The evening times., 1899-03-25
luenced .hrough ignorance. when man

huenced through ignorance. When a man
has learned to read. and is furnished with
books and newspapers, it is no longer pos
sible to scare him into church going by
threats of a literal fiery furnace waiting
for him il he does not go, nor does he
believe in actual ghosts and demons lurk-
ing behind every bush to catch him in case
he does not behave himself. But it is to
be doubted whether any man who was
frightened into the church ever was much
the better for it in his daily life. The
churches need not mourn, therefore, over
decrease in numbers from this cause. An
other result. of general education, how
ever, is rather more serious. In many
communities the thinking and intelligent
men and women of the congregation pres
emily find themselves SO far in advance
of the preacher in matters intellectual
that they no longer care to hear him;
and that is certainly thing which should
cause grief to the Church. Since, as Mat
thew Arnold says, conduct is three-fourths
of life, it would appear that the men
whose business it is to teach and advise
others in matters of right living should
be fully competent for the task.
But these matters are, after all, self
adjusting. The change in economics which
has lessened the power of the churches
is much more ominous. There was time
when, in well-regulated communities,
man who worked hard for his living, and
was sober, honest, and well-behaved
would, as general thing be saved from
in
rule was not by any means inyariable but
there were plenty of cases in which 1.-The
peaceable fruits of righteousness" among
the laboring classes were visible and
could serve as silent object lesson. OF
course. there was rascality: the sharper
often made money out of all proportion
to his labor; but it was not often that
a thoroughly worthy man or woman was
brought TO actual starvation. Honor in
public and private life meant something in
those days, and though the standard of
thoroughly honorable man was not as
high as it is now, there were more men
who attained it. There was, therefore,
among the working people general feel
ing that 2 merciful Providence ruled over
the earth, and that virtue. if it was not
its own reward in many cases, was a.
least no cause of punishment
Within the last two generations there
has, especially in this country been a par
tial overturning of the social system.
Rapidly succeeding improvements in ma
chinery have thrown out of work one
class of artisans after another; men In the
prime of life, with families dependent on
them, have found the requirements of half
a lifetime thrown back useless on their
hands. Strikes, lockouts. cuts in wages.
corners in food materials, have combin-
ed to jeopardize the means of life to the
poor man; and it has come to the point
where even a good workman, thoroughly
devoted TO his work, of steady habits and
irreproachable character, cannot be GER
tain that he will not, by some chance or
other, be thrown upon the world pauper
in his old age. Such conditions as these
tend TO make men question the teachings
which served their fathers man who
works for SO a week when he can. and
is out of work a good part of his time
through no fault of his own, cannot phil
osophize on these things with the Impair
tiality and wisdom of college professor
He can only feel. When he is asked to
believe that all things work together for
good, it is considerably harder for him
to believe that than it is for the clergy
man who breaches the sermon; and he
does not, moreover, feel any burning de-
sire to help pay that clergyman's salary
That is one cause, and a very lively
cause, of the modern detection from the
churches. 1t is not due to any real dis
respect for goodness in itself, but to the
fact that the teachings of some clergy
men do not help the workingman in his
daily life. -.s--..-.-