The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1900-08-23

Treatment of Present Day condi-
lions.
An address of interest to all church
attendants, as it treated of all Oh the
conditions governing church mempef-
ship to-day, was delivered recently at
the Woodmont chapel by Frederick
Stanley Jaoot, a New Hayener, now OF
New York, formerly pastor OF the Pafk
CONGREGATIONAL church of Hartford.
Mr.. Root designated his address as "A
Plain Talk with Laymen and LayWo-
men about the Church. and such IL
proved OF be.
He said In this mortal life every
thing depends on the point of view. NO
man is free from bias His judgment
and opinions are shaped by his ENVIRON
ment. 1t is even an Interesting question
what would be the religion OF an adult
secluded from babyhood against every
form of religious knowledge and IN
struction and left to grow up under the
light of nature alone. The experiment
was tried, if 1 mistake not, in the case
of the wonderful child, Helen Keller
with what result | do not now remem-
Der. The chances are that with a SEN
sitive organization, susceptible to the
voices of wind, flower, plant, rock,
ocean, mountain, and valley, renneu
paganism or pantheism would ensue.
we are, as rule. what we are in pele1
because our forbears were what they
were under generations of tutelage'
This being the case / say the view
point with all of us is largely deter
mined by the mouth from which the
chrysaliss of thought emerged
Hence, 1t follows that to put our
selves In the places of others, to see as
they do, to attach proper weight to the
consideration that influence their con-
duct. is a most difficult achievement.
The thoughts of men revolve in accus-
toned orbits The unaccustomed orbit
SO joestles the organ of mental vision
that affairs are seen in distorted or
preiudiced relations. The clergyman,
for example, not being often business
man. fails to estimate properly COM
mercial considerations; and the bust
ness man, wrapped UP in his own mer-
camille venture, also fails to establish
wide Induction of ethical theory which
is the fruit of the intelligent clergy
mans EluUy Ol SOClcti anu
Tendencies through the sweep of histo-
ry. Both err 1t is sometimes dlilicult
to determine which errs the oftenest
The human man scouts the cry; the
clergyman condemns certain pracuces'
But theory is only milestone showing
how far yesterdays thought has traV-
\ eled. and practice is only custom oflgl-
mated by man, and which man can after
as the exigency requires. The practlcal
individual would be valueless to the
community If theories had not been
tested and in certain instances found
wanting. So the practical man IS IN
debted to the theorist for the historical
data on which he builds his conclusions.
One says, for example that protective
tariff is the chief cause of lndustrlal
prosperity AS a newspaper man, poil-
tics aside, ! question his decision But
/ can fully understand the reasons why
he arrives at this conclusion honestly
And he. in turn, must accord to me-a
theorist if you please-equal sincerity IN
believing that nationalism must give
way to the sentiment Of cosmopolitan
ism that a tariff between states is as
logical as a tariff between countries,
and he must explain to me why chi
nese wall is more ethical than the open
exchange of products. Probably leave
out of nv consideration factors that are
vital to him: but he also eliminates
from his consideration factors which
history teaches me are vital in deter
mining the issue.
I use these illustrations merely tc
pave the way for little talk on seeing
things from double point OF view
that of layman and former preacher
For fifteen years / served as pastor
during the last four I have been lay
man, watching the trend of churcf
events closely, and finding anchorage al
last under the ministrations OF DR.
Rainsford, whose genius Of administra
ton has evolved him a nucleus Of only
fourteen families, worshipping in
shell of a once strong organization,
parish where eight thousand souls looF
to this clergyman as pastor. And OF
the basis of my double privilege ar
with 7 hope, the directness of an ed1to
whose business it is, as Theodore Tiltor
once pertinently remarked, ITO suit tn
word to the flying event. [ crave th
indulgence of my hearers to say few
plain words on the duties of laynen il
the church 7 may thus render a ser
vice to my brethren still in the minis
try. perhaps make their hard lot a tri
fie easier by stimulating some of you t.
bear more gently with their Occasional
yagaries, and at the same time hell
feebly but honestly to set forth the tru
onditions of successful church life. II
way | know both sides of the shield
and it is neither all gold nor all silver
There is a well-defined impression il
manv thoughtful minds that tn
church, upon the whole, is losin
ground in the community. Certainly
very fair case can be made out on tn
evidence afforded. DR., Carroll, wei
known Presbyterian clergyman
Brooklyn, estimates that in the CITY 0
Churches-which. by the by, is mis-
nomer-six hundred thousand are non
attendants, while out of eighty ne1
Brooklynites added to the population i
AZ wear, only five thousand becom
church members. OF course, the king
dom of God is a larger, grander. noble
thing than the church, and the onI
condition of church membership Shout
be friendship with God. Any othe
condition is ecclesiastical impertinenc'