The record-union., 1899-09-10
IN RELIGIONS REALM.
EXPRESSIONS FROM VARIOUS
RELIGIOUS NEWSPAPERS.
as Expressed in the Sec
tartan Press.

ANY one having personal friends who
are devout Roman Catholics or High
Church Episcopalians has often OBJ
served the difference between their
personal attitude toward the church
and that held by the average Protest
ant toward his church." says the
'Watchman" (Bapt) Boston. The
RomaniSt thinks of himself as the
member of divinely organized body,
which has it's own character, claims,
and privileges, any membership i'll
which introduces him to unique rela-
tionships. To him his membership in
the church is like citizenship in the
State. Like the stage, the church is
a thing apart from the individual. 1t
has a history, an existence, and a fu-
ture of it's own, and the members of it
are made the partakers of relationships
and spiritual benefits which they could
by no means receive as isolated Chris
tians. 1t is a fair question whether or
not the excessive individualism of
modern Professionalism is not robbing
us Of a great source of power in eradi-
eating from our minds this conception.
The Lutherans and Episcopalians have
retained much of it, the Presbyterians
rather less, and the Methodists still
less, but the congregationally organ
lied denominations-the BaptiSts, the
Congregationalists the Unitarians, and
the Universalists-seem to be in a fair
way of losing it altogether. To most
of them a church appears to be simply
a voluntary association of persons, like
club or lodge; it has no special di
vine character or claim. 1t makes a
vast difference in the attitude of the
individual toward the church whether
he believes that he is a member of a
human organization that no more in
herent sacredness, apart from it's end
than an insurance guild; or whether
he believes that the church is the body
of Christ, the living organism through
which Christ is to-day working In
the one case he will be apt to hold his
obligations to the church as lightly as
he holds his obligations to a club"
y = y
''It is very true that the church has
never defined the doctrine of inspira-
ton, and that accordingly, various
views have been held and defended by
teachers of unimpeachable orthodoxy .
the Living Church (P. E), Chicago.
says: But y is not true that there are
no limitations upon what may be be-
lieved or taught on this subject To
confound the inspiration of the Sacred
Scriptures with that of the poets and
sages of all time, is to reduce Chris
tianity to naturalism. Here, in fact,
is the center of the conflict Nothing
| Ice ;r =
supernatural religion as such This
movement began in Germany, a
century ago, when the position was
taken that the Gospel is nothing more
than the republication of natural re-
ligion. 1t was long in making an i'm
preston upon the minds of our own
people, but of late years, under the
impulse of certain applications of the
evolution of philosophy, and of the
scientific movement, it is making its
way with accelerated speed The
worst of it is that by continuing to
use old terms in changed senses under
the specious pretense of adding the
illumination of modern thought, even
the elect are liable to be deceived The
recent free handling of the subject OF
inspiration is a clear instance of this
1t places the Bible in the same cate
CORY with the records and systems of
paganism."
''It is not simply in New Hampshire
that the question of the rural church
excites interest" notes the Interior
Pres), Chicago. England just now is
engaged in discussing what shall be
the future of these communications
which produce and train the greatest
men of the old as we'll as of the new
world. The tendency towards the city
is as strong in England as in New Eng
land. What is to become of the con
Venticles which have proven the nurs-
ing mothers of the spiritual heroes of
the past? The production of the late
ly published Free Church Catechism''
is one of the results of the Free Church
Federation in many English provincial
towns. This federation corresponds in
measure to our ministerial alliances,
bringing together the ministers of all
non -prelatical churches for mutual ac-
quaintance and edification. But in Eng
lish towns this body is taking on an
Importance not reached by any of our
alliances. 1t assumes a spiritual over
sight not accorded to it here, and it
brings it's members into closer touch
for both spiritual and practical work
Our English cousins move slowly but
they move solidly, and the work Of
federation is in a much more hopeful
state with them than with u.s.
What ought we to do in these days
when the Scriptures are assailed on ev-
cry side?" asks the Christian Intelli-
gencer" (Ref church,, New York
Preach the Word Just that, and
nothing more, with no regard for the
attacks upon the correctness of the re-
vealed record. But the churches should
insist that the pulpit shall declare the
whole truth. The responsibility for the
inspired record rests with God and not
with man. The Bible, as we have it,
is the revelation of God from God, in
the form He has seen fit to transmit
it, 1t contains a few insignificant err
rors of those who copied it in manu-
script, and it has also a few unimport-
ant printers errors; but as it is it con-
tains the truths to be believed and OBJ
served for the salvation of souls Men,
especially men in the pulpit, ought not
to forget that the truth is the whole
truth Sentences of condemnation are
to be declared as we'll as the invita-
tions and promises of grace. Perils of
unbelief as we'll as the safety of faith
are to be made known"
"Some people say thirty minutes is
too long for a sermon" the Standard