The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-11-27
MONDAY, oVEMBER q. 1888.
1a{s paper Is Democratic IN prs,ac,pte'
and s Independent in its piears on az 'oed'
questions.
The sunday Chnroh Going Question


The Rev. Arthur. Thompson, d. D., OF
Westminster Presbyterian Church, mas
s,,st concluded a series of sermons based
,,non letters. which he addressed a couple
OF months ago to various citizens, ASKING
utbv men did not attend church. II IS
not going too far to say that neither the
sa++ars nor the sermons have thrown any
particular light on the subject ihueeu
Mr.. Thompson appears to be conscious
NJ this himself. He found; he expressly
saws, nothing In the letters which ssug-
gestea desirable changes to him, and as
he says, he intends to &c on IN the same
old way. it is plain he-has no definite
theory himself as to the, cause OF the
condition Which he deplores, and no
specific remedy 10 offer.
It appears to US that the various causes
suggested for lax Sunday church-going
are superficial and: unexplanatory. 70
say that the bicycle, the Sunday news
paper, the saloon, the club, business,
fatigue-what you will-keep men away
from worship is to mistake the effect Tor
the impulse, the result for the cause.
If men were convinced Of the need OF
sunday worship. is they were, say IN
the old Puritan days, none OF these things
would operate to keep them away from
1t. 1t is only because he thinks the
church service unessehtial that a man
viii stay away from it, in order to ride
the wheel. If he thought his salvation
was IN peril, he would not do SCAT least
be would not nine hundred and ninety
min times out of a thousand.
OF course we do not say that the mod
ern man is right or hat the Puritan was
wrong. Far be 1t from us to invade the
field Of theological discussion. We mere
" deal with the fact as a phenomenon
of the day, just like the fact of church
absenteeism ftseIf-a fact which may be
lamentable but which exists all the same,
and must be recognized If one desires TO
approach the whole subject in a spirit
80 rs-~-+F+ tG
OF sincerity. In a word. the average re-
gigious ideals and conceptions OF today
have changed radically from what they
were when the church creeds and dis
ciplines stiil in vogue were formulated
some of the ministers themselves have
led in the change, and it is not surpris-
ing that laymen, who are not as surely
anchored as they, should presently out
strip them on the road to rationalism.
That women are tending in the same d.
rection anyone with eyes can see. al
though their motion is naturally slower
It would appear, then, that, the old
motives for ~church-going being weakened,
the ministers are in duty bound to sup
ply new ones, and this is much easier
than might be supposed. There are many
rreaehers who never rave any difficulty
In drawing hundreds and thousands of
men to hear them-just as many men
as women. They are the preachers who
preach ins the new light and not out of
medieval darkness, who appeal to the
sense and reason of the modern human
being and not TO extinct prejudices and
according to impossible theories and rules
Of life.
Perhaps If Mr.. Thompson would try this
plan-if he would drop antiquities and
preach the beautiful, new. liberal Chris