The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-04-17
A NEW IDEA OF CHRIST.
"wHAT KEEPS so MANY/MEN OUT
OF THE CHURCH."

Largely Responsible, Rev. G. ii.
Strong HoIds-BeIief in a Creed
Held to be More Important Than
Morality by Many PeOpIe-saIva-
ton, Moral HeaIthfuIness and
Spiritual Sanitation.
what Keeps So Many Men Out of
Church." was the topic of Rev. C. H.
Strong's sermon at st. Johns Church last
night. The sermon was in the nature of
a sequel to Mr.. Strong's sermon of the
previous Sunday night. ''Is Religion on
a Decline" being a discussion of the at
titude of men toward the church and of
the church toward men at the present day.
"Ye will not come to me that ye might
have life" the words of Christ to the I'M
believing Jews who had caviled at him,
furnished the text with which Mr.. Strong
began his sermon. He discoursed upon
the sad state of affairs expressed in these
words, the world of unbelievers refusing
to come 10 Christ that they might have
life.
In this connection Mr.. Strong quoted the
words of the Governor of New Hampshire
In proclaiming the observance for April 10,
of the old Puritan fast day. which has
sim observed in New Hampshire. In his
proclamation, which has attracted much
attention, the Governor makes the follow
ing statement:
The decline of the Christian religion.
particularly In our rural communities, is
marked feature of the times, and steps
should be taken to remedy 1t. There are
towns where no church bell sends forth
its solemn call from January to January;
there are villages where children grow
to manhood unchristened: there are COM
munities where the dead are laid away
without the benson of the name of Christ
and where marriages are solemnlzed only
by justices of the peace"
Mr. Strong quoted this simply in illus
tration of his point that there Is a ten
dency upon the part of men to remain out
of the church. Why is it, he inquired
that men will not come to the Lord Jesus
Christ. The theologians say that it is be-
cause they are bad men, because they are
unbelievers. Do you mean by this that
men are unbelievers because they have
not accepted your view of theology. There
are men who would be the worse for ac-
cepting IL. In the new evolution of thought
and the new study of the Bible we are
getting rid of the debris of the past There
are certain lines of religious thought
which produce certain kinds of Christian
character The results of some of these
lines of thought are not always conducive
to the cause of Christianity. Some men
place belief ahead of morality. 81 had
rather be a murderer or a thief than an
unbeliever," said one man. Is this a right
view of religion? Religion is based upon
absolute right and absolute wrong. 1t
helps to build us up to a grander concep-
ton of right and wrong and to open up a
grander vista of view of our duties II
God and man. by their fruits We shall
know them, said Christ. Faith without
works is dead.
Mr. Strong condemned the placing of
creed and doctrine before religion and
right living 1--WE pride ourselves% he
said. upon accepting a certain cfeed or
doctrine. The man who thinks as we do
is believer. The man who does not agree
with us is worse than a thief or a muir
derer.''
Mr.. Strong said it was a great misfor-
tune that we are compelled to read the
Bible in English. Christ he said, spoke
in Hebrew and his apostles wrote in Greek
The result of the translation of these say
ings and writings into English has been
to cause frequent misunderstanding. II
is fortunate, on this account, that we have
the advantage of the revised version. For
instance, MIR, Strong said, the old version
has 1t that Christ says that He that be-
leveth not on me shall be damned" where
as the meaning or the Greek word used in
the original is to suffer loss"
One thing which keeps men out of the
church, Mr. Strong said, is the cruel doc
trine that the believer must accept all
man-made doctrines which have come
down since Revelations Salvation, he
said, was the means provided by Christ TO
save men from their sins. Salvation means
moral heaithfulness, spiritual santa ton
a rising from the old stepping stones of
our dead selves to the higher stepping
stones of Christian manhood Salvation,
he declared, was no fixed up arrangement
between God and Man. 1t is not that God
has taken the superabundant righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ and thrown into
us as a garden. Salvation is an atmos-
phere of spiritual purity by which man
may be uplifted 10 Christ.
May the time come" exclaimed Mr..
Strong when the old prophetic cry that
We will not come to me that We might have
life, may be changed to that of men have
come unto me and have given them life."