlna-
tIon II Is the habit of some critics or the
baser sort to denounce these men as inhdeis
But. IN point of fact, they are most loyal De-
| levers I'm the fundamentals of Christianity
Their ONLY offence Is that they have trled 10
think ont their creed for themselves rather
than accept It blindly and ignorantly as IL
oomos down the stream OF tradition. Now,
Christian theology is a complex thing. involving
| nnumerable questions Of historical fact as 10
| vhich honest men may and do differ. But the
nostor of n church generally finds himself IN
| hot water II he antagonizes In any point the
| nonular theology of his Church. He believes
that Intimately the Church will come around
70 his way OF thinking; but in the mean while
60 avoid an unseemly squabbe that might
break I'D the parish. he quietly withdraws'
This tendency Of many cergymen to secularlze
themselves is one Of the most serious problems
OF prescnt-day Christianity.