The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1900-12-11
Powerful sermon.
Preached by Rev. E. p. Herbruck
to a Large COnare.
cation.


Rev. Herbruck's theme yesterday
morning, at Trinity Reformed church
and his text was taken from Luke 24:47,
And that repentance and remission of
sins shiuld be preached among all ma
tions beginning at Jerusalem" Rev.
Herbruck said:
Beginning at Jerusalem is the key
note of Gods place for the evangelical
ton Of the world. Jerusalem was the
capital city of the Jewish church and
the center of the religious world in an
cient times. In that city Christ in
| augurated the new dispensation and
there he instructed his disciples to be-
gin their mighty work. He fully recog-
nized the need and importance of
| starting his campaign in a great city.
His apostles followed the same plan
and devoted their principal attention
and effort to the cities of the Roman
| empire. Churches were founded in
Ephesus Corinth, Antioch, Phillip
and even in Rome and from these poll
| tical and commercial centers the word
of peace was carried to the provinces
and the country for miles around
This theory of missions Is un-
doubtedly correct, the conversion
country. The cities first and foremost,
because they hold in their hands the
destinies of the world. There people
congrcgate in great numbers and there
| depravity, corruption, wickedness and
crime flourish. There the church must
array her mightiest forces so as 10
counteract these evil influences and
prevent the moral devastation of the
| ~ . I've
practice of evangelizing the cities first
would be a serious mistake and would
result disastrously both TO the country
and to Christianity.
One or two points bearing on this sub
| ject need to be emphasized
| One-Our leading cities are growing
with Unprecedented rapidity. Whole
communities seem to spring up, as it
were, by magic. 1t Is as If some wizard
stamped upon the ground and towns
and cities came forth at his bidding
These American days are more wonder
full than the Arabian Nights Where
the great metropolis of Chicago now
is there was, sixty years ago
an Indian village in swamp.
New York has added 100000 to
it's population in the last q years SO
|
within a single block, according to Mr..
Jacob Refs, reside $500 persons, speak
ing is different languages. One hundred
years ago the United States had only
six cities of 5000 or more population,
we now have 443 such cities. At that
time per cent of our people resided Ia
the cities-now 80 per cent. And this s
not transient phenomenon but per-
manent tendency. There are distinct
causes for these large additions to the
urban populations. One of them is the
application of machinery to farming, re
ducing the number of people required
for agricultural purposes and leaving
the supernumarics no other alternative
than to go to the cities. Scientific farm
ing also has the same effect. There is
a limit to the demand for food products
but no limit to the possibilities of ma
chinery and scientific farming, so that
according to an unalterable law the
number of people engaged in agricul-
ture will be more and more reduced and
the population of the cities correspond
ingly augmented. This is inevitable and
cannot be otherwise.
"Two-The second fact that needs to
be observed is that the moral social
political and religious condition OF the
large cities has unquestionably changed
for the worse during the past few de-
cades. The world in general, we believe,
Is growing better, but the condition Of
the cities is growing worse. Investiga-
ton shows in 1890 half as many pro-
testant churches in the larger cities as
90 years ago. The saloon exerts an un-
due influence in the government of the
cities. Though the saloon people are a
decided minority as compared with the
church people yet they dominate the po-
litics of many of the larger cities. Be
sides there are large masses of people
in the cities who are as yet unfamiliar
with our national life and the spirit of
our institutions and who in consequence
are early led by INSCRIPTIONS demago-
CUES and corrupt ward politicians.
There is no denying a moral retrogres-
sion in the cities.
Now, what Is the remedy? Prince
Bismarck once proposed to solve the city
problem by forcibly dispensing urban
populations throughout the country,
which would have been a rather radical
cure, somewhat like curing the head
ache by cutting off the head. 1t is i'm
practicable for the reasons heretofore
mentioned. The solution lies in other
directions. There must be Christian
vote in opposition to the vote of the
lawless, the corrupt and the immoral
The church must figure conspicuously
in this conflict. Her function must be
to supply the sacrificial spirit that Is
necessary TO effect this change. No
cross, no crown holds true in this realm
as in the spiritual. David Harums in
depreciation of the Golden Rule. DO un-
to the other fellow as he would like to
do to you, and do 1t first" is too COM
mon and works harmfully upon society.
There must be a Willingness to sacrifice
upon the part of some in order that
others may be elevated. Examples Of
such self-denial and self-effacement we
have in Lord Shaftesbury and his ex-
tensive philanthropies as well as per-
sonal labors for the waits and outcasts
of the cities. Also in Arthur Toynbee