The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-11-21
Last Sunday.

|
he has reached an age ut which his early
retirement from active duty was inevitable
Like the Rev. DIR. GARDINER SPRING
once pastor OF the Brick Presbyterian
Church In New York. he came OF family
OF New England Congregational ministers
and like him he has rendered pastoral
service Mt only one church during q long
| and strenuous life.
DIR. SToRRs has been n notable man
throughout his ministerial career, eloquent
digniiied after the fashion OF the older
| clerical school, and conservative. Together
with HENRY WARD BEECHER, he was fore
most In giving distinction to the Brooklyn
pulpit and it may be said to be impossible
to find successor to him who will ever
hold there the exalted place occupied by
him. new school OF ministers has come
up, the tastes OF orthodox churches have
changed very radically and their religious
convictions have been loosened greatly.
Mr. BEEcHER's theological position was
insecure enough. but his successor, DR..
LYMAN ABBOTT, has advanced, or retro
graded into views not logically distinguish
able from aRnosticism. nor has his sue
| cessor, DIR. HILLS, any religious belief
which is detinable.
In New York, the decision OF the Pulpit
Committee Of the Fifth Avenue Presbyte-
ran Church, on Sunday, to recommend the
call OF the Rev Mr.. MORGAN OF London to
its vacant pastorship seems to promise his
selection by the congregation and to assure
his acceptance of the place though I'M
questionably there is some opposition to
him. Mr.. MORGAN is very different man
from the late Rev. DR.. JOHN HALL. the last
pastor. He is vigorous young man OF
the enthusiastic evangelist order, and
his theology seems to be elastic. He
is the son OF an English Baptist min
ister and, in fact, began his religious
career as an evangelist or revivalst, sub
scquently serving as the pastor OF several
Congregational churches Moreover, he is
muscular Christian, enthusiastic In
athletic sports; in fine, a man radically
different from the late Dr. JOIN HALL,
with his strong Presbyterianism simple
doctrnal sermons and strictly clerical de-
pertinent. Doubtless, II Mr.. MORGAN comes
tn the Fifth Avenue Church II will take on
an entirely new character.
At the Brick Presbyterian Church, also
In Fifth avenue, the sermon last Sunday
was by substitute for the Rev. Dr. VAN
DYKE, but nothing was said OF the new
pastor soon to come, Dr. BABCoCK Of Bal
timorc, DR.. VAN DYKE desiring to enter
at once into his English professionally at
Princeton. At Baltimore. DR.. BABCocK
seems to have been successful in attaching
his congregation To him strongly, ana he
will find in the Brick Church the most sue
cessful OF the Presbyterian churches Of
New York and Il congregation which will
not exact from him a rigid adherence TO the
Westminster Confession. That will DO both
all advantage and II 5ulvuntage for him;
he Will come To prosperous church ac,lls-
toned To preaching not too searching in
character and too severe IN doctr inc but
all tn" more for that reason. he will be- sub.
jected To criticism rs n pulpit orator, for
when II congregation wcakcns in its rci-
gious convictions and its drnominationul
distinction the pastor loses the support ~
pure craftsmanship and must rely on cap,ur-
ing it, ti"kle fancy and appealing Ia its vary
ing tastes literary and otherwise.
The Rev. DR.. FULTON preached at the
Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Fifth
avenue on Kindness to animals. That does
not seem strictly religious subject but the
preacher made IL so by treating such kind.
ness as religious duty and holding that all
the arguments for Il cont inuous life for man
apply equally to the lower animals. AS
unquestonably they do. This is "A subject
which has been discussed very interestingly
by several OF our correspondents, and In
Eccesiastes ILL.,, 10, 20 We read:
For that which befalle,h the sons OF men h.
falleth beasts; even one thug bofalleth them; a.
the one dieth, ~ dieth the other. yea, they baye
AL one BREATH 80 That man hath no prominence
above a beast: for all is vanity. All 90 unto ON,
place; all arc of the dust and all turn To dust
again"
Further on man and brute are thus
placed on the same level: dx., !, ;, o.:
Fort 10 him that Joined to all the living there is
hope; for living dog is better than dead lion For
the living know that they shall die; but the dead
know not anything neither have they any NOR. A
reward for the memory o: them Ia forgotten Also
their love. and their hatred and their envy il now
persisted; neither have they any more portion far
ever IN anything that Ii done under the sun"
The Rev, DR.. GROVE, Universalist min.
lister, preaching at the Church of the Eter.
nal Hop, said that the Rev. DR.. LYMAN
ABBOTT, in "onfesSing, II do not know
what Will be the destiny Of the wicked"
had taken long step toward the pure
and simple agnostcsm expressed by
lNGERsoLL when he said In regard to a
future life: Il have no opinion on that
subject In order to get out OF aSnostl-
cism DR.. GROVE contended that IL would
bc necessary for DR.. ABBOTT TO embrace
lnirersalism, or belief In the saliva
ton, or IA lie put it, the "reforma-
ton" OF all men. That belief OF
the Unversalists, however, can be no
more than merely speculative, unless
for its support they rely on the dogma
OF some infallible revelation on the subject.
VI himself, OF course, man can know
nothing Of what happens to his "soul "