The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-08-14
THE METHODISTS.
HE WENTIETH CENTURY MORE
DTENT


ana Reiirious Work-The Salvation
OF Cities-The Great Power OF Cities
In Historic Ages-This Country Soon
20 De Ruled by Cities-surpIisings sta.
tistics-shan Future Dick Croker,
R"le Americai--If Not why Not.
The following address was delivered
oy Rev. DR.. Geo. Lansing Taylor at
Plainville Assembly ON Aug l, 1899;
Our bishops have issued an earnest
and elaborate call and plan for our
great wing of the Christian church to
unite in grand celebration of the
usherlng in of the Twentieth Christian
century. 1t is In obedience to that call
mat we are assembled here to-day
Our church is not alone in this move
Hleit, Tor our action is only part of a
pan that is in motion among other
chufches as Well as our own, and in
canada. England and Europe as well
as in the United States. 1t is a part Of
movement which promises to extend
throughout the Christian world-a plan
10 observe, each church In its own way,
the dawning of a new christian centu-
ry by an onward march in the work of
Cnflsts Kingdom. And surely this is q
noble and praiseworthy conception 1t
IS true that the work seems to be a
little premature this year. Next year
would seem to be the more proper
time for this work, as next year, not
this year, ends the present century, as
year after next begins the new one. 1t
Is an intellectual curiosity to see how
many people are trying to make nine
LYNNE pass for one hundred, Should
you offer them ninety-nin dollars in
payment of a note for one hundred
they would quickly call for the other
dollar. But they seem in hurry to
accept ninety years for a century,
ana unwilling to. wait for the hun
dredth year, with all it's twelve months
in full count, before the new century
can begin. We have thus, in reality,
all the year 1900 yet in which to get
ready to hail the opening of the twen-
tieth century, which will begin with
January I, 1901. But in so large an en-
terprise as the raising of twenty mil
lion dollars, which IS the task our
church leaders have set before us be-
sides the hope of great moral and spir-
1tual Victories, it is we'll that we should
early begin to stir ourselves up. and
try to raise our thoughts, our faith our
courage, to the high level of the great
undertaking.
we must. moreover, comprehend that
we are celebrating more than the end
Ing OF century, or the dawning of
another. Centuries are but mile-posts
along the long march of historic time.
The century to whose morning we are
looking forward Is only the last mile
post of thousand years, and that
thousand the second thousand years
since Christ came into this world and
Christian history began. 1t will take
another hundred years to pass that
milepost to finish that century, to
reach the end of that second millennium,
Or period of thousand years, and see
the mighty dawning of the third thou
sand years begin. Not one of us will
i've to see that day in the flesh and
yet the history of this marvellous CEN
fury we are about to close streams it's
great search-light on into the darkness
II the coming one, and, In the faith of
Abraham we can hear the Christ Of |
hat day say to our great GRAND chill
1ren, Your fathers of a century, ago |
'ejoiced to see my day. They saw it |
Ind We're glad.'
There is an element of interest in this
wentieth century movement which,
hough widely felt, IS nevertheless not
commonly understood nor taken into
account. There has been notion in
he world for many centuries that pc
iods of thousand years, or milenni-
Inns, and periods of two thousand
'ears, in the worlds history have al
ways been marked by great events, by
treat and revolutionary changes In hui
nan society. To the critical student of
history it seems difficult to find any
old foundation for this notion, yet it's
xistenee is well known, and it's force
n the popular mind is factor to be
eckoned with. 1t Is probable that
ohn's prophecy, at Rev. 20:1-7. of the
ime when Satan shall be "bound and
hut up for a thousand years" while
he martyred saints shall live and
eign with Christ ION earth) for
thousand years" has very much to do
With this millennal," j. e., this thou
and-years notion in the popular mind; |
nd the bi-millennial, or two-thousand-
ears notion is only an enlarged edi-
ion of the same idea. 1t is probable,
DO, that the popular, though erroneous,
lea that the deluge occurred some
There about the year of the world 1000,
S Christ's incarnation occurred about
i. M 1000, has much to do with the
opular expectation of some extraordi-
airy and stupendous event to occur
ossibly the end of the World--at the
nd of the next 1000 years. viz, 5000 A.
T., or 1000 A. d. Alas, this is only one
lore of the many mistakes and STUN
ling blocks for which good old Arch
ishop ITsher's Bible Chronology, not
ct two hundred and fifty years old
rst printed in our English Bibles by
1me unknown person and never au-
revered by the I'M
armed as part of canonical scripture,
ut now utterly demolished at least as
, the books of Moses--is to be held re-
1t may we'll be doubted !
neither any other well-meant and rev.
ont work of modern Christian schol-
rshiD has done more mischief, by its
suits. than Usher's Chronology. It is
10 source of several of the decisions Of
-ille1ism and Second Advertiser. and
MANY stone thrown al Christianity
was mainly blame | i