The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-10
CONFORMING TO NEW IDEAS.
OLD DOGMAs HAVE VANISHED
FROM RELIGION OF THE DAY.


the Pure God VIII Live Through
Out the Cycles of Eternity.
Rev. Charles H. Strong preached at st.
Johns Church last night on the subject
rs Christianity on the Decline?" His
text was from Matthew. 24:25: Heaven
and earth shall pass away but My words
shall not pass away" The sermon was
a powerful and thoughtful discussion of
the question replete with ripe learning
and illustrated and Illuminated with all
the speakers command of chaste English
and graceful and polished rhetoric.
The last decade OF the present CEN
tury," said Rev. Mr.. Strong. has wit
messed vast almost convuIsive, changes
in every phase of life. In political, social
and ecclesiastical matters there have been
radical departures from the opinions COM
monty entertained but few years ago.
OF late the newspapers and magazines
have been agitating the question, us
Christianity on the Decline?" and the dis
cussion has brought forth a mass of con-
foting testimony and divergent conelu-
sions."
1T is an admitted fact that the increase
in every religious denomination during the
past ten years has been much smaller than
that of the decade Immediately preceding.
The Governor of one of the New England
states has recently stated in a publish
ed interview, that In the rural towns Of
the commonwealth over whose destinles
he presides Christianity has almost van
ished That the traveller in these neigh
borhoods may see on Sunday the farmer
following his plow and the housewife over
her washtub, the mechanic at his loom
and the blacksmith at his forge, the chill
dren of all playing idly in the streets or
fields or attending some secular school
In the wake of the disappearing religion
have vanished the old attributes of hon
esty, purity and morality, and the Gov
ernor asks for some expedient which VIII
serve to bring his people back into the
fold OF the church or at least restore to
them the simple manly and womanly Vir.
tues upon which is based the safety Of
the state"
The Protestant denominations are fall
ing away from the tenets and dogmas by
which in years agone they were distin-
guished / will venture on the assertion
that there are not half a dozen churches
in the land from whose pulpits are preach
ed the doctrines OF John Calvin, as they
were formulated by him. And in every
church its communicates have fallen away
from creeds and parts of creeds that were
once essential to membership and heresy
to disbelieve."
I'm our own mother church, the Es-
ia blished Church of England there is wag-
ing now war for reversion to the forms
that prevailed in the Middle Ages and in
many of the churches the priests have
erected confessionals and celebrate mass
instead of the holy communion. The agi-
tation is carried on In press and pulpit,
and has reached now the Houses of Par
Lament. So fierce has it become that
there has arisen a loud cry for the dis
establishment of the church.
I'm the Roman Catholic Church there
are observed like signs of protest and the
desire for change Recently it's head has
issued a letter denunciatory of what is
termed "Americanism." It is the evidence
of that spirit 50 prevalent among our
countrymen, that revolts against the sub
mission of the intelligence and the con-
science to the will and the within of an
other. 1t is the outward and visible sign
of the American peoples confidence in the
power and the strength of individual rea-
SON."
80 that, as a partial answer to she
question, there Is no pOSSlple DOUBT Il1t
there s a decay of theological ideas. The
old dogmas, for which many a field has
run red with the blood of the bravest and
best and which have been enforced az
The point of the sword, with the hang
mans moose and the bigot's torch, have
passed from the religion of the day and
| from the possibility of belief. The doc
trines of the church have changed to con.
! form with changed ideas of right and
] fohA frn- Cf h.
divine. The dogmas or some of them have
vanished, but this does not and cannot
mean that the Christian religion is on the
/ decline. Ecclesiasticism, the mental and
moral dominion of class of men over
| the rest of mankind, the existence of and
/ submission to an organized priesthood IS
contrary to the spirit of the age and wills
not be tolerated. The willingness to sub
| nit to it has gone but the Christian re.
! llglon, the pure word of the pure God.
! still lives and win live throughout tho
| cycles of eternity.
Something is wrong with the church Of
| to-day. l believe there Is urgent need of
REIMBURSEMENT 1 believe that something
should be done to bring the church back
to its old position of power in the enforce
ment of the moral law. l believe that there
are means and agencies that properly ap-
piled win produce this effect. Let us see
what these means and agencies are"
| First, in order and Importance. is the
assertion by the church of a Just princi-
| pie of authority. realize when l make this
| statements that 1 run counter to the opin-
| ions and prejudices of many of my hearers
and that / will be accused of attacking the
importance and limiting the scope of the
| individual reason and conscience substitute
ing in the place of these guides to right
| conduct and correct thought the authori-
tative mandate of another. / have no such
intention, l do not desire to topple reason
from its throne or still the beatings of the
conscience of any man, but 1 do desire
to enter my solemn protest against the
current idea OF religious opinion 1t is in
dividuarty gone mad, the principle of no
| authority resultant from the protest
against the principle of infallible author
ity. Both are equally wrong and for both
l would substitute the reliance upon rea-
son and conscience, not untrammeled but
controlled by the word of God and The ex-
| perience of the men who have lived and
died under its teachings and have caught
something of It's spirit. No man can com
-.