The record-union., 1899-04-02
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
EXPRESSIONS FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
The Religious Thought Of the Day
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.


There is no question that the Re-
vised Version is more accurate says
the New York "Churchman" P. Ed.
That is what it was made for. But
some will be surprised toi find that those
who have studied it most claim that 1t
is also more rhythmical:- Rhythm is
largely matter of habit. The same
criticisms, the same aversions that
have greeted the Revision greeted
the Authorized Version. 1t made its
way very slowly. Dean Burgon's de-
nunciations were more than paralleled
by the scathing fierceness of Hugh
| BroughtOn. And the faults that are
found with the old are just the faults
that are found with the new-cacoph-
ony, inaccuracy, bad taste. Eventually
1t Won on it's merits, and if the present
revision is what the Bishops think 1t
is, the intrinsic advantages OF a more
accurate rendering of Gods Word into
our native tongue will continually in
crease it's hold ON the people, who, after
all, are not so childish as to subordinate
truth to melody. We have no idea that
the present. revision will be final. Why
should it be? We give what we have.
Let each generation do the same. The
Bible as fetch may suffer. AS the
| Bishop of Winchester has we'll said,
deep and thorough going study of
Scripture lies at the very basis of our
| churchS life, and the best mode OF
promoting it is to- make the Bible words
as precise and true as we can, sure that
if the message reaches our minds Alright,
| it will not fail to penetrate our emo
tions, our hearts and our lives
with reference to church support,
something always remains to be said;
so that there is no last word says
THE Living Church (P. Ed Of Chicago.
''The day may come when the fact that
a man becomes a member of certain
congregation viii mean that he is ipso
facto an assessed contributor to that
congregations support. 1t is idle and
hypocritical to talk about the Gospel
being free when people do not worship
in the open air; when they demand
music and flowers and other accompani-
ments, and when the priests at the altar
| have bodies to be warmed and fed and
clothed, just as their communicates
have. So many people have an idea
that the church is like the horse-leech's
daughters, crying, Give! Give!' it might
be well to take a. church here and there
as an experiment, and demand that
there be no concerts, no donations, no
appeals. even, from the pulpit for help,
but that the business anagers-that
| is, the vestry, go about in a cool, COM
mercial way and state to each atten-
dant what is expected of him or her.
| oh of
first, but it might come to be felt in
time that, after all, if the Gospel is
free for some it means that it is dispro-
portionate expense to others; and that
if man does not think his own soul
worth a few pennies a Sunday, it is a
wonder that except for purely esthetic
or gregarious motives, he goes to
church at ALL We believe that many
people fail to contribute to church pur-
poses because the appeal is not made in
a aightforward, business fashion.
How much owest thou unto my Lord?'
Not how much dost thou condescend to
give with half sneer at 'priestly beg
gars,' but how much owest thou?''
+
'It is not money or influence" says
the New York christian Advocate"
(Meth),- 'but spiritual life, we need.
| That only will bring all good things in
its train. This need is apparent from
many considerations, some of which
are: So many churches depend upon
spasmodic revivals, and then are un-
able to assimilate the fruits because
of the unthawed state of the member
ship; so many members never take
any part in evangelistic work, and
never attend any of the means of grace
except on Sabbath morning; so many
never attend, even then, except at rare
intervals; so many faithfully attend the
! lodge that never attend the prayer
meeting, that the tabulated statistics of
the church are often no more reliable
than would be those of an army if the
inmate of the hospitals, those who have
/ been taken prisoners by the enemy
and the deserters were given as a part
of the fighting force. The moral tone
also is unsatisfactory, and many So
cieties would be reduced to few pious
women aged persons, and unsophisti-
Gated youth, if the discipline enforced
in the primitive church, or in the earlier
days of English and American Method
ism, We're applied. The religious and
moral condition of many official mem
bers suggests serious problems. Where
it has become a standing theme for rid
icule that most of the office bearers in
the church violate it's rules and never
participate actively in it's aggressive
spiritual work; and where in addition
to that it is understood that the pastor
finds his chief social life with these in
consistent members, and they are the
ruling influence, the situation BODIES no
good"
THE comparison between large and
small churches" says the New York
! observer (Pres) reminds one OF the
! perpetual discussion as to the relative
value of big and little colleges Prac-
| t1cally people take their own choice
between the two. Some find benefit
under one system. and some under an
other. In ecclesiastical administration
it is quite possible that the ideal ar
rangement, considering the general in
terests of the church, would be the
maintenance of several mammoth
churches in every city, both of the reg
ular church and the public hall vari-
ETY., where large assemblies could be
held in time of religious revival, or
when some splendid pulpit orator ap-
pears Then for the more ordinary
purposes of church work a larger num-
ber of medium sized churches could be
sustained, where men of undoubte1
gifts, but not necessarily of national
reputation, who perhaps would other