The record-union., 1899-04-09
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
EXPRESSIONS FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
The Religious Thought Of the Day
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.


whether the so-called American party
will be much affected by this lengthy
epistle the Popes letter to Cardinal
Gibbons), or whether their opponents
will derive much satisfaction from It.
1.-THE leaders will hasten to declare that
! they entirely agree with his Holiness,
and that they never dreamed of advo-
eating such views as he has condemn
ed; that, in fact, they are nothing more
than the vagaries of Insignificant per-
sons This, according to kilograms from
Rome, Archbishop Ireland, who IS now
on a visit to the eternal city, has al
ready done with all possible emphasis.
Much will be made of the saving clauses
of the letter, and all things will prob
ably move on in the same direction as
hitherto. That as time goes on the Ro-
man Church in the United States will
become less and less Italian seems as
certain as anything can be. We shall
look next for some papal action calcu-
lated to prevent the reactionaries from
becoming too jubilant"
Lack of unity among the churches
at home is deplorable in itself; it is still
more deplorable because it obviously
hampers missionary work abroad"
says the New York "Churchman" P.
E).I yet through this very relation
of cause and effect some solution of the
problem may be found that will give us
domestic peace and foreign success is
spreading the gospel among the
heather. 1t is a commonplace of his.
tory that complete absorption in some
great external enterprise co-ordinatei
| 1o int M class and
section into a vital national unity OF
ideal and purpose. Why may not the
-consecration of all Christian bodies
to missionary effort abroad sooner OF
later make for unity at home amond
the churches? Does not true mission
ary zeal exclude selffshness? And are
not selfishness, self-consciousness us
Willingness to merge individual views
and prejudices in the larger truths OF
Christianity the germinal cause OF
those Earring contentious of Christen-
dom which all good men deplore?"
The present outlook for the. Presby-
terian denomination in this city is ex-
ceeddngly dark and discouraging," OBJ
serves the New York Examiner"
Bapt.). -Four of their great churches
will soon be made so through the ac-
! ceptance of the chair of literature at
Princeton University by Rev. Dr. Henry
Van Dyke. Five vacant pulpits. how
ever, do not by any means represen,
the extreme gravity of the Presbyterian
situation. Evidences are manifold that
the. denomination is rent and torn by
jseemingly irreconcilable factions. Ths
n ly da ial, 1aI l.
tresignation of the late Dr. John Hall.
and the attack last week on Rev. Dr.
Schauff1er, serve to accentuate this
fact. To our mind this inexpressibly
sad situation can be traced directly to
the attitude of Professor Briggs and to
the acrimonious heresy trial that re-
suited from his teaching That con-
troversy did much to. destroy the old
spirit Of Christian fellowship and en-
thusiasm, and to weaken the LOYALTY TO
oenomlnaticral tenets that had charac-
terlzed the Presbyterian body. II is
as true to-day as 1T was in the davs of
/ OLD that a house divided against itself
cannot stand. Happy is the denomina-
tlon that can have no 'heresy trials,, I"
in November, 1897" says the New
A1' oiiSeHSl (FreS.), "a commit
Tee OF the Church Service Society en-
oeieo upon an inquiry as to the vari-
Gus orders of worship in actual use in
.iie frespyterlan Church. This commit
tee, which consisted of the President
of the society, the Rev. Louis F. BEN
son, u. D., of Philadelphias Robert Jaf-
Tray, Jr, Esq, and the Rev. James
| hunter of New York, and the Rev.
John A. Ingham of Irvington- n-Hud-
son, have lately made a report. The
facts as brought to light by that report
show that the committe have no light
task before them. The present condi-
tons must be distressing to all who
nave regard for order in church wor-
ship and to the last degree perplexing
| to members of other communions For
that matter, perplexity must be equally
the lot of Presbyterians themselves
whose hap it may be to attend a church
| otner than their own, so intricate and
minute are the diversities in the forms
even OF neighboring churches.
| 10 sum up, the report very clearly
SHOWS not only that our present order
or dlsorder-of church service leaves
much to be desired, but that there is a
deep and widespread desire for some
thing better That hardly two pastors
| are agreed on all points as to what
would be better simply shows that they
nave only lately begun to formulate de-
sires which until lately have been
vague. That so large a proportion
| nearly the entire body of those reply
lng,-are so heartily in sympathy with
the aims of the society is most encour-
| aging. There remains the darker side
OF the picture; nearly one-half of those
addressed made no reply. But this,
too, may have an explanation that is
not all unhopeful"
Christianity says the New York
Christian Advocate" (Meth), 'is
judged by many persons by the con-
| duct and character of it's adherents. 1t
may be unfair and unphilosophic to
| make the daily life of individuals the
measure of the acceptance or rejection
Of any system of religion or morals
but that is what is done One result
is that, because of the inconsistencies
of individual professors, the cause of
Christ suffers. While it is probably
too much to expect that the time will
ever come when the occasion for harsh
criticism Of Christ's followers will be
removed because of the exalted and
unblemished character of their lives,
yet it would be a great encouragement
to many disputed souls if there should
| be widespread determination among
Christian people to seek for and secure
such a degree of harmony between
their profession and their daily life as
would effectually close the mouths of
| the hostile critics Tt is a thing greatly