The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-12-04
FUTURE OF RELIGIOUS wEELLY

FUTURE OF RELIGIOUS wEELLy.
mas frequently been said OF late that
ia'e OF the religious weekly is sealed
i"o Oh our ablest and most widely circu-
Ia'ed religious journals CThe Outlook and
Inc independently have recently abandon
ca their distinctively religious features.
Io'her weaker journals have been benavo-
ientiy assimilated; while by a resolution
Oh the Methodist General Conference last
lsTring, the strongest of American Prot
estant denominations susnendad fou- 81
their journals upon the ground tho. ,h.,.
were not self-supporting Various reasons
nave Deen given for this apparent weaken
ing Ihe conservative Christian finds in
49,, pIOoi Oh the encroachments of the
stNular spirit. which manifests itself oven
III the services of the church itself Tbe
aIeethinker believes that 1t is only one of
mthy signs that the modern man 10 he
t,s thoroughly tired of traditional re-
,H SIN, ana that not needing to support a
yoSt','l az ne oIten does the church, from
motives OF expediency, he simply refnses
70 90 SO. The explanation volunteered bt
me practlcal secular journalists is that
sht TehSlouS editor needs a lesson IN, ~
-ue as badly as Mr.. Sheldon thought
r. secular editor needed one in his
Inc interiar Presb., August 20 takes a
more hopeful view Of tho situatfo. =.
POINTS out the large aggregate rirr.,fatio,,
VI Iehslous journals in this country ana
expresses belief that though a. IT,
suuggle Tor survival many of the veal,
80 VIII succumb, new methods and wider
Iotais VIII In the coming century Give
ADDED force and effectiveness 70 tbo -e,,-
Ious press. The Interior gives some inter
eatIhg facts and figures. 1t saws
ia very recent statistics the number Of
uIs'InctVely religious journals i'm this
, ~. n.ry Us put at 1.00s. of which GA are
nstsu IN Inc Advertisers Annual for 1Soe
and their aggregate circulstion AZ a.
round numbers. 100000 MANY OF tbass
are OF minor value and limited range no
or the ZOOS having considerably over q
.V'Sv OF the 100000 subscribers. The
weekly issues fall little short ~ osa 200
Uhe rest being bimonthly. monthly CO.
terry. or ANNUALLY. and as each copv A. "a
eStimated. Is read by five persons The re-
uelous Journal would seem to have a
~ ~ large constituency and one not
Akeiy TO melt away Immediately.
IL Is true that II is a hard thing NOW
70 make religious Journal paw EXPENSES. /
Dut Tor that matter IL never was easx, I
Il ne genius and practical abilities OF John
w tsley himself could not long keep afoat /
ne Arminian Magazine which he launch |
can religious weekly, to the present wear
OF 100. II is safe to say not one religious
weekly In ten has survived its first doc
ade' and those which have finally attain !
ed paying basis first sunk fortunes in
.ne attempt. 1t Is estimated by one of |
.nt pest-posted rectors of New York CITY
mat Episcopalians in the METROPOLIS saw
e2"o'"c disappear before either of the pa
pers started by them attained self-st1p
port. paper of the same denomination.
but published in the West. used up s9O O01
~ IOre It's receipts equalled it's expenses.
even though the able editor of the same
gave TO the undertaking seven wears of
nard labor without pecuniary remunera-
tCn. SO FAR was that from being exceA
tH raj that the sum mentioned was Less
q an one-hah what IL has cost to nurse
through infancy some religious Journals
which are the source OF large incomes To
their owners or churches now.
Inc TACT that our Methodist brethren
nave recently suspended so many of their
advocates has been widely published. but
.he Iact IS not so well known that they
nave a single weekly whose plant and
goodwill we're recently appraised nv tho
courts at 100000. and the value of their
ertire periodical plant was put at g. 500
w. The circulation of Methodist relig-
ous journals IL about 10000 copies a !
%ctk' and that OF all Presbyterian papers.
tfirty-hVe In numbers. at the same fig !
IRE. In our own denomination the Joint
.fCaiation OF nineteen of these thirty-five
= ever SD.so. the sixteen others enumer-
ited having but a limited and local con-
Five OF our leading papers
laNc Joint circulation of from 100 900 to
so'"o. more than the entire output of the
cor gregational weekly press, which is
'aid TO amount TO about 1900 copies. di-
iided among eighteen Journals two of the
Eighteen having the bulk of the business.
The future OF our religious journals
Ices not therefore depend so much upon
heir stars upon themselves Their
uture viii be what they make It, The
wentieth century will not be a century of
'theism or mere secularism. People have
'tiH souls to save, and they are interest,"
III In those vital and fundamental themes
which are ignored by the political and lit
rary journals. Religion Is still a mighty
Element In life. but II must be the real
hing, not some imitation of it, The old
,olemic treatment IL as much a thing of
he past as the bleeding and cupping to
which our fathers heroically submitted.
The religious weekly OF the future must
- irenic or IL Is lost. 1t must breathe the
pirit or the Master and be instinct with
lis life. IL must not only admonish sin
Iers but comfort saints. 1t must empha-
ize all the manly virtues and the woman |
y graces. IL must make Il sweet to live
md easy TO die. Into the household u
vii come enriched by all the resources of
rt, itself a product OF the highest me- 4
hsnical skill and displaying genius and
attn In every line. Many papers now Z
wing will die. In some Of them the proc ,
50 Of dissolution can be no longer dis
'uised: but those will survive which are
he httest 10 survive, and those are the
curnals consecrated not to a catechism .
r past. but TO living Christ and
future"