The times., 1899-05-19

representing. two different religious sects;
and there was just one carriage in the town.
, The churches were all partly supported
| by mission societies, for the town alone
could barely have paid the salary of one
Clergyman. Moreover the four churches
were at loggerheads, and the teachers of
the two academies were forbidden TO asso-
ciate with one another. 1t was not a
pretty object lesson for a semi civilized
mountain community, where most of the
Elen carried knives in their boots and were
eager to assist at family feuds 1t looked
very much, to the casual observer. as if
that town had several kinds of religion
or theoiogy-and no humanity at all.
There is some excuse for the mainte-
nance of different forms of worship in
even small place, where each has firm
hold on part of the people. If one man
! feels at home in one church. more than in
another church, and is willing to pay his
share of the cost there is no reason why
his taste should not be gratified. But in
this case there was virgin soil on which
to work. The people took one form of re-
hgion about as readily as another. II was
| simply case of paying for four church
buildings and two schoolhouses, at a
huge increase of expense, to induce people
to read and obey the teachings of the same
Bible. The hardship was most felt by the
academies. Each was hampered by lack of
funds. Boys and girls applied for admis-
sion, and there was no room for .hem.
Boarding pupils were half starved, and
teachers forced to work without proper ap-
pliances. The united funds applied to
these six different kinds of religious"
work by the various mission societies
would have given that town one good
academy large enough to accommodate
every pupil for four counties round who
cared to attend it, and establish a circu-
lating library and some other useful things
beside. The people of the town could have
paid the salary of one clergyman them
selves and he could then have preached,
with some show of consistency, the doc
trine of brotherly love. AS it was. some
of the sermon makers were obliged ito
evade that doctrine altogether.
These are the things which cause mirth
among the ungodly. Real, genuine, de-
voted goodness never was ridiculed by any
man or woman with a spark Of decent feel
ing. Even the eccentricities and fanati-
cisms of good people fail to provoke a
smile from those who know their true
character. But when the churchman be-
gins to call his brother names and tries to
turn him out of society on account of some
| doctrinal difference, the layman begins to
lose respect for Christian institutions. 1t
| is too much like politics and business.
When he sees sharpers and cheats received
into full fellowship while still carrying
on their iniquitous trades his respect
dwindles down TO nothing. He knows that
he himself could not be bought, by the gift
of money, to bow down before man guilty
of robbing others, and he does not see why
the church should. There are direct COM
mands against SANDER and robbing the
widow and the orphan, and being puffed
up in ones own conceit (about the inter-
probation of the Scriptures or anything
elsel; and If they do not mean what they
say, what do they mean? DR.. Briggs
higher criticism" cannot be criticised in
Christian spirit. A priest can convert
man to any kind of gospel by being kind.
and truthful, and just in his dealings with
him; but nobody was ever yet converted
to Christianity by seeing two Christians
fight